It happened again! I received an ezine in my inbox – and I did not subscribe to it. And I’m sure it has happened to you as well. Please…make sure you are NOT the one who randomly adds everyone you meet to your list.

There are privacy laws in place that state you cannot add anyone to your email lists without their specific request. That means you cannot add anyone who:

• Has given you his or her business card.
• You have met at a networking event or social function.
• Attended one of your workshops or events.
• Bought something from you.
• Attends the same book club as you.
• You believe would want your information.

You get the picture. Permission marketing is all about letting others know what they’re getting (and why they’d want it) and giving them the choice to opt in or not – and to unsubscribe at any time.

In addition to being unethical, adding someone to your subscriber’s list without permission is unprofessional.

Make it easy for others to subscribe – have a form, easily seen at the top of all pages on your Web site. And here are a few other ways you can ethically entice people to subscribe:

• When speaking in front of an audience, pass around a sheet of paper so they can fill in their email address to subscribe (tell them what it’s for – and clearly state on that sheet of paper what they’ll get).
• Have a draw – and let everyone who enters know they’ll be added to your ezine list (and why they’ll look forward to receiving it).
• After meeting new contacts at a networking event, send them an email and share some info about what you learned at the event – and suggest they sign up to get your ezine.