CYBERSPACE — DarkReading.com senior editor Kelly Jackson Higgins probably wasn’t thinking specifically about porn companies when she wrote about the “Seven Ways to be Mistaken for a Spammer,” but her observations and recommendations are as valid for legitimate businesses in the adult industry as they are for any other that uses email and the internet to get its message out.Thanks to the CAN-SPAM Act and proactive offerings by various ISPs and email services, it’s easier than ever for consumers to register their displeasure about unwanted online correspondences. While this certainly helps cut down on messages from individuals and organizations with less than ethical approaches to commerce, it can also cause perfectly above-board businesses to be labeled as spammers — especially if they sell products illegal for minors to purchase and especially if those products are of a sexual nature. Those who wind up branded as a spammer can lose valuable opportunities to stay in touch with customers and potential customers — in addition to running the risk of a legal battle to prove their innocence.

Jackson Higgins proposes that there are seven “due diligence” actions that senders can practice in order to avoid doing something that will get them in trouble. None of these will likely come as a shock to anyone, but they all serve as good reminders; kind of like checking to make sure the computer is plugged in or turned on before calling tech support to complain.

1) Responding to “Unsubscribe” Requests: Continuing to send people correspondence once they’ve told you to stop is bad business. Make sure you know who’s receiving your emails, newsletters, and other precious business communications — and make sure they want to receive them. Consider the likely demographics of any mailing list you buy from another source and think carefully about how much the people on that list will welcome unsolicited messages from you. If you have an “unsubscribe” button or link on your website or within the body of messages, make sure it works. In some states, sending email to the wrong address could cost you big bucks and put you on the wrong side of a judge’s bench. In every state, refusing to honor an “unsubscribe” request can do the same.

Jackson Higgins cautions that subscribers can sometimes be lazy. Instead of bothering to “unsubscribe” from lists they’ve grown tired of, some just report the sender for spam, especially if it’s a simple one-button process, such as is available for AOL, Gmail, and Hotmail customers. On the plus side, some of these same companies allow those reported as spam to learn that there have been complaints and prove that they are legitimate business entities. This can be especially useful for companies that have been filtered out due to the behavior of similar professional entities.

2) Avoiding List “Repurposing:”Sending people newsletters and emails that they didn’t sign up for is an excellent way to piss subscribers off and lead them to conclude that you’re spamming them. You may not get as many sign-ups for a service users need to opt into, but you’ll definitely get fewer complaints and be less likely to have to explain yourself to a judge.

3) Making Opting Out Easy: There’s no real reason to tell a subscriber they can opt out of mailings if it’s an impossible process — or one you simply ignore. To avoid being labeled as spammer, don’t pre-check opt in boxes on forms or websites. Additionally, make sure your opt out instructions make sense and work.

4) Keeping Systems Disease-Free:Few things will make a legitimate business look shadier than sending customers and potential customers a worm or virus. One good way to let this happen is to lose track of where all of your sending machines are located, especially if they contain delicate customer information. Keep track of where every computer you or your company uses or has used is located, even if it was only used for a short time — and make sure you know what its configuration is supposed to be.

5) Database and Address List Maintenance: Want embarrassment and possible legal troubles? Use an old mailing list that doesn’t have all of the opt out bells and whistles that your new mailing list has. Make sure your opt out process works and that none of the addresses you’ve added or blended have already said goodbye. Wash your lists and unsubscribe anyone who complains, then follow up on any spam reports that may have made their way to spam reporting services.

6) Limiting Web Mailer Forms: With botnets being all the rage, things aren’t as bad in this area as they were, but open relay spammers can still use vulnerable website mailer forms to spread their evil. In order to avoid helping out the bag guys, put as few email addresses as possible on the Web. Web-exclusive addresses can limit the amount of spam or spoofed headers that a business has to deal with internally and also protect subscribers and members from the same creeping horror.

7) Working with Quality Third-Party Mailers: Nobody will be very sympathetic if they suffer because you didn’t check out the reputation of a third-party mailer supposedly working for you. If they’re sending out unwanted newsletters and the like, it’s your good name that’s going to get dragged through the mud, however noble your intentions. Make sure any third-party mailers you work with have the same quality controls and values that you have. If they’re offering you a deal that’s too good to be true, it may very well be for a reason. Ask questions, including where they get their addresses from and what they’re opt out policy is.