poll What is your stand on outbound?

[Arpit131]

If you opt for a different opinion, mention it in comments

 

[NYJimbo]

I do outbound, but its usually with domains that make sense for a few companies, not hundreds. I just sold a GEO domain to an auto repair shop for $150 ($1 netsol buy). Only sent 10 emails to shops that had bad domains unrelated to their location, but web sites that were regularly updated. So I saw it as those targets could use a better domain name that was specific to their GEO. One of the ten thought it was. So $150 for a $1 investment and only held domain for 2 months.

Outbound really is an art and I am learning more about it every day.

 

[Bob Hawkes]

I certainly view it as spam if it is a broad generic email sent to many companies or organizations only casually searched (or using a generated list).

I don't regard it as spam if you are giving notice of an opportunity to a few companies or organizations of an acquisition possibility that a reasonable person would conclude is potentially of clear value to them and your message to them is clearly not just a copy of a message you did, or would, send to another company.

Also, to not be spam it must be done in a non-intrusive, polite, concise and professional manner. It must also not make questionable claims.

By non-intrusive I totally rule out any form of cold call. I know not all would agree. I believe I am quoting Kate's keynote from NamesCon accurately "The time of cold calling is long past."

To me that first contact should be a simple professional (and short!) email, or if you are linked via LinkedIn, Twitter, etc. perhaps reaching out there, or if it is someone local perhaps through other means.

If there is no reply, in my opinion I would never contact a second time.

I know that many feel differently on this topic, and I totally accept their right to think differently.

Bob

(by the way I voted different opinion)

 

[FolioTeam]

Here is why I voted SPAM

spam
Dictionary result for spam
/spam/
Learn to pronounce
noun

1. 1.
   irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc.
2. 2.
   TRADEMARK
   a tinned meat product made mainly from ham.

verb

1. 1.
   send the same message indiscriminately to (a large number of Internet users).

Nothing in the definition says anything about good intentions or good fit or how professional you are.

So is outbound unsolicited, sent to several end users and is its purpose to advertise your domain name for sale? If yes, then it's SPAM

 

[bmugford]

Yes, it depends. There is a big difference between sending out a handful of emails regarding what would clearly be a relevant domain upgrade, and just sending out thousands of spam emails in an untargeted manner offering some terrible domain.

The vast majority of outbound I have seen would classify as SPAM - bulk, unsolicited, untargeted.

Brad

 

[Brands.International]

My take on it:

When I do it, it is an outbound...when YOU do it, it is a spam

Lol, just joking..but more seriously, I think email outbound is simply waste of time.

Much better: go to social media and start posting.

 

[equity78]

The Definition of Spam according to SpamHaus

The word "Spam" as applied to Email means "Unsolicited Bulk Email".

Unsolicited means that the Recipient has not granted verifiable permission for the message to be sent. Bulk means that the message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having substantively identical content.
A message is Spam only if it is both Unsolicited and Bulk.

• Unsolicited Email is normal email
  (examples: first contact enquiries, job enquiries, sales enquiries)
  
  
• Bulk Email is normal email
  (examples: subscriber newsletters, customer communications, discussion lists)

Technical Definition of Spam

An electronic message is "spam" if (A) the recipient's personal identity and context are irrelevant because the message is equally applicable to many other potential recipients; AND (B) the recipient has not verifiably granted deliberate, explicit, and still-revocable permission for it to be sent.

https://www.spamhaus.org/consumer/definition/

My take has always been: You should be targeting a prospect one at a time so that way it's on message and you have a legitimate right to contact them. A lot of people think anyone emailing them is spam and they are wrong. If it is just to them it's not spam, you should not send multiple emails in my opinion. If someone does not reply move on, always make sure there is proper info that meets the Can Spam Act.


Cold Calling is not dead, some love to profess that but it's not.

Good article here:

Is cold calling dead?

Not really. Cold calling is a traditional sales technique that involves calling people with whom you have no existing relationship. It's still part of the modern salesperson's workflow, but there are better ways to conduct this outreach.

In the words of Mark Twain, rumors of cold calling's death have been greatly exaggerated. Instead, you need to update and finesse your cold calling strategy so you're using all of the resources available to you to build rapport and make a connection. Let's run through the differences between warm calling and cold calling:

https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/lead-generation-alternatives-to-cold-calling

 

[JB Lions]

Grey area, it's how you do it.

I'm fine with it, I myself have probably done outbound less than 10 times total, always saying I will do more.

An example of 1 that worked. I had a generic 2 word .com. This one site would get a new domain every year wordword2014.com, wordword2015.com etc. I owned the wordword.com. I told them you could just own the wordword.com instead of getting a new domain every year, just update the title/meta tags.

Mine are all .com, anybody I've ever emailed, it would be an actual upgrade for them. It's not some blanket mailing, also I'm sure to follow the CAN-SPAM guidelines.

I really see it no different than if you owned a box company and one of the types of boxes you made are pizza boxes. If you went into a store and told them your pizza boxes are cheaper, sturdier, will hold the heat much longer etc, that's an actual upgrade/benefit to them. Was it an unsolicited visit? Sure, but it was relevant and both would be happy.

 

[Domains - Wanted]

It's not so black and white as your poll makes it out to be

Short and dirty: not spam, if done right. Or spam, if done badly!

 

[Domains - Wanted]

Here is why I voted SPAM...

Here's why I voted "it depends"...

noun

1. 1.
   irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc.

verb

1. 1.
   send the same message indiscriminately to (a large number of Internet users).

Most people misunderstand what spam is. They hate spam and their emotions get the better of them and they see and preach what they believe to be true. They only see "irrelevant" and "unsolicited", but have become color blind and are unable to see the rest of the sentence which doesn't sit too well with their beliefs. So they ignore it. Perfectly understandable. Especially since we never get to see outbound done right. We are all only too familiar with the spammy variety, offers of domains that make no sense whatsoever. Another words, outbound done really badly!

Here's a little food for thought to all those who voted categorically "Spam"...

I sit on thousands of domains, most of them not yet resolving to any landing page. Another words: no For Sale banners. In fact, most of my domains are slated for development rather than a quick sale. Naturally, from time to time, I get emails offering to acquire domains. More often than not, said emails come with lowball offers like $50 or $100... Irrelevant? Unsolicited? So... it's spam, right?

 

[EbookLover]

Spam is NOT defined by dictionaries

Spam is defined by laws.

For instance, for the USA, you have the CAN SPAM act. It defines what spam is and what constitutes a spammer. You can also read the FTC's CAN SPAM Act Compliance Guide.

Basically, if you are sending unsolicited emails selling something to someone with whom you do not already have a previous relationship with, the main points are that you must...

- Not use false or misleading header information
- Not use deceptive subject lines
- Tell recipients where you’re located
- Give recipients the option to opt out of further emails from you
- Tell them how to opt out
- Honor opt-out requests promptly

https://www.ftc.gov/tips-advice/business-center/guidance/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business

 

[Josytal]

I do outbound but only to potential leads in my mailing list. Like say, someone purchased a domain from me in the past or inquired about some other domains, I often send to them my updated portfolio or bargain-priced domains I want to liquidate fast. My outbounds are replies to past emails. Unsolicited emails - NO.

Spam is Spam, regardless of the "noble" reasons and no matter how you sugar-coat the process.
Don't spam! Setup landers or marketplace instead.

 

[DOMAIN ILLUMINATI]

This thread will hopefully open the eyes of those who are fast in accusing others of spamming.
You always have to differentiate in life.
Also in the virtual one.

Then you will have no difficulties to understand that spam is spam and that outbound is outbound because you will be able to see the difference between both.

If outbound would be spam (?!), then spam would be outbound (!?).
But outbound is not spam (?) because it is outbound (!).
And spam is not outbound (?) because it is spam (!).

Therefore, domainers, don't spam!!!
But do outbound!!!

 

[poweredbyme]

If I own SeattleRoofing.com and gather 30 email addresses from the top Seattle roofing companies and send them and email letting them know I am selling the domain, is that spam?

After contemplating on this issue for an hour, I don't think it should be spam if you are sure you didn't email to their personal email addresses.

Here is my logic:

Thanks @Skumars for discussing above the difference between advertisement and spam then ending up there is no difference. There should be at least one difference. I found one: Advertisement doesn't occupy personal spaces of people. Thus it's allowed. TV, internet, media, billboards are public spaces. But an email address or phone number or physical address can be personal or public space. How can you know?

Here the magical word I found, is "Business". Business is usually deemed to public space, not personal. So you should be allowed to enter to business spaces without their prior consent. That's why business contact details are publicly available while personal contact details are not. Therefore, it should be okay to send offers via business email addresses, or contact forms at websites, regardless of quantity and strict relevancy between your offer and their scope of business (e.g., sending cleaning service offer to a travel company)

Of course you are not allowed to annoy people in public spaces like sending them repetitive emails or calling their office phones again and again after they told you they are not interested in your offer or if they told you nothing.

My logical interpretation may be wrong or incomplete. I am not giving legal advise here.

I will change my vote to gray area.

 

[Name Trader]

Every inbound I receive is unsolicited SPAM. I've never once received an inbound offer, I would have even the remotest interest in. I probably receive up to 10 unsolicited SPAM every day. It gets marked as SPAM and deleted. Without even a 2nd thought. I agree outbound is an art. You need to be an artist when using it.

 

[EbookLover]

You don't need to use services like MailChimp. In fact, it is not a wise thing to do for outbounding. These autoresponder services are best used for mailing list management, lead capture and for already-existing customers. People are always going to flag you as spam even if you are not spamming. Even if they opted-in to your list. These autoresponder systems make it too easy to report a list as spam even if it's legally and technically not spam. These services serve a purpose, but not for outbounding. Maybe there is a better, similar service that's geared for legal outbouding, not sure. But you can always to set up your own system. However, it will be more time-intensive, of course.

At any rate, if you read around in this and other domain name forums/sites, you quickly realize that most domainers get into this business as a "passive" way to earn money. They aren't interested in actively selling domains other than registering the domain and listing it for sale/posting an auction or waiting for a buyer to come around That's not totally passive, but it's as passive as most people are going to get.

This is understandable. Outbounding, Cold calling, whatever you want to call it, isn't for everyone.

 

[EbookLover]

This is an old and very permissive law, playing right into real spammers' hands. Especially the point about including a way to unsubscribe... read: notifying spammers that you have received and opened their message, that the email address they spammed is a valid one!

Yes sir. The CAN SPAM law is completely flawed on that regard. When I get real spam email, the last thing I would ever do is click on an unsubscribe link or reply to it. Not only does this tell the spammer that the email address is a "live one", but the link might lead to a malicious page. It's a spammer FFS! lol Why would I follow ANY link in a real spam email?

 

[EbookLover]

Lets start with some basics. Every unsolicited email is SPAM.

You may not like unsolicited emails, that's fine.
You may not like billboards, that's fine.
You may not like internet ads, that's fine.

But that does not make them illegal.

Spam is illegal but it is not synonymous with UCE (unsolicited commercial email).

UCE is not spam if it follows the CAN SPAM guidelines. It's just UCE.

 

[NYJimbo]

If there is no reply, in my opinion I would never contact a second time.

Agreed, but there are some cases where I MUST do it. Sometimes the domain is either an exact match to their company or organization name OR something about the domain just screams "WHY DONT YOU ALREADY OWN THIS ?", in which case I do a gentle reminder.

Right now I have a medical company that sells a certain product and the domain is their company name, but in .COM and am gently trying to tell them "WHY DONT YOU ALREADY OWN THIS ?" but have not contacted the right people yet, I assume....

 

[BrandEntrance.com]

Here is why I voted SPAM

spam
Dictionary result for spam
/spam/
Learn to pronounce
noun

1. 1.
   irrelevant or unsolicited messages sent over the Internet, typically to a large number of users, for the purposes of advertising, phishing, spreading malware, etc.
2. 2.
   TRADEMARK
   a tinned meat product made mainly from ham.

verb

1. 1.
   send the same message indiscriminately to (a large number of Internet users).

Nothing in the definition says anything about good intentions or good fit or how professional you are.

So is outbound unsolicited, sent to several end users and is its purpose to advertise your domain name for sale? If yes, then it's SPAM

Ergo... If you don't mailChimp it to 100's of companies it is NOT spam as long as you send a directed personal message from one professional to another about a mutually beneficial opportunity.

That's the essence of what business is.

 

[domains21]

users can always opt-out from receiving future emails or delete their accounts So far, none has.

A lot of people now see the Unsubscribe option as merely being a way that tells spammers that the email is active rather than will actually remove them from any further communications. To combat this, it's more common to just mark these emails as spam so that the provider or client deals with it in future.

 

[NickB]

I will repeat what some people have already written.

If the email is personalised and the name has relevance to that company then it is not spam.

If you just sending out 1000s of emails hoping someone will bite then you are a spammer.

Unfortunately a lot of people choose the second route and ruin it for those that try and do outbound properly

I voted grey area.

 

[Skumars]

Here is my logic:

Advertisement doesn't occupy personal spaces of people. Thus it's allowed. TV, internet, media, billboards are public spaces.

Here's my counter

Advertisement DOES occupy personal spaces of people. If I intend to watch a TV show or a youtube video online, It means that I am interested in that particular show/video only, but those ads which come in between these shows are INTRUSIVE and they come on my PERSONAL TV and my PERSONAL LAPTOP/MOBILE ("personal space"). The only thing is that since there has been no opposition from media houses ever on this issue (because of the associated monetary benefits), we have got hardwired to believe that it's normal.

That is why people who are aware of AD blocker plugins use them online to get rid of these ads which are otherwise labelled as mere advertisements and are thought to be normal. If similar AD blocker mechanism can come to TV's, then they will become popular too.

 

[DotKing]

@EbookLover Then you would need to make legal newsletter of some kind, subscribe to Mailchimp or similar service which covers all you mentioned above, in their TOS and Privacy policies.
They will also suspend your account if recipients are marking your letter as a spam message.
Imo, "outbonding" domains is spam. You can do it in clever way, be seccessful etc... but majority of your emails will be considered as a spam by recipient.

 

[EbookLover]

@EbookLover Then you would need to make legal newsletter of some kind, subscribe to Mailchimp or similar service which covers all you mentioned above, in their TOS and Privacy policies.
They will also suspend your account if recipients are marking your letter as a spam message.
Imo, "outbonding" domains is spam. You can do it in clever way, be seccessful etc... but majority of your emails will be considered as a spam by recipient.

You bring up a good point. But the guidelines do not mention that an opt-IN is necessary, only and opt-OUT.

Why? Because the guidelines are written for unsolicited commercial email (UCE), which is not illegal, provided you follow all the rules/laws for UCE. That is the whole point of that guidelines page. It's basically saying, UCE is not illegal IF you follow the law.

 

[EbookLover]

Who are you gonna trust when you want to know if you are breaking a commerce law?
Wikipedia or FTC.gov?

I don't know about you man, but the choice is clear to me.

I also don't understand what you mean by solid footing. Wikipedia isn't a solid place to read up on what a law currently states. You have no idea it if is up-to-date or if there is an agenda behind it.

You want to find the law? You go to the law.