It may well be the senders’ resources, but in using paper, ink and transport they are wasting natural resources which belong to all of us (hippy look out I know). Not to mention the energy taken to pick it back up, pulp, bleach and recycle.

By sending out unsolicited email, companies are wasting our time resources (in sorting through our inboxes and deleting them). Inboxes full of unsolicited messages affect the impact and therefore ROI of permission based email campaigns, thereby wasting other companies’ (my clients) resources.

I think you can put a blanket rule over email marketing:
If someone asks you to send email newsletters, send to them, get feedback, make them better
If someone gives you a business card, market to them in a different way (dm, telephone etc) and let them decide on the value of the relationship and whether they subsequently want to subscribe to your email newsletter. It’s a long way round but will develop stronger, more profitable relationships.

Anyway, I think I’ve probably annoyed you enough for today Sorry if I caused any offence/ irritation. I’ve followed you on Twitter so will look forward to more lively debates soon.

I, too, sometimes get frustrated when companies send me unwanted junk mail that I didn’t ask for, completely wasting their resources. However, it is THEIR resources and I don’t NECESSARILY count out a relationship with that company just because they sent me mail I didn’t ask for.

And that was the whole point of this post, was to say that every situation is different and every person is different. You cannot put a blanket rule over everything.

What is SPAM? “Getting email / newsletters from ANYONE whom you have not specifically requested said email / newsletters from. ”

“…email marketing is no different than getting a piece of junk in the mail… sometimes you read it, sometimes you don’t. Either way, you have the opportunity to throw it out.”

No. You see, I throw the junk mail away because I didn’t ask for it – it also makes me angry with the company for wasting resources. Whereas I read the email I subscribe to and trust the company that sends it.

I agree with Brian, it sounds like you’re bending ‘digital law’ to suit your sales and marketing needs, rather than the wants and needs of potential recipients. If as you say, this isn’t what we are talking about here, then I’m sorry to have wasted your time.

That isn’t what we are talking about here.