SPAM! Tips for Effective Communication with TAWPI

Today, Apr 2004 by O'Hara, Linda

I remember Spam when it came in a can. As a child it was something I wanted to pass up, but we had rules of the dinner table at our house, so avoidance wasn't an option. At TAWPI it is still something to be avoided, but despite all of the rules, blockers, gadgets and gizmos, some of which are spam themselves, the struggle is never-ending.

TAWPI relies heavily on email to market our events and to distribute our popular e-newsletters. Like most non-profit organizations, we send very few direct mail pieces to our constituency, so if you want to know what's happening at TAWPI, you should be checking tawpi.org regularly or looking for email!

How can you avoid the "spam-game" when you receive email from us?

Yikes, no more email please!

If you absolutely positively do not want to receive email from TAWPI (are you sure?), please let us know by calling, sending us a fax, or (yes!) sending us an email. Please do not send TAWPI emails to your junk email or blocked email folder. Your organization may be using a spam filter that may block not only our email address, but also our domain (tawpi.org) which could result in blocking all contacts at your organization from getting email from TAWPI. Send us something in writing and we will mark your record "no email". Remember, if we don't hear from you, we have no way of knowing that you want to be removed from our email distribution list.

Yikes, where's my e-newsletter?

This is the flip side of the scenario described above. If you want to receive email from TAWPI, but haven't heard from us in awhile, let us know. We will check your email address in your record for accuracy. If we do have your correct email address and you're still not getting our e-correspondence, you may need to check with your internal IT department to see if tawpi.org has been inadvertently listed in your organization's spam filter software (probably because someone else at your organization sent it there)!

Using AOL for email?

If you are using AOL or another "public" Internet Service Provider for email, it's very important that you do not send TAWPI emails to their junk mail or spam folder. This list gets distributed throughout "ISP-land" and tawpi.org ends up on numerous national spam filters. When you send your email to the AOL spam folder, NO ONE in the TAWPI database who uses AOL can receive email from us and it's a strenuous process getting our domain removed from these filters. More important, it still doesn't solve the problem. Once we are reinstated, you will get emails again, even though you don't want them. Let us know and we'll mark your record "no email".

At TAWPI we strive for excellence - help us communicate effectively with you by letting us know if you're not getting emails that you want or it you are getting emails that you don't want. And remember - there's a lot going on at TAWPI! If you don't want to receive email, you should be checking tawpi.org regularly!

Sincerely,

P.S. "Spam" is not recognized by Thesaurus, BUT if you search on "spam" at Google.com, you get about 16,000,000 hits!

By Linda O'Hara, President TAWPI

Linda O'Hara

President