If e-mail links raise doubt, check authenticity first, click later
To click or not to click? That was the question for at least one of the recipients of a thank-you message I sent following my recent survey.
Dan Connell, a savvy Web veteran who splits his time between Las Vegas and San Jose, Calif., shot me an e-mail very early last Tuesday after receiving a message from me, via Blue Hornet (www.bluehornet.com), an e-mail marketing provider used by the reviewjournal.com to manage e-mail lists and messages.
He wrote: "I am writing to verify that you actually sent the below e-mail . ... It seems that the URL links in the mail don't match with the underlying hyperlinks. ... For instance, in the e-mail below, the link:
(http://www.lvrj.com/20questions) actually points to the URL: (http://echo3.bluehornet.com/ct/2156569:2432401651:m:1:112189023:EFACA426C2ACFB31ADDADC090497D108).
"Also, there is a Web-bug from www.bluehornet.com embedded in the e-mail ... Blue Hornet is a company that does marketing e-mail for other companies (as in spam). I find it rather ironic that the e-mail is so full of redirection and that it seems to be gathering private information after having filled out the survey about how I use the internet and how careful I am. ... The rule is this: never, ever, ever, click on a redirected link ... And best not to click on any link in an e-mail anyway ... I think you did send it, because I can see the links in other ways, but please confirm the authenticity of your e-mail. And it would be a good idea to get rid of the tracking from the e-marketing company. Some of your online readers are pretty savvy."
I replied quickly to Connell to applaud his diligence. He smelled a fish, and at least this time, the message was indeed authentic. I also assured him that Blue Hornet is a reputable e-marketing company. We use it for many reasons, one of which is to not be considered "spammers." That label can lead to blacklisting, which is as bad as it sounds.
Simply put, your e-mail doesn't get to the intended recipients because it's intercepted by spam filters.
By using Blue Hornet, we have an agent helping us comply with the rules of e-mail marketing. The redirected links in the message track the number of clicks on a link. That's it.
I have a minor change to Connell's golden rule of never clicking on links in an e-mail. I believe it's OK to click on links in messages you know are trustworthy. If there's doubt, check it out, which is what Connell did.
I invite you to join the reviewjournal.com Online Focus Group. Members will help my team make our sites better. There will be surveys, input on design changes and who knows what else?
Sign up at www.review journal.com/eNewsletters/focusgroup/.
Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.
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