Responsible email marketing is based on the idea of permission (permission-based email marketing). This is a complex issue and the subject of intense debate in the marketing community. Essentially, you need an email address owner's permission before you can send them a commercial email.

If you don't have this permission, then the recipients of your mail may well regard your message as spam; unsolicited commercial (bulk) email. You do not want to send spam!

If you are accused of sending spam, then you may find your email accounts closed down, your website shut off, and your reputation in tatters. Thus permission-based email marketing is a must for any business.

In some parts of the world, you may even be breaking the law. Quite apart from these practical considerations, there is also a strong argument which says that long-term successful email marketing relationships with customers and others can only work anyway if they're permission based. The big question, of course, is what constitutes permission...and that is the main subject of debate.

It's important to remember that it's not your views, or even the views of the majority, that count, but the views of those receiving your emails and those responsible for administering the infrastructure of the Internet.

An example of permission is when your customer buys something from your online store and also ticks a box marked "please send me news about product updates via email". You now have "permission" to send that person product updates by email, provided you also give them the opportunity to rescind that permission at any time.