Why isn't there a SPAM button on my mailbox?

When picking up my mail a few days ago, I realized something: it is a heck of a lot easier to get yourself removed from an email marketing list vs. a direct mail marketing list.

As email marketers, we're painfully aware of the trials and tribulations of trying to keep that customer from hitting the "This is Spam" button when they receive our emails. But, some print marketers are still living in the "They didn't say no, so it's ok" age, that says you can send anyone, anywhere a print catalog, and Hey! It's all right, because the FTC doesn't say that's against the law!

Case in point: I moved into a new apartment in March of 2009. The old tenant was receiving a few catalogs that I have absolutely no interest in, so I went to the catalog retailer's website and requested that the old tenant (or, in this case, it had reverted to "current resident") be removed from the catalog list. 10 months later - and I'm still receiving that catalog. Despite 3 different requests to be removed.

And why, exactly, do retailers assume that because you purchased something from them online, you must want to be added to their print catalog list? How about asking me when I check out, if I'd like to be added, as they do for their email list? Oh, that's right.... because the FTC requires it for the email list!

The average household gets 41 pounds of bulk mail per year. That's astounding! Think of the costs to the marketers, the environment, and the negative connotation in the customer's mind. Definitely in THIS customer's mind - it is usually ludicrously difficult to remove yourself from these bulk mailing lists (though there is always a link to subscribe, there is rarely a link to unsubscribe from catalog mailings).

It's time to look at print the same way we do email - permission based, relevant, and above all, wanted.