|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Using Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) For Email Privacy
Need for Privacy
People have become hypersensitive about their privacy during the last few years. They now expect that their details will be used only for the purposes for which they have been provided and not shared by original trustees. This is especially true of email addresses because of the huge volume of unsolicited commercial email (spam) circulating the web.
In Australia and elsewhere, there are statutes requiring privacy when collecting and using personal information. (In Australia the Privacy Act (Commonwealth) was recently amended to include private sector use of personal information eg, medical records retained by private practices).
In an increasingly litigious society, there are not only sound business reasons, but legal reasons why you should ensure the strictest standards of privacy are applied to personal information of which you are custodian. Despite this, numbers of people using email unwittingly reveal the email addresses of other people to whom they are sending email.
This article tells you how to maintain client confidentiality when sending email to multiple addressees by using Blind Carbon Copy or BCC.
Blind Carbon Copy
The term Blind Carbon Copy is a hangover from the dim, dark ages before word processors when we used typewriters (some of you have probably never seen a typewriter). To produce multiple copies of a document, one had to place a sheet of carbon paper between sheets of plain paper so that the type key impact on the top sheet would be copied to the second sheet (and any subsequent sheets).
It was a somewhat messy, but proficient process. When one wanted to send an original letter to one person and copies to several other people without showing each recipient who the other recipients were, a BCC annotation was made on the original. Each copy displayed only the name and address of the individual recipient, but the BCC notation on the original showed to whom the copies had been mailed. A BCC looked like this: Bcc: Mr Tom Jones, 14 Weaving Court, East Melbourne VIC 3000
Some email programs allow you to enter email addresses into the BCC field and send them. When you do that each recipient receives your message, but the names of other recipients are not displayed.
That is why they are called 'blind' ? they are not seen.
By using the BCC feature you preserve the identities of those who are on your mailing list and ensure that anyone receiving your email cannot email your list or harvest their email addresses and sell them.
Your Email Program
When you obtain an email program, make sure it has a 'Blind Carbon Copy (BCC)' feature. Programs such as Outlook Express and Outlook 200? have BCC capability. Although I have never used it, I'd be surprised if Eudora and other common email programs didn't have it too.
If when you click to send a new email your email client displays only the To ? and Cc ? boxes it may be that the Bcc feature IS available, but is simply not displayed. Try the View menu or Help menu to see if you can find a Bcc option.
If your email program has a BCC option that you can select as a permanently visible option, select it. If it doesn't, you may need to think about getting a new program.
How to Use BCC
When you send email messages to multiple addressees and you do not want each addressee to know who else has received a copy, use the Blind Carbon Copy field.
Simply enter all the addresses in the BCC field separated by a semi-colon, comma, or whatever your program uses. When you click the send button, your email will go to each individual with only his or her name in the To field. None of the recipients knows to who else the email has been sent.
Outlook 200? will allow you to send BCC addressed email without an address in the To field. Other email clients require at least one address in the To field before they allow multiple recipient addresses in the BCC field. Test the program you use to see if it needs to have an addressee in the To field. If so, address it to yourself. (Surprisingly, email programs usually allow us to email ourselves ... that's why I receive so many emails from Jennifer Lopez (just joking).
If you need to make an entry in the To field, place your own email address in that field and everyone else's address in the BCC field.
Disadvantages
What you need to know about BCC is that some spam filters automatically delete email addressed in the BCC field so it never reaches its destination. This means that while sending BCC is okay for privacy, your email might not always reach the intended recipients.
A problem I had with Outlook Express 2002 was that if I sent my email using BCC I couldn't print a hard copy of the sent message with the addresses on it. I had to write address details on my file copies for record keeping purposes.
If sending BCC email is likely to be impractical for you, then you need to consider upgrading your email client from the standard run-of-the-mill version to a professional version. That's what I did.
Email Management Programs
If, like me, you distribute large quantities of email regularly to newsletter subscribers, clients, club members, colleagues or anyone else, you will be better off getting a program designed for high volume mailings.
I use and sell a heavy duty bulk email program that lets me do simply, many tasks not easy to achieve with standard email clients like Outlook 2002. For example, the program I use will allow me to:
By having a separate program for bulk emailing, I overcome the problems involved with privacy and reduce the likelihood that my messages will be eliminated by overzealous spam engines.
If you rely on email to carry out business activities (and who doesn't?), it may be time to consider how well your email strategy meets the needs of your business in today's security conscious society.
Copyright Robin Henry 2005
Robin Henry is an educator, human resources specialist and Internet marketer whose firm, Desert Wave Enterprises, helps individuals and businesses improve their performance by using smart processes, smart technology and personal development. He lives at Alice Springs In Central Australia. Visit Desert Wave Enterprises to read more about this topic.
Advertisement: Honest Riches - Click Here!
Advertisement: Lost AdWords - Click Here!
Advertisement: Get $1 Million A Month In Google Pay-Per-Click Ads Free! - Click Here!
Advertisement: Who Loves Money? - Click Here!
Advertisement: SEO Elite, the GrandDaddy of SEO Software - Click Here!
Best Syndication
Best Syndication, CA - Nov 21, 2008
Email marketing solution has become really necessary in the present times for any business to survive. If you really want to make a difference, ...
Mobile Marketing Versus Online Marketing In Reaching Customers Faster Best Syndication
Website Designing Companies – help you have a unique website Best Syndication
all 4 news articles
MarketWatch - Nov 21, 2008
Options Media Group Holdings, Inc. is an email services provider for on-demand e-mail marketing to create, send, and track professional and permission-based ...
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
ArialSoftware.com, offers improved email list handling features that make sending email marketing campaigns easier and more time efficient. ...
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
No Executive Left Behind helps C-level executives better understand email marketing's strengths and the intricacies of developing a successful campaign. ...
Business Strata - Business News, UK - Nov 21, 2008
A leading web hosting provider has urged growing businesses to embrace communication channels such as email marketing. In an article outlining five tips for ...
Study: Marketers still send emails after consumers unsubscribe Digital Response Media
all 2 news articles
Business Strata - Business News, UK - Nov 21, 2008
Growing businesses can benefit from using web analytics in their email marketing practices, an expert has claimed. According to Loren McDonald, ...
MarketWatch - Nov 17, 2008
"The new email marketing automation functionality allows sales and marketing teams to perform at higher levels with minimal effort and costs. ...
MarketWatch - Nov 20, 2008
"In the email marketing industry, customer service makes all the difference. I plan to build on WhatCounts' strong foundation by continuing to improve our ...
24-7PressRelease.com (press release) - Nov 20, 2008
Latin-Pak announces the ability to marry direct postal marketing with email marketing creating a consistent message through different mediums to the same ...
Third Sector, UK - Nov 21, 2008
The first is the email marketing where you will write & produce weekly & bespoke email campaigns in line with promotional priorities. ...
Choose The Right Business For You In Less Than 15 Minutes
3 Characteristics Of "The Right Business" ModelThe business must service a large market.Niche markets are also very profitable but require specialist products and customer service. Target niche... Read More
Stop Buying Email Lists
The saying "Quality, not Quantity" is applicable even to the world of email marketing. So many organizations are purchasing large databases of email addresses, with hopes to... Read More
Keep Your Work From Home Newsletter From Being A Spam Filter Casualty
It's hard to get your email through to clients, friends and family with all the Spam Filtering going on these days. If you are a Home Based... Read More
Guarantee Recipients Opening Your Emails With These Secrets To Successful Subject Lines!
You've done the hardest part; you've captured your prospect's email address. Now it is time to send your email to them. Most webmasters are thinking about what... Read More
Email Marketing - The End Is Nigh!
Consider if you will the resources, the time and the financial investment given to attracting new web traffic. Banner advertising, link exchanges, search engine ratings, affiliate schemes... Read More
unorthodox email subject tricks -500% more responses!
5 unorthodox email subject tricks -500% more responses! (c) Copyright S. Kumar 2004 http://www.learnhomebusiness.comIf your email subject line doesn't get read -Nothing gets read!And it is worse... Read More
Consumer Thinking and Email
In an article based on research done by emaillabs, MarketingSherpa reports that on average, readers spend between 15-20 seconds reading email they chose to open.The article also... Read More
To Get Your Email To Stand Out From All The Junk
We know that email marketing is a cheap method to reach our customers, prospects and subscribers. However, the increasing amount of unsolicited commercial email is clogging up... Read More
The Game Is Changing, Are You?
It's happening. Again.The Internet marketing 'game' is rapidly changing... again.Email marketing is under attack like never before...Pending legislation. Spam filters. Email overload.Internet users' inboxes are full. They... Read More
The Innovative Ways To Use Your Autoresponder
If you have auto response system set up for following up your customers or prospects, you may just use one or two purpose. Here is a list... Read More
Why Does Your Business Need An Autoresponder?
Suppose you have a website with 500 visitors a day, and one in fifty of them requests information. That's ten e-mails you're going to have to send... Read More
All I Really Needed to Know About List Building I Learned From Stephen King!
I have always been an avid reader of Stephen King's writings over the years, he's one of the few authors that I can safely say I have... Read More
Youve Got Mail
It seems that Google is revolutionizing the Net in more than one way. Recently they announced that they will be offering a free email service called Gmail.... Read More
Email Marketing Kung Fu
Have you ever heard email described as, "the killer Internet Application?" Do you understand why email is the killer app for your business on the Internet, or... Read More
Six Easy White-Listing Ways... Stop Losing Important Emails!
Are you dead sure about receiving of all the important emails that is sent to you?"The chances are that you are among the 42% of the people... Read More
Are Opt-in Email Lists Still Valuable in this SPAM Age?
One of the things that the introduction of blogs has done is to cause an exodus of sorts from email newsletters or ezines to online publishers simply... Read More
Benchmark Study of Email Database Services
-- Email Appending and ECOA Match Rates Revealed --NEWTON, MA, (November 3, 2004) - FreshAddress, Inc., a leading email services provider, released the industry's first benchmark data... Read More
How Autoresonders Can Put Your Business On Autopilot
Owning your own online business is a lot of work. Don't let anyone tell you that it's not.Daily tasks can include reading emails, handling orders, advertising, promotion... Read More
Email Scam Warnings
Most people online are very familiar with the Nigerian Email Letter Scams. They've victimized thousands over the years and continue to do so. I am certain you've... Read More
Lesson #1: Autoresponders 101
What the heck is an autoresponder?An autoresponder is much like a fax-on-demand system, where you call a number - or, in this case, email a specific email... Read More
Dont Be Viewed as Rude!
All too often otherwise nice folks come off as terse or plain old rude when it comes to their e-mail habits. They don't intentionally set out to... Read More
Email Etiquette IV
Further to my previous issues this subject continues - part IV. This month I'll share on Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) field and the use of backgrounds for... Read More
Internet Tip of the Week: Mistakes Count Against You
Before the advent of email most of us, other than sending out cards for special occasions, would write very few letters. If we did write a letter,... Read More
How You Can Automate Your Business Using Autoresponders
What is an Autoresponder?An Autoresponder is a program or service that allows you to automatically send pre-written emails to anyone at anytime. It is basically a sequential... Read More
The Wrong Email Format Can Destroy Your Offer
Which email format is more effective to use, Text or HTML?A good question, many experts have been debating over for awhile now, is which email format is... Read More
How to Structure an Email Follow Up Series
Marketers the world over use follow up autoresponders toincrease sales. But, many struggle to write a compellingmessage series. Don't let that keep you from your share ofthe... Read More
How To Avoid Having Filters Eat Your Emails
You've probably read 1000 times that "the money's in the list." If you're an Internet or email marketer, that's only partly true. The truth is that the... Read More
Email Marketing Essentials
Perhaps the most important component in turning visitors to your web site into customers is email marketing. Make no mistake. If you do not have an effective... Read More
Web Advertising: How To Increase Traffic By Offering A Free Course
One web advertising strategy that can help you become popular and improve your credibility is to offer a free course in any appealing subject of your choice.If... Read More
Autoresponder Tips
An autoresponder is useful for, well, responding to people who send you inquiries through email. They are actually more than just merely useful - they are an... Read More
10 Netiquette New Years Resolutions
Happy New Year! New attitude? New habits? How about 10 Little New Year's Netiquette Resolutions?Yep! Almost every New Year's resolution is based in improved attitude and habit... Read More
Email Etiquette II
I had great feedback from my last article, and was asked to write further on the subject; hence my title.This month I'll share on Email Etiquette in... Read More
Sucking in Readers: Proven Ways to Increase Reader Interaction
You've probably heard this educational philosophy:Tell me, and I'll forget.Show me, and I may not remember.Involve me, and I'll understand.Almost the same could apply to newsletters, except... Read More
Email Marketing and Web Communication: Ten Key Tips to Get Your Messages Read
There's an old saying 'Manners maketh the man (or woman)' and this still applies in the 21st Century, even though everything now seems to happen twice as... Read More
Email Etiquette V
Further to my previous issues this subject continues ? as per request from a reader.This month I'll share on Setting up Mail groups and creating signatures for... Read More
RSS vs Email: Its Not An Either-Or Question
If you've been getting caught up in all this talk of RSS versus email, its time to stop wondering.Marketing Sherpa just posted a new report that stirred... Read More
Dirty Secrets Of Co-Registration Email Lists
Years ago, I listened to Internet marketing "gurus" share that they had lists in the hundreds of thousands, and I was all ears. Up to that point,... Read More
How Can You Be Sure That Your Marketing Efforts Will Generate Profits?
There are several ways to ensure that your adverts are responsive let me outline my top ten response boosting techniques:1. An attention grabbing headline is crucial. Yes,... Read More
5 Things You NEED to Know About Your AOL 9.0 Subscribers
In Fall 2003, America Online (AOL) released its brand new AOL Version 9. (Have you noticed all the TV ads?) AOL estimates that up to 50% of... Read More
An E-mail Promotion Internet Marketing Strategy Works
E-mail promotion Internet marketing can help your home-based business expand and attract customers that are interested in goods and services like yours. Once you have determined who... Read More
How To Set Up an Ezine Encyclopedia
Do you read all your Ezines? Or do you file them away in special folders and then forget about them?I used to be like that.When I first... Read More
Website Promotion Through Newsletters
Website promotion is certainly a main focus of all business owners and their respective Web sites; however it is not something that happens overnight. This is because... Read More
The Importance of Building a List
Out of all the possible approaches to affiliate marketing, lead capture and list building represents the smartest and most effective option.Why?A lost visitor is a lost sale.... Read More
Newsletter Template: Should You Use Them?
There is currently a huge demand online for newsletter templates. In fact, if you are a graphic designer looking for some new work to do, you should... Read More
Do Your Autoresponders Drive Your Customers Crazy?
A chained auto-responder is a sequence of emails that gets delivered automatically when someone subscribes to this autoresponder.It is used in marketing to deliver mini-advertisements, teaser courses,... Read More
Autoresponder Services Improve Your Profits
Perhaps you, like me, have web hosting that includes, free of any extra charge, unlimited autoresponders. That being the case, you might be inclined to balk at... Read More
The Power Of Email Marketing
Have You Considered The Power Of Email MarketingOld vs. NewIf we consider that not so many years ago when we were selling products or services it was... Read More
Are You Making These Email Mistakes?
Every day, I receive at least 300 emails. I will usually sort them out by checking and deleting every subject line that looks like junk mail.After sorting... Read More
Confessions Of An Info Junkie
I love the Internet! Information about any topic that piques my curiosity is just a few clicks away. Ezines on almost any topic are available to all.Yes,... Read More
Successful Email Marketing
No doubt email is still the best way to get a quick response from your prospect. Big companies on the web have realized this that they have... Read More
To Lead or Not to Lead?
Working with Leads or Opt-In Clients can be very confusing at times, Some people will tell you that Leads are not a good source of advertising while... Read More
The Importance of a Name in the Sent from Email Address
When using an email marketing tool such as Adestra's Message Focus, you are able to specify exactly what sent address you want the email to be labelled... Read More