Florida Dodges the Do-Not-Mail Bullet
Earlier today the Florida House of Representatives was supposed to vote on its version of a do-not-mail bill (HB 781). Luckily for Florida and the rest of the country, and our economy, the vote never happened.
But don’t get too happy. The bill isn't quite dead yet, and there are many more bills in other states where that came from. Below you'll find information on who to contact in the Florida legislature to voice your opinion to on why the bill needs to be kept off the agenda in the future.
My Take
Without preamble, this would result in a devastating blow to Florida's economy, its many direct marketing businesses and the USPS if HB 781 passed.
Catalog and other direct marketing companies would close; jobs would be lost. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Think about this from the manufacturer on down: With less to manufacture comes less need for transportation to merchants. Less direct mail equals less packages shipped. The list goes on and on.
Couple that with the fact that this bill is highly visible nationwide and you risk setting a spiraling precedent that'll change the landscape of mail order companies and, more importantly, all companies that use some form of mail, be it marketing or some other type.
Lawmakers in Florida and throughout the nation should encourage their constituents to use the services that are already available to them.
This isn't something that needs legislation.
The following organizations already have mail suppression lists:
As a direct marketer, I encourage you to sign up for one of these lists if you don't want to receive direct mail.
And to mailers: Please use these organizations’ suppression files. You don't want to mail people who won't respond to your offer anyway, right?
But What About the Environment?
Simply put, the environmental lobbyists are wrong. Listed below are five facts from the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) that all people who dislike so-called “junk mail” should know. What many buzzword-catching, sound-bite-hearing environmentalists think is wrong.
Jim Gilbert has had a storied career in direct and digital marketing resulting in a burning desire to tell stories that educate, inform, and inspire marketers to new heights of success.
After years of marketing consulting, Jim decided it was time to “put his money where his mouth was" and build his own e-commerce company, Premo Natural Products, with its flagship product, Premo Guard Bed Bug & Mite Sprays. Premo in its second year is poised to eclipse 100 percent growth.
Jim has been writing for Target Marketing Group since 2006, first on the pages of Catalog Success Magazine, then as the first blogger for its online division. Jim continues to write for Total Retail.
Along the way, Jim has led the Florida Direct Marketing Association as their Marketing Chair and then three-term President, been an Adjunct Professor of Direct and Digital marketing for Miami International University, and created a lecture series, “The 9 Immutable Laws of Social Media Marketing,” which he has presented across the country at conferences and universities.
