Stop the Spam


As a nuanced expert in four-letter words, I really have an overused one, in particular, this election cycle. Stop. STOP. I send the word STOP via text to someone every single day and it’s not my kids. Another four-letter word I hate is SPAM.
For the last year, and up until the moment I voted Tuesday, I must have received a thousand spam texts. I have received unsolicited texts from every candidate, every candidate’s election committee, friends of every candidate, every PAC associated with a candidate, and dozens more asking me to vote for – and against – the new casino in Richmond. At the end of the email, it often says the same thing: “Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”
Yes, I subscribe to lots of SMS alerts. I get very helpful reminders from Puritan Cleaners twice a week, letting me know that they’re coming to pick up my big ol’ bag of dry cleaning. I get texts from CVS reminding me to pick up prescriptions. But SMS messages from politicians? I never subscribed, to begin with. That is spam, but that doesn’t necessarily matter.
The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 was supposed to outlaw unwanted messages or spam. If your company sends an unsolicited email to a person, you could face a fine of up to $16,000 for each occurrence. Technology has changed a lot in the last 18 years, and new rules that outlaw unsolicited text messages have now been incorporated into the original statute.
So why did we get sooooo many spam texts from politicians? The CAN-SPAM Act applies to businesses. Congress exempted itself, which means that political candidates and their henchmen can send unsolicited emails and texts. Another reason to throw the bums out.
So here’s how it stands for you as a businessperson: Businesses cannot send unsolicited emails or texts. Politicians can. That’s the law. Until the politicians change it. #NotLikely
61% of marketers increased their text messaging budgets in 2020 because 60% of consumers say they read a text within five minutes of getting it. SMS marketing is a powerful and effective way to connect with your customers.
If you’re going to add SMS messaging to your communications plan, here are a few quick tips:
- Give customers a description of the program they are subscribing to.
- Let them know the approximate number of messages they should expect to receive in a week or month.
- Send them a link to the full terms and conditions of the privacy policy.
- Make the instructions on how to opt-out from receiving messages easy.
- Send texts via shortcodes, which are five or six-digit phone numbers that prevent messages from getting flagged as spam.
MONDAY:
WE LOVE LUCY
On Monday, I heard what a big success Lucy Corr’s weekend Courtyard BBQ Party was. The incredible team at Lucy Corr had a fun-filled evening of fall festivities, including live music and BBQ lunches, and brought huge smiles to their residents’ faces. Know someone looking for an incredible place to work in Chesterfield? Join the Lucy Corr team!

TUESDAY:
ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS
On Tuesday, two of our rockstar Madison+Main-iacs celebrated their first anniversary with our company. Account Executive Marita Cardenas and Communications Specialist Kennedy Heidel have only been here for a short time, but it feels like they’ve been part of the family forever. Congratulations you two, we’re lucky to have you.


WEDNESDAY:
A SHINY NEW WEBSITE
On Wednesday, after months of hard work, the team launched our client Birmingham Green’s shiny new website. The site looks incredible thanks to the hard work of everyone on the team and we’re excited to continue working on the rest of Birmingham Green’s rebranding. I hear the brochures are almost done…I’ll be sure to show those to you next week.

THURSDAY:
PERK UP
The Perk, a.k.a. Perkinson Center for the Arts & Education, is Chesterfield’s premier performing and visual arts center. They have been busy hosting a boatload of events, fall classes, and gallery openings this season and we’ve been busy designing their performance collateral. Haven’t made it to Chesterfield for one of their incredible shows? Don’t miss out. You can get tix to see a show here.

FRIDAY:
OYSTER FEST
Once again, I had the chance to visit with John Reid by phone on 1140 WRVA and give him a breakdown of my top events for the weekend. This time I dialed in from my boat, The Tug Life, at the Urbanna Oyster Festival. ICYMI, here’s the link to the show. If you’re down in Urbanna this weekend, come see me. I’ll be the drunk guy eating oysters, along with 20,000 of my closest friends.

A FEW OF OUR FAVORITE EVENTS
Texas Inn’s 86-Day Food Drive
Lynchburg, VA
The Lynchburg Legend is hosting a food drive to give back to the community and Blue Ridge Food Bank. Drop canned The Lynchburg legend is hosting a food drive to give back to the community and Blue Ridge Food Bank. Drop canned goods at both locations of the T Room — Downtown & Cornerstone.
Perkinson Center for the Arts & Education Performances
Chesterfield, VA
New Performances Weekly!
Check out a plethora of performances at Chesterfield’s Premier Center for the Arts & Education — including a new gallery show! Tickets can be bought online.
“Don’t not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” — Dylan Thomas