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I use a lot of different companies for various business functions, and when there is one that really does a nice job, I like to call them out on it.

One company that I’ve been really pleased with for years is AWeber. I use AWeber to send out newsletters and blog updates for Affiliate Summit, Affiliate Tip, and AffiliateManager.net.

In addition to all of the standard features, they have a couple that I really like:

• Blog broadcast: Create broadcast newsletters automatically from existing blog RSS content feeds or other sources of RSS and XML content.
• Spam Score Analyzer: A popular spam filtering tool called SpamAssassin is used to check your message and display any key areas that are being caught by the filter.

Not to mention the attractive pricing structure and great support from the folks at AWeber. If you’re looking for a company to enable you to collect opt-ins, manage your lists, and send newsletters, I’d enthusiastically recommend AWeber.

See http://tv.affiliatetip.com/item/L72DJ6NPJZZV07FZ for a brief explanation of why AWeber is my preferred vendor for sending out e-mail.

Perhaps you’ve just cleaned out spam from your email (again). Messages promising a certain type of enlargement, or requesting help with stashing cash from a foreign prince, or other such things can drive us crazy.

Given that, it’s hard to believe that “spam” meant something else to people before computers came along. It’s also unimaginable – at least to me – that some people like the taste of spam.

A few generations ago, spam referred simply to canned luncheon meat. It’s been produced since the 1930s by Hormel Foods. SPAM the food (Hormel insists on making “SPAM” all caps) consists of chopped, spiced pork shoulder and ham. It is perhaps the quintessential “mystery meat.”

Today, in our computer-driven world, most of us think of spam as the devil’s work. (I’m not talking about deviled ham, either.) SPAM refers to any commercial communications sent to recipients in mass quantities that are unsolicited and usually unwanted.

How did spam evolve – or perhaps, mutate – into its contemporary meaning? The most common explanation involves a famous Monty Python skit. The skit takes place in a café in which spam is served quite generously with every entrée. A group of Vikings in the skit drive the point home even more by singing ad nauseam about spam. Twice they are asked to stop because their singing drowns out the dialogue nearby….the same way electronic spam can “drown out” our daily activity.

Other explanations also exist. Some of them contend that spam is merely an acronym with a particular meaning. Those meanings range from “Stupid Pointless Annoying Messages” to (my favorite) “S— Posing as Mail.” But the Monty Python explanation is closest to the truth. Not the luncheon meat itself, but the word’s overuse and ability to interrupt normal discourse, solidified “spam” as a nasty word in the electronic lexicon.

Spam is most popularly associated with email, of course. But it also applies to postings in forums, blogs, chat rooms, and other electronic venues. It also applies to search engines. “Spamdexing” is the intentional altering of web pages through underhanded SEO techniques to boost the pages’ rankings in the search engines, artificially and unfairly.

The tip to affiliate marketers is obvious; don’t spam. However, it’s not easy to avoid the accusation of spamming, particularly given that individual definitions of spam vary greatly. My next post will cover this topic and the best practices you can implement to send email without ruining the recipient’s appetite.

I had to call in sick for Affiliate Thing this week, and Sam Harrelson subbed for me. Sam and Lisa Picarille welcomed Greg Hoffman, Affiliate Network Director at Think Partnership aka the Donut Guy.

They chatted with Greg about his creative method for getting noticed (he sent donuts to the person hiring for his position) and if he plans to bring that level of creativity to dealing with affiliates.

Thank you to Greg for sending a special shipment of Krispy Kremes my way before the show. Unfortunately, I was on a stomach flu diet of Gatorade yesterday, so I could only look at them.

Sam and Lisa also touched on the class action lawsuit filed by affiliates and merchants against Commission Junction, Be free and ValueClick, how Google is getting creepy, the Apple iPhone, and new eBay programs.

Listen to this episode now. The Affiliate Thing show airs weekly on Wednesdays at noon EST. Tune in at http://www.WebmasterRadio.FM.

If you’d like to call in to the Affiliate Thing show, dial up 866-345-6631 between 12:00 pm and 12:30 pm EST on Wednesdays.

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