So few peeps were asking me what the hell suppression lists are, as you take your journey into affiliate marketing or some of may have already come across this term already. Anyway when you collect e-mail addresses of people who have opted in to receive a newsletter/offers from you.

When we send newsletters and or offers to these e-mail addresses it is compulsory to send a link or some instructions for users to be able to opt out from the mailings. When these users opt out you can then add the e-mail address to a suppression list. These suppression lists can also be created from peeps who do not want to be sent certain offers and newsletters covering particular topics such as gambling.

So for example a teacher may not want to be included in mailings to do with gambling so this could also be a sub suppression list of e-mail addresses. I thought i would share this as it is something someday or the other you will come across in your affiliate marketing journey and you heard it here first!

By the way here is the wikipedia article on this stuff for anyone wanting to read further http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suppression_list

Thanks for the info, its good to know for sure.

Don't we just love suppression lists LOL! No but i mean to stay within legislation and law we do need to have some sort of exposure to this especially as it helps in abiding by the CAN SPAM act that was passed. Here is a ten point check list i gathered up some time ago which gives a little overview on how to abide by the law with e-mail campaigns:

* Don't use fraudulent transmission data, such as open relays and false headers.
* Don't use misleading sender or subject lines.
* Add your postal address to all email.
* If your email list isn't opt-in or double opt-in ("prior affirmative consent"), include a clear notice that states the email is an advertisement or solicitation in commercial messages. If your list is opt-in or double opt-in, you're exempt from this provision.
* Include a "clear and conspicuous" unsubscribe mechanism in every email. (This is what diamond was talking about above)
* Have a process for handling unsubscribes within the 10-day window. Ensure this is in place electronically, as well as for unsubscribes received via postal mail (and any other contact information you include in the email, such as phone and fax).
* Offer recipients a way to receive some types of email from you while blocking others, along with a "global unsubscribe" option to stop all future email from your organization.
* Don't share the address of a person who unsubscribed with any other entity seeking to send that party email.
* Don't harvest email addresses or use automated means to randomly generate addresses.
* Remove any sexually oriented material from your messages. The law requires such material be readily identified in the subject line. When "initially viewed," the message body should include only instructions on how to access the sexually oriented material, as well as your postal address, a notice the message is an advertisement or a solicitation, and a working unsubscribe mechanism. You can ignore this if the message is sent to someone who opted in.