If theres one affiliate absolute it is to NEVER, for any reason, send an unsolicited email to anyone that is promoting anything. No commercial messages, unless the recipient has specifically requested that you send him/her email promoting a product or service. And dont ever buy, borrow, lease or trade email lists. If you send commercial email at all, carefully read up on spam regulations and penalties at http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/can-spam.shtml.

The CAN-SPAM (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing) Act took effect on January 1, 2004. It is a federal act, enforced by the Federal Trade Commission that requires unsolicited commercial email to be labeled as such. Included in the regulations (again, read it all, and any amendments that may be passed) is the requirement that all unsolicited email must include subject lines that are not deceptive, as well as opt-out instructions and the senders physical address. At present, the FTC is authorized to establish a do not e-mail registry similar to the do not mail and do not call registries, but it has not yet done so.

Not wanting to antagonize recipients, however targeted they may be, most mailers stick strictly to the double opt-in method, in which site visitors subscribe to a newsletter or ezine, are sent a confirmation email to the subscriber. Only when the subscriber confirms by return email that they wish to be a subscriber does the site begin sending them emails. Every ezine, newsletter, newsletter link or other email-based commercial message must include an opt out method, usually a link, as well as the actual street address of the mailer.

Theres just no point in sending unsolicited email. It dilutes your efforts and damages your reputation and makes you much less attractive as an affiliate partner.