Some of the firms achieving full five-star ratings include eBay, Kohler, Bart's Water Sports and Global Computer. The ratings are the first of their kind focused strictly on email privacy and best practices behaviors.
Relemail, launched this week, offers a paid certification service that monitors the email behaviors of organizations, then allows qualified email senders to use the Relemail Certification seal on their email subscription pages and other promotional materials. The benefit is improved credibility with website visitors and a sharp increase email subscriptions, according to an end-user survey.
The 2004 survey showed 91% of internet users are more likely to give their business to an organization that follows ethical email practices and respects their privacy. Seventy-two percent reported they were more likely to subscribe to an email newsletter that has been independently certified, while 83% of users said they have avoided subscribing to an email newsletter because they weren't sure they could trust the publisher.
"Relemail certification proves to your customers and website visitors that they can trust you," explains Relemail founder Mike Adams, a veteran of the email marketing industry. "Internet users are skeptical of self-stated privacy policies. What they want to see is an independent audit, a third-party observer who watches the actual behaviors of email senders and makes sure they adhere to strict standards of ethics and professionalism."
Relemail email ratings are posted at:
http://www.relemail.com/ratings.asp
Results of the 2004 Relemail Email Privacy Survey and other privacy statistics
http://www.relemail.com/statistics.html
Email privacy audit results published for 1,000 firms at Relemail.com