No one like receiving spam emails, neither you nor your prospects.

While you are unlikely to send spam email deliberately, an oversight could result in your cold email being delivered to your recipient’s spam folder. The line between spam and legitimate cold email can be blurry at times.

So, how can you distinguish between spam and cold email? What’s more, how can you keep your cold emails from being labelled as spam?

First let’s clarify the key differences between cold email and spam, as well as whether or not cold emailing is legal.

What are SPAM Emails?

Spam emails are unsolicited email message sent to many recipints who don’t normally wish to receive them and are unlikely to profit from your product or service. These prospects aren’t qualified, and they’re unlikely to fit into your target demographic. Messages promoting offers to all and everyone are common in spam emails.

In essence, these spam emails are sent to a large number of unqualified prospects at the same time, while the marketers involved sit back and cross their fingers that someone would respond.

Why is spam called spam?

Using spam to describe unsolicited email started in 1994. A mercenary programmer created a simple script which posted the same message from the now infamous lawyers Canter and Siegel to every single message board on USENET, the world’s largest online conferencing system. The computer geeks on the conference system – who clearly were big fans of Monty Python – identified the mass mailing as spam and the name caught on. To this day, the term spam refers to the unsolicited junk mail that now make up around 80 to 85% of email.

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What are Cold Emailing?

Cold emailing is sending unsolicited emails to previously uncontacted recipients with the hopes of gaining a benefit int he form of sales, opportunity or any other dual-sided benefit.

In a nutshell, cold emailing is when you send an email to someone you don’t know for no apparent reason.

Cold Emails vs Spam Emails: Key Differences

Cold Email	Spam Email
Intentional contact with a business-valid reason for contacting prospects.	Vague details with no personalization or any specific details addressing the recipients needs.
Contains relevant messages with added value offers.	Only focus on promoting the product
Clear about the intent and indicates that purpose of the message.	Ambiguous subject lines that are deceptive or clickbait with only the aim to get the recipient to open the mail.
Recipient addresses are usually obtained by searching online for prospects who has relevant interest.	Purchased mail lists or use bots that crawl the internet and compile lists of random email addresses.

Conclusion

The key distinction between cold email and spam is that cold emails try to deliver value to the potential client, but spam emails do not.

While most forms of spamming are deceptive and unlawful, cold emailing, is a valid method when done correctly.

You can improve your messaging and get higher open rates if you grasp the difference between a cold email and a spam email.