International Wedding Awards Spamming at DVinfo.net

Roger Gunkel · May 6th, 2020, 06:59 AM

Just clearing my Junk mail folder for the last month and found that I have 182 out of a total of 229 junk mails from internationalweddingawards.com This includes up to 9 identical emails from 3 different people on several of the same days, inspite of me trying to unsubscribe. The company, apparently based in Milan Italy, seems to be trying to persuade wedding companies to submit client reviews from which they say they select winners in various regions for wedding industry awards. There seems to be a requirement to pay to join and a further requirement to pay for tickets to an awards night. The awards appear to be very random if they actually exist.

I was wondering whether any other wedding industry folks have had spamming from these people.

Roger

Pete Cofrancesco · May 6th, 2020, 08:50 AM

Gmail does a pretty good job moving these to either spam or promotional folder. Happily I haven’t received these but in general even legit companies that you can unsubscribe that I wouldn’t mind receiving legit sales send too many emails and end up removing. As tempting sales and “deals” are I try to stick to buying only what I need when I need it.

It can feel a bit suffocating the new advertising methods like these. Social influencers, reviews, awards, etc the line between advertisers and legit stuff is increasingly blurred.

David Barnett · May 6th, 2020, 11:29 AM

Yeah, sometimes I marvel at the tenacity & pounding of the lists some marketers take. Probably a full time position or even small staff on it, plus copywriter. Hate constantly taking myself off (some seem to reappear), but some 'business' one's I tend to stay on. That sounds like spam tho, so yeah those I do.

Danny O'Neill · May 11th, 2020, 06:44 AM

Ive been getting them from some new directory which have added me for free but then started telling me that my listing was expiring and I had to pay. Then sent us an email saying "Sorry, didn't mean to tell you that you had to pay" but still keep emailing us about how I can upgrade my account.

Happens all the time. Someone thinks the world needs ANOTHER wedding directory.

Andrew Smith · May 12th, 2020, 05:45 AM

I still get spam (though not from there) but there is something you can do to limit it if you have control of the hosting account for your web site.

On my Studio Solutions web site (which I should get around to doing properly one day) I have a "foundthewebsite@" typpe email address which people can click through to make initial email contact. Ditto for software bots that collect email addresses from the face of a web site.

The address is made 'real' by the use of a forwarder on the web server, and gets routed to my real email address' mailbox. The moment I reply to the inquiry, the human contacting me then has my real email address.

Inevitably the site contact email address gets added to mailing lists, so I add an incrementing number to the address and update things behind the scenes to reflect this. Currently I'm up to #8. When I change the number it's actually a separate email address and all those spam emails that target a previous contact address simply go nowhere.

Been doing this for years and it's very effective. (Hey, anyone want to ask me how to deal with those mailing lists that *already* have your email address?)

Andrew

Jim Arco · June 1st, 2020, 09:37 AM

Apparently, most folks have a sincere belief that, "If I send you ENOUGH emails, you'll eventually buy one of my overpriced products." This is encouraged by the almost-zero cost of sending emails and the near-impossibility of actually stopping their sending. Corporate email administrators will tell you that over 90% of the emails coming into most companies is unsolicited spam, much of it with trojans, viruses, or scam offers.

A few years back, I bought many video products (after effects templates) from a well-know company in Florida. Good products, OK price, etc. Then I began receiving email encouraging me to buy MORE of their products... sometimes three or more emails per day with exactly the same message. After a number of attempts to un-subscribe, I finally contacted the company president by phone. "Feel free to send me a monthly, or even weekly, summary of your 'great deals, but numerous emails per day will not persuade me." Nice guy, very personable, and he listened to my complaint. Finally agreed to take me off their mailing list, but wasn't interested in sending a weekly or monthly summary.

Within a few days, I finally stopped receiving emails from them.

May 6th, 2020, 06:59 AM	#1
Roger Gunkel Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: LIncolnshire, UK Posts: 2,213	International Wedding Awards Spamming Just clearing my Junk mail folder for the last month and found that I have 182 out of a total of 229 junk mails from internationalweddingawards.com This includes up to 9 identical emails from 3 different people on several of the same days, inspite of me trying to unsubscribe. The company, apparently based in Milan Italy, seems to be trying to persuade wedding companies to submit client reviews from which they say they select winners in various regions for wedding industry awards. There seems to be a requirement to pay to join and a further requirement to pay for tickets to an awards night. The awards appear to be very random if they actually exist. I was wondering whether any other wedding industry folks have had spamming from these people. Roger

May 6th, 2020, 08:50 AM	#2
Pete Cofrancesco Inner Circle Join Date: May 2004 Location: USA Posts: 3,005	Re: International Wedding Awards Spamming Gmail does a pretty good job moving these to either spam or promotional folder. Happily I haven’t received these but in general even legit companies that you can unsubscribe that I wouldn’t mind receiving legit sales send too many emails and end up removing. As tempting sales and “deals” are I try to stick to buying only what I need when I need it. It can feel a bit suffocating the new advertising methods like these. Social influencers, reviews, awards, etc the line between advertisers and legit stuff is increasingly blurred. Last edited by Pete Cofrancesco; May 6th, 2020 at 12:13 PM.

May 6th, 2020, 11:29 AM	#3
David Barnett Major Player Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Philly, PA Posts: 951	Re: International Wedding Awards Spamming Yeah, sometimes I marvel at the tenacity & pounding of the lists some marketers take. Probably a full time position or even small staff on it, plus copywriter. Hate constantly taking myself off (some seem to reappear), but some 'business' one's I tend to stay on. That sounds like spam tho, so yeah those I do.

May 11th, 2020, 06:44 AM	#4
Danny O'Neill Major Player Join Date: May 2008 Location: Northampton, UK Posts: 915	Re: International Wedding Awards Spamming Ive been getting them from some new directory which have added me for free but then started telling me that my listing was expiring and I had to pay. Then sent us an email saying "Sorry, didn't mean to tell you that you had to pay" but still keep emailing us about how I can upgrade my account. Happens all the time. Someone thinks the world needs ANOTHER wedding directory. __________________ mintyslippers.com

May 12th, 2020, 05:45 AM	#5
Andrew Smith Equal Opportunity Offender Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Brisbane, Australia Posts: 3,066	Re: International Wedding Awards Spamming I still get spam (though not from there) but there is something you can do to limit it if you have control of the hosting account for your web site. On my Studio Solutions web site (which I should get around to doing properly one day) I have a "foundthewebsite@" typpe email address which people can click through to make initial email contact. Ditto for software bots that collect email addresses from the face of a web site. The address is made 'real' by the use of a forwarder on the web server, and gets routed to my real email address' mailbox. The moment I reply to the inquiry, the human contacting me then has my real email address. Inevitably the site contact email address gets added to mailing lists, so I add an incrementing number to the address and update things behind the scenes to reflect this. Currently I'm up to #8. When I change the number it's actually a separate email address and all those spam emails that target a previous contact address simply go nowhere. Been doing this for years and it's very effective. (Hey, anyone want to ask me how to deal with those mailing lists that already* have your email address?)* Andrew

June 1st, 2020, 09:37 AM	#6
Jim Arco New Boot Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: st Louis, mo Posts: 12	Re: International Wedding Awards Spamming Apparently, most folks have a sincere belief that, "If I send you ENOUGH emails, you'll eventually buy one of my overpriced products." This is encouraged by the almost-zero cost of sending emails and the near-impossibility of actually stopping their sending. Corporate email administrators will tell you that over 90% of the emails coming into most companies is unsolicited spam, much of it with trojans, viruses, or scam offers. A few years back, I bought many video products (after effects templates) from a well-know company in Florida. Good products, OK price, etc. Then I began receiving email encouraging me to buy MORE of their products... sometimes three or more emails per day with exactly the same message. After a number of attempts to un-subscribe, I finally contacted the company president by phone. "Feel free to send me a monthly, or even weekly, summary of your 'great deals, but numerous emails per day will not persuade me." Nice guy, very personable, and he listened to my complaint. Finally agreed to take me off their mailing list, but wasn't interested in sending a weekly or monthly summary. Within a few days, I finally stopped receiving emails from them.