Don't use Mailchimp to promote these

Google Adwords sent out their interest-based advertising policy update today. It included that the content of the ad cannot be related to the following topics:

• Personal hardships related to relationships (example: bereavement products or services)
• Personal hardships related to abuse and trauma (examples: domestic abuse shelters or victim advocate services)
• User identity related to marginalised groups (examples: immigration services or legal services for refugees)
• User identity related to transgender identification (examples: information about gender transitioning or transgender discrimination lawyers)

This reminded me of a question I recently had from a person that was an affiliate marketer (i.e. the person promoted certain services and products in order to earn a commission). The person wanted to contact their social network using Mailchimp in order to promote the services that would earn him a commission.

In the Mailchimp Acceptable Use Policy it’s clear that Mailchimp can’t be used to promote certain activities and industries. Included are the following (my comments in italics):

• Emails offering to sell illegal goods or services
• Pornography/sexually explicit content
• Escort and dating services
• Pharmaceutical products (read the article about Paul Le Roux to know why these are prohibited by Mailchimp).
• Work from home, make money online, and lead generation opportunities
• Gambling services or products
• Multi-level marketing (e.g. Amway and Herbalife).
• Affiliate marketing

Mailchimp is effective in identifying accounts that breach their acceptable use policy (likely using Omnivore). Mailchimp suspends or closes accounts that are in breach.