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.
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