You know the drill. The vendor rep comes in and shows you how you can eblast all your subscribers with their wonderful deal. It sounds great....but please, wait!
Eblasts are terribly costly. Unless you have a tightly segmented group that you KNOW want that promo message, don't do it. You ask, why not?
You'll do permanent damage to your list. You may not see so many unsubscribes, but you WILL start seeing a consistent drop in open rates. Look at your data. it's in there.
You're Gonna Do It Anyway
If you feel you MUST do your vendor's bidding, then please please please provide some alternative topics in the same email. Sending out to 8,000 hard won subscribers only to discover 32 people cared about that promotion should send chills down your spine.
Which takes us back to the idea of segmenting. It takes time to get those segments nailed down - but eventually you'll have enough data on your subscribers' interests to send them relevant information.
(We've watched practices lose 30% of their subscriber activity as a result of vendor eblasts!)