AOL-Goodmail Deal Called Cynical Money Grab

AOL’s announcement that it would begin implementing Goodmail’s CertifiedEmail program and phasing out its enhanced whitelist is being denounced by at least one top industry executive as a cynical attempt to get more money out of non-spamming marketers.

Currently, AOL blocks graphics and links on most bulk e-mail unless the sender is on AOL’s whitelist. Beginning this week, however, AOL said it would allow senders who have gone through an accreditation process with Goodmail to display images and hyperlinks by default for a fraction of a cent per message.

AOL’s whitelist program is scheduled to be eliminated by the end of June.

However, the move will do nothing to help fight spam while essentially adding a delivery tax to e-mail sent by companies that already implement industry best practices, said Matt Blumberg, chief executive of deliverability consultancy Return Path.

“It does seem like a cynical attempt to get money out of reputable companies that have worked hard to earn the permission of their consumers to send them mail,” said Blumberg. “Now they’re being told ‘if you don’t pay, that mail might or might not get there; it might or might not work when it does and it’s not going to have a little mark next to it that says it’s AOL certified.”

AOL said it will also add a “trust” symbol that will appear in the display window so recipients know that the message has been verified as from a sender with a good reputation.

“Our focus and goal here is to provide a safer and more secure environment for our consumers and restore some trust in the e-mail box,” Charles Stiles, AOL’s postmaster was quoted as saying in a report announcing the news.

However, Blumberg said, spammers won’t pay for the service. As a result, AOL will be charging marketers who aren’t the problem.

Blumberg added that reputable marketers already pay a fraction of a cent per e-mail to have their messages delivered, so AOL’s move will drastically raise delivery costs to AOL addresses.

AOL and Goodmail weren’t immediately reachable for comment.