Last month I asked concerning phishing:

…have you taken [phishing] into account in your online marketing? Are you still asking people to click on a link in an email? Does phishing enter into your plans at all?

We’ve been having this discussion in our office about email etiquette with the purpose of getting them to click through to your website. We’ve been talking about it because of the new problem of phishing. We have identified a few principles that seem to make sense. What do you think?

1. Email should go out over a known ministry email address domain in the FROM line. Recipients should have confidence by looking at the FROM address and feeling confident it is from an organization they know. Further, it should probably be from a name in your ministry that they would recognize.
2. Email should direct the recipient to a known website URL, preferably the homepage. Subdomains might be okay, but URLs should be as short and as simple as possible since users will be typing it into the web browser.
3. Email should include the website URL viewable in the email message, not a hyperlinked sentence phrase. For example, you should say “To sign up for our eNewsletter, please visit http://www.orangejack.com/updates/receive.htm.” instead of “Sign up for our eNewsletter here.” The reason for displaying the full URL is that many are being taught to NOT click on a hyperlink in an email, but instead to type it into their web browser so they are not tricked into visiting a phishing site.
4. The homepage of your site should clearly display the path for visitors to follow to accomplish the task you emailed them. Many people are being taught by CitiBank, Visa, PayPal, etc. (the major targets of phishing attacks), “When you get an email from us, DO NOT click on any links. Go to our main website and follow the link there to manage your account, or update the info we are requesting.”

So what do you think? Are these principles overkill or good practice? Perhaps the best use of them is when donations or other financial situations are involved, but they make good marketing practices regardless.