I didn't know where to post this, so I thought maybe this would be an appropriate spot.

Since we all get more spam emails every day than we like, many from all kinds of exotic web addresses, how about just directing them into your junk mail file and setting your parameters for an autoresponse, sending an email back to all of these spammers with something along the lines of:

__________________________

Hello, thanks for your email and your interest in my website. You probably hadn't noticed, but we run a regular contest in which somebody may win up to $1000. All you have to do is visit the list of pages below and find the secret message. (Insert a list of pages on your site which have ads or affiliates) If you do, go to this page (list another page) and insert your email address and the secret message and if you're right you'll win.

Thanks again, and good luck

Yours truly, webmaster.

__________________________

OK, here's the explanation. Since these people have contacted you, sending a reply is not spam. Inviting them to engage in a contest in which (notice the wording) somebody MAY win up to $1000, is not lying. You actually can have a secret message on those pages, whatever it is, and you can have a winner if you like, but it's not necessary. Just send the spammers to your pages for increased traffic and maybe sales. It's organic and not spamming. In fact, it's anti-spamming.

On the winning page, where they should enter their email address and what they think the secret message is, that can go straight to a trash file or you could actually store and analyze the data. You also might want to put some special offer there and all the rules and fine print to make the whole thing legit.

I suggest changing the 10 or so pages you send people to every few days, so you don't get weird analytics, but, it should be good for traffic, at least.

Thoughts? Good idea? Bad? Why?

I think I might give it a try and see if I can monetize my incoming spam.

[edited by: fearlessrick at 11:54 pm (utc) on May 13, 2010]