Yeah, I dunno

Funny: it has never bothered me all that much when people (i.e., bands) send me emails telling me about a show in a city I am way too many miles away from to actually attend.

First, I am very well acquainted with the "delete" key and have no qualms about using it when necessary. And second, if I like an artist well enough to have actually opted into their mailing list, then I am genuinely interested to know that they are performing, whether or not I can, in fact, attend. (I also appreciate the opportunity to peek at other people's PR language.)

Still and all, this (which defines the above-referenced gig announcement situation as a faux pas) is a pretty excellent list of band email strategies, etiquette, etc.

Wow, I suppose I need to really get on this one:

Always talk to them [your email recipients] without swearing. It may be part of your 'persona' as a band, but some people don't like that language. The Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Yahoo mail, hotmail, AOL, etc don't like it either, and your message will go directly to the junk box. You wouldn't talk to your grandma that way, would you?

To this last question I can only respond: you don't know my grandma very well, do you? But the point is well-taken, as are all of the others it comes with. (Really, don't be dissuaded by my sarcasm -- the article is a good read for those of you interested in the business part of the music business.)