Is it SPAM for a company to add me to its newsletter just because I sent them an email?

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From a legal perspective, there are two sides to the answer to this question:
a) If you are a business and a consumer has sent you an email requesting information relating to a particular product or service you offer, you cannot add them to your newsletter mailing lists as they have not provided you with permission to send them anything other than the information they requested.
b) If you are a business and another business has sent you an email requesting information relating to a particular product or service you offer, you can add them to your newsletter mailing list as you are not required to obtain permission from business customers.

Even though this is what the law states, many businesses will deem any email received, without granting permission to receive it, as spam. It is vitally important that whatever the method you are using to build your email marketing list, it is good practice to obtain permission from the subscriber, make it simple for them to opt-in, let them know what they are going to receive and offer them an incentive to subscribe.

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