By J.K. WALL
The Indianapolis Star

When Congress decided to crack down on spam e-mail last year, business for two Indianapolis e-mail marketing firms shot up.

The reason: Legitimate companies wanted to find legal ways to send e-mail solicitations that aren't considered spam.

And ExactTarget and Neighborhood Email are experts at constructing and communicating with lists of e-mail users who want to receive electronic ads.

Since Jan. 1, when the anti-spam law took effect, sales at ExactTarget have doubled. At Neighborhood Email, sales rose 133 percent in its first quarter.

"It really kind of exploded over the fourth quarter and hasn't let up since," said Scott Dorsey, president of ExactTarget.

The new federal law requires each commercial e-mail to include "opt-out" instructions, a legitimate return e-mail address and physical postal address, a clear indication that it's a solicitation, and the words "sexually explicit" if it contains pornography.

Neighborhood Email and ExactTarget help companies comply with these rules. ExactTarget's software makes sure those who unsubscribe are removed from e-mail lists promptly. Both companies forbid the harvesting of e-mail addresses from Web sites and Internet chat rooms.

"You can reach a lot more people for the buck electronically than you can with postal," said Duane Schau, vice president and chief information officer at the Indiana University Alumni Association.

The university hired ExactTarget to track and analyze all e-mail marketing messages from IU's schools. Schau said he wants to avoid any spam-induced ire from IU alumni.