Telemarketing is selling products or services by calling people on the phone. A telemarketer is someone whose job involves making these sales calls, often working from a list of phone numbers and following a script about what to say.

You've probably experienced telemarketing if your family has ever received a phone call from someone trying to sell you magazine subscriptions, a new internet service, or asking for donations to a charity. The caller doesn't know you personally: they're contacting hundreds or thousands of people, hoping some will be interested in what they're offering.

Telemarketing became popular in the 1970s and 1980s when long-distance phone calls became affordable for businesses. Companies realized they could reach customers across the entire country without traveling or mailing catalogs. At its peak, millions of Americans worked as telemarketers.

Many people find telemarketing calls annoying, especially during dinner or family time, which led to the creation of “Do Not Call” lists where families can register their phone numbers to receive fewer sales calls. Today, telemarketing is less common than it once was, partly because of these regulations and partly because companies now use email and social media to reach customers.