In my last post I outlined the 7 rules to follow to be compliant with the CAN-SPAM act. This law was passed in 2003 as a way to help reduce spam. You may be as surprised, like I was, to learn that the FTC’s definition of spam is very small. According to the law: Is it OK to buy and sell email addresses? Yes. Is it OK to scrape email addresses from web sites and then send out mass mailings? Yes. Do people need to opt-in to receiving your emails? No. As long as you give people a chance to opt-out, as well as include basic contact information you have followed the law. Really? That’s the definition of spam? The reality is that whenever you send out emails to people that they don’t want to receive, you’re going to be viewed as a “spammer”. Few things degrade your brand image as quickly as annoying people with spam. You may want… Continue Reading »
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How to Comply with CAN-SPAM Anti-Spam Law: 7 Rules
If you’re wondering about what is considered “spam” according to the FTC, they’ve put together this video that outlines the 7 rules to follow to make sure that you are compliant with the CAN-SPAM law of 2003. 7 rules to follow to comply with the CAN-SPAM act Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information must be accurate. Don’t use deceptive subject lines. Identify the message as an ad. Your message must include your valid physical postal address. Tell recipients how to opt out. Honor opt-out requests promptly. You can’t contract away your legal responsibility to comply with the law. To view these rules in detail, or to download the brochure, check out: The CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business
Read More...Avoid Being Called a Spammer: 3 Categories of Spam Labels
Everyone hates spam in their email inbox. If you’re trying to run a successful email marketing campaign, you want to avoid being called a spammer. But… What is a spammer? How do you avoid being labelled a spammer? It’s helpful to realize there are 3 categories of spammers. 1. A Spammer in the Eyes of the Law The law is clear, you need permission to send email marketing messages to people. If you did not get their explicit consent to email them, you’re not following the law. That is why at Mail On The Mark we specifically ask you to let us know where and how you built your email list and confirm that again when uploading new lists. Therefore, the first way to be labelled a spammer is by doing things like buying a list of people’s email addresses, or scraping email addresses from web sites or even networking events and entering them into your email marketing database. These… Continue Reading »
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