How can I run a Legal EMail Marketing promotion Campaign without triggering spam laws, resulting in fines?

January 04, 2008

Posted by LifesaPretzel

( 0 ratings )

Operate a legitimate, ethical business. The new CAN-SPAM Act, which was signed by President George W. Bush on December 16, is a federal initiative designed to regulate the most harmful and annoying practices of spammers. Here's a brief list of activities that are now outlawed and/or regulated under CAN-SPAM:

* Falsifying headers (the part of an e-mail message that specifies where it came from).
* Using deceptive subject lines to trick people into opening messages.
* "Hijacking" other peoples' e-mail accounts or computers to send spam.
* Creating e-mail or IP addresses specifically to send spam.
* Sending unsolicited e-mail with sexual content.
* Sending e-mail to people who have requested to be removed from your list.

Five pointers for planning successful e-mail promotions that won't get you accused of sending spam:

* Send e-mail to people who have consented to receive it from you. For example, your customers and e-newsletter subscribers fit this description. The owners of e-mail addresses you've purchased on a CD for $40 do not.

* If you must buy or rent lists, find out how the addresses were collected. If the people on the list haven't agreed to receive e-mail promotions, you're the one who could end up in hot water.

* Use a subject line that accurately reflects the content of your e-mail.

* Include a real return address and a working "unsubscribe" link in every mail you send. If you have a large list, you'll need software or an ASP to manage opt-ins and "unsubscribe" requests.

* If you're sending commercial e-mail (such as promotions), include your company's physical mailing address in the body of the e-mail. And yes, this requirement applies to newsletters as well, if their primary purpose is to advertise or promote a product or service.

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