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Educational use only – cannot be forwarded, copied, e-mailed,
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from Sorrell Associates.
What You Need To Know About
The New CAN-SPAM Law
I've had several clients and subscribers ask me about the new
CAN-SPAM act that went into effect at the beginning
of 2004, and how it affects them. So I thought I'd give you a link to read the
law yourself.
http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877.html.
CAN-SPAM is an acronym for "The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited
Pornography and Marketing Act" and the new legislation does pack a punch.
Serious offenders can now be fined up to $2 million or sent to jail for up to
five years!
Make sure you know before you the law before you start sending your messages.
FYI - The act does not make sending spam illegal. It regulates the way that
spam may be sent. Spam is unsolicited commercial email. Note that ezine
publishers, or anyone else with a list, whose list was created by each person
specifically requesting to be on that list, is not sending unsolicited email.
If you were to send business email that wasn't requested, to comply with
the act, you would need to:
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Put an accurate name and email
address in the "from" line of your e-mail message.
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Make sure your subject line
accurately represents the content of your email message.
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Include your correct postal address
in the email message.
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Make sure there's an easy way to
unsubscribe from your list and that it occurs within 10 days of the request.
If you use a system to send your emails, such as a list manager, autoresponder,
or ezine publishing system, this link and the underlying unsubscribe
capability are probably built into the system for you.
-
If it's a commercial email that the
recipient truly didn't request - s/he isn't a subscriber, a customer, or a
client and hasn't specifically requested the email - you must indicate in the
subject line that the email message is an advertisement.
So, my opinion is that if you have a true opt-in list of people who have
requested to be on your list, you don't have much to worry about regarding the
CAN-SPAM act.
Some of you have had occasion to hear me say that you shouldn't add people to
your list just because you know them, have taken classes with them, have
exchanged emails with them, or have presented a teleclass or workshop to them.
You are much better off sending an email announcing your new ezine, for example,
and asking them to subscribe to it.
An even better idea is to only put people on your list that have confirmed
their subscription. Sometimes called double opt-in, this means that when someone
subscribes to your ezine or list, they receive an email asking them to either
reply or click through a link in the email message to confirm their
subscription. This ensures that the person at that email address is willing to
receive your emails. It also allows you (or your 3rd party list management
system) to hold onto those emails as proof of intent to join the list if there's
ever a question or complaint later.
Marketing using email is challenging these days, but there's no denying that
e-mail is still one of the most affordable, effective ways to convert interested
prospects into customers, and to develop valuable relationships with your
existing customer base. Even though most of us aren't sending what we would
define as unsolicited commercial email messages, it makes sense to do everything
we can to avoid problems. So, I recommend using double opt-in subscription and
following steps 1-5 above. Better safe than sorry!
Note: I am not providing legal advice. Consult your lawyer for full and
accurate understanding of how this law may affect you.
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