Email Sending - Maintaining Compliance
Maintaining compliance with the US CAN-SPAM Act is important not only because they're good practices to follow, but also because non-compliance can result in hefty fines that are frankly easy to avoid. This article summarizes our interpretation of the the compliance requirements. It is not only recommended, but borderline mandatory that you read the article and form your own conclusions. It's also worth pointing out that we are not lawyers and there may be legal issues involved. So reach out to your own advisors. Some helpful resources:
- FTC summary of the act: https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
- The act itself: https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/statutes/controlling-assault-non-solicited-pornography-marketing-act-2003-can-spam-act
Why?
As email marketing became prolific, many bad actors entered the space, misrepresenting themselves and their products—effectively taking advantage of recipients. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) developed some very simple guidelines to protect consumers and, of course, attached fines to non-compliance. Although I'm unclear how the fines are calculated, the FTC self-proclaims that fines can be up to $53,088 per occurrence* . That means each email sent. I know that at times I sent out emails to hundreds of people at a time, so as for myself, I don't want to be on the wrong side of these requirements.
This amount may change. Please refer to the FTC source linked above for the most current information.
What is covered?
Covered by the act is effectively all marketing style email. What is not covered is what is defined as transactional email. To keep this simple, pretend you took your car into a mechanic. Your quote, status updates about your car, and maybe even a thank you email are all considered to be transactional. It's all about you engaging with them to service your car. You likely provided your email address for communication purposes, which implies consent for transactional emails. If, down the road, the mechanic shop wants to send you a promotional offer for an oil change, this is non-transactional and is considered an advertisement.
How do I stay out of trouble?
Here's a short summary of the steps you can take to maintain compliance:
- Integrity: Don't communicate false or misleading information.
- Sender Information: Your to & from address should be you, or a generic no-reply address at your domain. It must not be fake.
- Subject: Must accurately represent the content of the message.
- Advertisement Disclosure: Tell your customers that this is an advertisement. If your customer has "opted in" to marketing emails, this requirement is waived, but regardless, compliance is easy. Our emails have a note in the footer stating "This email is issued for marketing purposes and/or is an advertisement."
- Physical Address: Include your company name and a USPS address. We use our registered agent address for this.
- Opt-Out: Every email must include clear opt-out information, also commonly referred to as an unsubscribe option. Do note that if you are, for example, an auto shop, you don't want your unsubscribe process to eliminate the ability to have transactional communication.
Conclusion
That's it! Although there are nuances to the requirements, maintaining compliance is actually pretty easy. Say who you are, do what you say you do, and respect people's right to choose—basically, be a good human.
If you want to engage our services to help you develop compliant mailing systems, please schedule an appointment so we can discuss how we can support you.