Can-Spam and Emailing Your Growing List
The other day, I was talking about CAN-SPAM and I realized that there are many myths associated with spam. So, I thought I would elaborate because only what’s true matters.
Everyone’s talking about spam. It’s a misused word really, because not many people understand the actual laws and regulations behind spam.
But, it’s like calling soda “Coke” or referring to the refrigerator as a “Frigidaire.” Spam has become the term used to apply to all acts of indiscretion that some online entrepreneurs use to promote their businesses. I actually agree that some of these strategies should be referred to as Spam because they are annoying.
- Placing meaningless comments on blogs just to get attention to your own.
- Starting threads on forums that have no value other than to promote your own business.
- Sending hundreds of emails a day…to the same person!
I don’t do any of these because I don’t subscribe to any of the practices marketers refer to as “black hat.” Spam is definitely a black hat strategy, but not all email messages are SPAM.
So, let’s talk about Spam and how to avoid it by the letter of the law…
The Federal Trade Commission does not clearly define what Spam is, leaving the door open for greater clarification as the law progresses through the years. For commercial emailers, staying on top of the presently vague but gradually sharpening “definition” will help you keep from violating any laws. Where most people get confused is how the FTC defines commercial email, not spam. Commercial email is defined as electronic messages whose “primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service.” The FTC does not say this is illegal.
Sending out commercial emails is just like sending flyers through snail mail. Now, who is going to charge Big Lots with a crime because they are getting way too many flyers in their mailbox? That’s just it. No one can. It’s not any more unreasonable than charging someone with a crime for sending out an email.
So, provisions are in place that commercial emailers must use so that their promotional emails aren’t considered Spam. They are easy to follow, and if you are a legitimate online business owner you won’t have any problem following them.
First of all, email that “facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer in an existing business relationship” is not considered Spam. In other words, if you email me then I can email you. If you have bought from me, then I can update you on changes to my business. If you have visited my site, you have established a relationship with me and if I gather your information then I can email you. This just scratches the surface.
**By the way, I don’t have the capabilities to collect visitor information. But, some websites do.**
Anyway, let’s move on from that obvious provision. The first thing you have to make sure is that you are not deceptive in your header information. From, To, and routing information like originating domain name and email address have to be accurate. But like I said, if you are legitimate you have no need to manipulate these details in your emails.
The subject line cannot be deceptive. Subject: “You have won a million dollars,” when it’s not true is considered Spam. Its purpose is just to get the recipient to open it up and mislead the reader to think the email is something that it isn’t. And once more, why would you do that? If you don’t think your email is important enough for your recipients to open it, then you shouldn’t send it. And if you can’t find a way to make your subject dynamic yet accurate, it’s probably time you think about outsourcing your work to freelancers. Elance or GetAFreelancer.
You must add a physical address to the email. It looks more professional anyway.
Finally, you have to give recipients a way to opt-out of receiving any future emails from you. The law gives you 10 business days to remove a recipient from your email list once they send you a request. Any automated mechanism you use that handles removals for you must be able to process requests for at least 30 days after you sent the email.
Now, that’s all there is to it. People who place forms on their sites normally have double opt-in confirmations that make potential recipients click a link from the first email they receive just to confirm that they actually did intend to receive emails from you. Well, that’s great! Not necessary though.
If you have Aweber, it handles those emails for you. You can set them up, but you can’t set the system to function without them. Aweber won’t allow it, which is a good thing. But, again not necessary.
So, Aweber is about the safest mail list handler I can recommend. At $19 a month, it’s a rather inexpensive expense to add to your budget.
While Aweber makes it all so much easier for you, there is a free version to list building and keeping in contact with your customers…Freeautobot. I always promise a free option!
