In the U.S., the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements for those who send commercial email, spells out penalties for spammers and companies whose products are advertised in spam if they violate the law, and gives consumers the right to ask e-mailers to stop spamming them.
As a small business your e-mail marketing needs to conform to these rules or risk fines up to $11,000 per violation. Deceptive commercial email also is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising. Personally I know there are a lot more productive uses to my limited resources than paying fines.
To summarize your responsibilities under the law:
- It bans false or misleading header information.
- It prohibits deceptive subject lines.
- It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method.
- It requires that commercial email be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s valid physical postal address.
For opt-outs I’ve found that an automatic system to receive and maintain a suppression list that prevents you from sending to that person again works best (even if they sign up again).
Just follow these basic rules and you’ll do fine. In fact, knowing the rules is half the battle.
