Don't Get Caught in Spammer Net

The first U.S. anti-spam law, the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act took effect on January 1, 2004. While it will not stop all spam, it does allow us to punish spammers with hefty fines. It prohibits:

• distributing unsolicited email messages with forged names or email addresses ("unsolicited" refers to those who have not specifically asked to be emailed or do not have a business relationship with the sender)
• hacking into email servers and using them to spam
• gathering email addresses from websites for spamming purposes

In addition, the CAN-SPAM Act requires:

• unsolicited email to be clearly labeled as an advertisement, if that's what it is
• the subject line of emails to be truthful and clearly reflect the content
• a working method to be removed from a mailing list (test yours to make sure it works)

It's the other guys who are spammers, not me

Even if you are not violating the CAN-SPAM law, you could still get in plenty of trouble. Look at your agreement with your email provider (either your internet service provider or your hosting company). You may be prohibited from sending unsolicited commercial email. If caught, you could find your email or website shut down without warning.

Many businesses think it's OK to put someone on their email list if they were given a business card or belong to the same organization. It's not. If a person hasn't asked to be on your list, ask them in an individual email if you can put them there.

But my list is opt-in

When someone asks to receive your mailings, they are considered to be "opting-in" to your email list. Some businesses try to get people to opt-in through tricks, such as pre-checking the "Add me to your mailing list" box and placing it in small print on the bottom of a long order page. These kind of techniques just make people mad. Avoid looking like a spammer by having visitors check the box if they want to be on your list and reassuring them that their address will not be sold or given to anyone else.

Even if someone has opted-in, they could forget and report you as a spammer. Being reported can lead to getting blacklisted from sending email to anyone on the reporter's ISP. So, for example, if you get blacklisted from AOL, all email (not just mass-mailings) that you send to anyone on AOL will not go through. For this reason, you might want to remind people that they are receiving your email because they opted in and make it clear and easy to opt out. Unfortunately, spammers have adopted these tactics to give the appearance of legitimacy, and as a result, many people will not click opt-out links. So your best line of defense is 1) to provide valuable content that's 2) not packed with marketing hype 3) to a list of people who you can prove have asked to receive it.

Beware purchasing lists of email addresses that claim to be opt-in. Many are frauds and even legitimate ones can cause you to be reported as a spammer by a person who does not recognize your organization's name.

The net will continue to tighten

The new law authorizes the FTC to create a "do-not-spam" list, similar to the "do-not-call" list that is wildly popular with the public. While technical difficulties may prevent this from happening right away, it is an indicator that the days of sending unsolicited email as a legitimate marketing technique are numbered.

Every organization engaged in email marketing should examine their policies against the current law to ensure compliance and be prepared for even stricter laws to come. The average American is now receiving well over 100 pieces of spam per week and is increasingly irritated by them. Don't risk a legal investigation, fine, or your businesses goodwill by being labeled a spammer.