Every
commercial message you
send must contain an
unsubscribe (opt-out)
link. This must work
for at least 30 days
after the date of the
mailing. You must act
on an unsubscribe request
within 10 business days
of receiving it. This
includes making sure
any affiliate removes
the name as well.
.
Anyone
who asks to be removed
from your list must be
added to a suppression
file, so that they don’t
receive future mailings
from you, regardless
of whether you own the
list or not. There are
a number of implications
to this requirement,
including safe suppression
list sharing and dealing
with multiple lists.
.
When
you write the owner,
be sure to compliment
something specific about
their site so they know
you’ve actually
looked at it. You do
not want them to think
your email is spam.
.
When
you ask for a return
link, try and give them
a reason why it will
benefit their customers.
Unsubscribe
Procedures
.
A
subscriber should
have to take no more
than two steps to
exit your list, and
one is better
.
Find
ways to back up and
monitor your unsubscribe
process so you can
stay on top of errors
and potential misdirections
.
Let
folks know the address
under which they subscribed
to you (you can include
this as a standard
part of each email)
Additional
Items for Email
.
You
must have valid (and
working) return and reply-to
addresses. This means
that any mail that bounces
must be able to come
back to you. And people
must be able to reply
to your emails.
.
You
must include your business’s
postal address. Even if
a third party mails on
your behalf, your snail
mail address must be in
the body of the email.
You can’t forge email headers.
.
You
can’t send bulk messages
to ill-gotten addresses
(e.g., web-crawling).
.
Unless
your email is based on
opt-in consent, the message
must be labeled as an advertisement.
So, you can forego the
ADV or Advertisement label
only if every single person
on your list has agreed
to receive your mails (and
you can document this).
.
Email
that contains sexually-oriented
material must include a
warning label.
.
Yahoo
Unsolicited
Mail (You can send UCE
if you include)
You
can get a year in jail
for sending commercial
email in which the header
information is misleading
or inaccurate.
.
You
can get up to five years
in jail for any of these
common spamming practices:
.
Hacking
into another computer
to send spam
.
Using
open relays to send intentionally
deceptive spam
.
Using
false information to
register five or more
email accounts that you
subsequently use to send
bulk spam
.
There’s
a potential $250 fine
per individual for every
address you make a mistake
on.
What
Can You Do?
.
Double
Opt-in.
.
If
you don’t know
where you got the address,
don’t send any
commercial email to it
unless you have complied
with all CAN-SPAM requirements.
.
Write
truthful, accurate subject
lines.
.
Check
every single one of your
links, including your
unsubscribe feature,
your return address,
your reply address. These
must all be in tip-top
working order!
