Keeping Email
Legitimate: Complying with CAN-SPAM
On January 1, the nation's first federal legislation regulating
spam, The Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003
(CAN-SPAM Act) took effect. CAN-SPAM is intended to do just
what it sounds like: curb the offensive, misleading, and costly
bulk email that has become a menace to inboxes everywhere.
The act makes sending spam a criminal activity, establishes
new rules for email marketing, and gives consumers the right
to ask emailers to stop contacting them via email.
If
you are not sure what effect the CAN-SPAM legislation should
have on your small business, you are not alone. But you can
be sure that CAN-SPAM does apply to your business–it
applies to every business–and it is important that you
understand and follow CAN-SPAM’s guidelines to keep
business emails legitimate.
Email is important in small business
Results of a recent survey conducted by Interland, a Web hosting
provider for small businesses, show that email plays an essential
role in small business communications. Among the findings
of small businesses surveyed:
85
percent communicate with existing customers via email
80
percent communicate with their partners and business
associates via email
67
percent communicate with potential buyers via email
Even
though you rely on email as an inexpensive and effective means
to reach out to a large audience, you can continue to do so
as long as you adhere to the CAN-SPAM rules.
What email must comply with CAN-SPAM?
CAN-SPAM applies to what it terms “commercial e-mail.”
This includes emails that are primarily intended to advertise
or promote products or services. Anyone who sends such email
is subject to these rules–including those who initiate
or procure the sending the email and those who retransmit
email. In other words, your business is not only responsible
for any commercial emails you send out on your own, but you
are also responsible for any emails sent on your business’
behalf by a third party you may have hired.
What email communications is not subject to CAN-SPAM guidelines?
The CAN-SPAM Act does not apply to “transactional or
relational messages,” which are email messages that
are sent to facilitate, complete, or confirm a transaction,
or provide warranty or safety information for a product or
service used or purchased by the recipient.
If
you send any email that falls into the commercial email category,
then you need to make sure your email messages are in compliance
with the following guidelines:
The header information must be correct and straightforward
- Every email’s “To” and "From"
field and routing information–including the originating
domain name and email address–must be accurate and identify
the person who initiated the email. In your case, your business
name must be clearly prominent in the email.
The
subject line must be accurate - The subject line
cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject
matter of the message. Being straightforward with your subject
lines is good marketing practice too!
A clear opt-out function must be provided - A return
email address, or other Internet-based response mechanism
must be offered so a recipient can select to not receive future
email messages to that email address. If an opt-out request
is received, it must be honored within 10 business days.
Unsolicited
email should be labeled as an advertisement - If
you do not have "affirmative consent, " meaning
the recipient has not actively chosen or signed up to receive
email from you, then the message should state in a clear and
conspicuous manner that it is an advertisement or solicitation.
Messages
must include your business’ full postal address.
Is CAN-SPAM effective?
When CAN-SPAM took effect, its stiff penalties were jarring
enough for most legitimate businesses to take notice. Potential
jail sentences of up to a year (repeat offenders could face
up to five years) in prison and fines of up to $1 million
for non-compliance are worth avoiding! However, almost a year
after its passage into law, few arrests have been made for
non-compliance, and the only conviction for spamming was unrelated
to CAN-SPAM. Howard Carmack, known as the “Buffalo Spammer”
was convicted in May under New York state identity theft laws.
While
legitimate businesses are being careful to comply, it’s
the mega spammers, who send mass messages touting things like
cheap prescription drugs, low interest rates, get rich quick
schemes, and pornography, that continue to ignore the CAN-SPAM
law. In fact, the law will probably continue to be disregarded
by mass-spammers until the jail terms or monetary penalties
become enforced.
FTC trying to build effectiveness
The Federal Trade Commission recognizes that the CAN-SPAM
Act is still a work in progress, and has been actively soliciting
comments and seeking new ways to improve its effectiveness
since it was passed. The FTC is expected to usher in 2005
with more clarification on the more vague areas on the CAN-SPAM
law, such as the opt-out provisions and definitions of commercial
email.
In
addition to providing more clarification on the law, the FTC
is also considering:
A bounty program.
This would offer a bounty to consumers that supply information
leading to a spammer’s conviction. Bounty hunters could
stand to receive up to $2 million (or no less than 20% of
the total civil penalty collected).
Authentication system.
Talk of establishing a National Do-Not-Email Registry,
similar in nature to the Do-Not-Call Registry, was halted
earlier this year when the FTC decided such a list would be
too unwieldy to manage and enforce, and would not be effective
unless there is a “new system to verify the origins
of email” in place. So, to jumpstart such an email authentication
system, the FTC will hold a summit this fall that will bring
industry leaders–from Internet service to email providers,
software companies to email marketers–together to create
a standard for email authentication.
In
the meantime…
The act is not designed to keep legitimate businesses from
enjoying the convenience of using email to keep in touch with
customers. CAN-SPAM may change the format and information
in your messages a bit, but it shouldn’t really have
an impact on the effectiveness you have experienced in using
email as a communication tool. Regardless of CAN-SPAM’s
effectiveness in curbing spam and its vague areas, you should
try your best to follow its guidelines in every piece of email
communications you send to a customer. In actuality, adhering
to CAN-SPAM and being very clear and upfront with your privacy
policy and opt-out procedure will go a long ways to gain the
trust of your customers and nurture a better relationship.
Chances are, if you play by the rules, your customers will
see the difference and be more receptive to your communications.
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