Anti-Spam legislation in the United States
As a group constantly involved in marketing via technology, we try our best to stay on top of legal issues that affect our methods for doing business. A friend recently asked about legislation about email marketing. Here was my reply; I hope it helps in your marketing efforts:
The most stringent of regulations in the US result from the CAN-SPAM act, initiated in 2003, and updated several times since. This governs how data is acquired, message content and proper identification, and honor opt-out requests. More info at http://business.ftc.gov/documents/bus61-can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business.
A few states in the US also assert regulation. The Georgia Slam Spam Act, for instance, legislates types of emails coming to its residents are acceptable.
- Send a high volume of spam, as in more than 10,000 messages in a 24-hour period;
- Generate more than $1,000 in revenue from a single spam message or more than $50,000 from all spam transmitted to a single ISP; or
- Knowingly use a minor to assist in transmitting spam. The criminal penalty for a felony of this nature is a fine of up to $50,000, imprisonment for up to five years, or both. E-mails that are deceptive but do not meet the above criteria are punishable as a misdemeanor, with a penalty of up to $1,000, imprisonment for up to 12 months, or both. Enforcement of this law is the shared responsibility of Georgia’s Attorney General and local district attorneys and law enforcement units.
More on Georgia Slam Spam Act can be found at: http://www.georgia.gov/00/article/0,2086,5426814_5684686_39006130,00.html
Obviously, it’s important to comply with laws because fines can be costly.
That’s where using an Email Service Provider, such as OnlineOutbox can come in handy. In addition to ensuring compliance with our double opt-in methodology and our subscription management forms, our server technology maintains high levels of deliverability (via our multi-threading capabilities), while keeping risk to the marketer minimal (providing a buffer layer via our multi-tiered server structure). An Email Service Provider allows users to send large quantities of opt-in emails to subscribers, raising the efficacy of electronic marketing campaigns.
Happy Marketing…
5 practical tips for a newbie email marketer
Nowadays it’s very easy to take other people’s opinions as gospel truth. This is especially true when one is just starting out with an online business and we turn to just about any resources to ensure success at the onset.
The same goes for email marketing. With so many email marketing gurus, applications and tips available online, it is so easy to get lost and stray away from the essentials.
Here are 5 very helpful tips that every newbie email marketer must know about.
1) Know what exactly you are spending for. Before you decide to sign up with an email marketing web software, make sure that you have made your diligent research of the features, pricing, customer and technical support of at least five (5) different email marketing service softwares or providers. You might be surprised to know that a vendor that tops almost all review lists does not actually have autoresponders or its equivalent. What a waste it could have been if you’ve signed up for full subscription only to find out that the feature you are looking out for is actually not available for you.
2) Avoid spamming, at all costs. Stating the obvious, spamming does not work. It is not only illegal, but the act of sending emails to a large number of people who have not requested such emails will turn off current contacts or potential customers. You run the risk of having your business reputation ruined, or worse, facing a lawsuit in court.
3) Know What Is Single Opt-in, Double Opt-in, Opt-out. In single opt-in lists, anybody’s email address can be submitted by anyone to a list, and remains in such list until it is unsubscribed. In double opt-in, a user subscribes to an email list or newsletter, then confirms such subscription by responding to a confirmation message.
The significance lies on the fact that studies show that customers who have chosen to receive email feel like they are in control and would more likely answer positively to subsequent messages. While with double opt-ins, there is that high risk of losing a subscriber who would not confirm a subscription, it would at least give you a streamline list of subscribers who have answered affirmatively to your mailings, and who are guaranteed to become your repeat customers.
4) Keep design clean and simple. If you are creating a newsletter or an email in HTML, always remember that nothing can go wrong with having a clean and simple design. Templates are often available in most email marketing software products and these offer you the flexibility of modifying elements such as layout, graphic images, color and others.
5) Always keep your content fresh, interesting and updated. Keep in mind that the real challenge is not in getting them to sign up, but in having them remain in the list by their own choice. You can do the writing yourself, but if you have difficulty coming up with ideas you can search and get ideas from free content or articles. Keep your messages fun, interesting, and informative enough to keep your subscribers to your list.