We all have inboxes full of spam mail, so why should we worry about compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 for our businesses? In this article, I’ll give you 2 reasons why it’s important for your business to comply with the Can Spam Act and how you can streamline your email sending while ensuring you keep all your email recipients happy!
Before I get into the details, let’s quickly cover what the CAN-SPAM Act says1. The Act, which stands for Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act, says, essentially, that for commercial messages (not transactional messages, keep reading to understand the difference), you must be honest about who is sending the message, use accurate subject lines and make it clear in the message that it is an advertisement of some sort, tell recipients where you’re located with an address, give users a way to opt-out, and respect their opt-outs! You also must make sure that any 3rd party company sending email on your behalf is also following these laws. It seems simple enough, right?
Transactional messages are messages that you send someone as part of a purchase or request they have made. For example, when someone buys something from your website, you may need to send them their receipt or shipping information. This information is part of their transaction, and you would still send it to a user who has unsubscribed from your marketing list. Transactional messages are not covered the same by the CAN-SPAM Act, unless they are mixed with a commercial message. You can find examples on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Website1.
1 – Fines and Jail Time
According to the FTC1, the penalties for violating the CAN-SPAM Act can add up quickly, potentially totaling up to $51,744 per each separate email. That is a lot of risk for any business, let alone a business just getting started. In addition to the potential monetary fines, there are aggravated violations that carry the potential for criminal charges and imprisonment. So, even if you could pay the fines, you might not be available to continue operating your business.
These aggravating violations generally include impersonating someone else to send spam or hiding the origin of the messages.
2 – Loss of Trust
If you don’t remove users from your list when they request it, they probably won’t ask a 2nd time! Instead, they will likely do 2 things – not trust you to do something they’ve asked you to do and click on “mark as spam” in their email. The first of these is sort of intangible, and it makes it hard to track, and even harder to earn their trust back, especially if it’s someone you haven’t already done business with. The second makes it a problem when you’re sending email, because once your domain has been marked for sending too much spam, your emails are more likely to go straight to recipient’s spam folders, where they might never see them.
If you think your emails are not getting delivered, check out a tool called MX Toolbox2 and see if you can locate the problem. (We can help with this!)
Simplify Your Emails
If you’re still sending one-off emails from your regular email app, then you’re making it hard on yourself. You either don’t have a way to track unsubscribes or you’re doing it manually in a spreadsheet. This can lead to problems adhering to the CAN SPAM Act. It can also make it harder to track your progress, as you might be missing data such as open and click-through-rate, information vital to understanding how your email campaigns are doing.
There are lots of apps you can use for your business that will simplify your email sending. There are literally too many to try to name them all, and depending on your setup, you might already be using one of them or using a CRM that has one integrated. If so, you’re on the right track. If not, it’s time to choose one and get it set-up.
You want to make sure that it is set-up properly, sending email with a verified3, custom domain name. Make sure to customize your templates to match your branding, and then you’re ready to start sending emails (but not too many!) to your list. (We can help with this!)
Conclusion
Hopefully you’re already following all the requirements of the CAN SPAM Act, but if you weren’t sure why you should or you didn’t always follow them, maybe now you have a better understanding of why it’s important and how it gives you credibility with your email recipients.
If you have specific questions about setting up your email marketing, we’d love to help! You can find out more about our Technology Training here to get started.
Sources
- CAN-SPAM Act: A compliance guide for business. (2024, January 17). Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business
- Domain Health Check – Online Domain tools – Blacklist, email, website, DNS – MxToolBox. (n.d.). MxToolbox. https://mxtoolbox.com/emailhealth
- Henry, C. (2022, September 29). How does DMARC Work? INSPIREsmall.biz. https://www.inspiresmall.biz/how-does-dmarc-work/
- biz. (2022, August 23). Business Technology coaching services – INSPIREsmall.biz. https://www.inspiresmall.biz/services/technology/
- CAN-SPAM rule. (2020, March 6). Federal Trade Commission. https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/rules/can-spam-rule
- What is the CAN-SPAM Act? (n.d.). LII / Legal Information Institute. https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/inbox/what_is_can-spam
