As an email marketer, it’s necessary to understand all aspects of the CAN-SPAM laws. It’s easy to coast by only understanding the basics, but there are lesser-known CAN-SPAM laws to be aware of if you want to remain complaint and avoid fines. No one wants to lose revenue due to easily avoidable mistakes, so take the time to make sure all your emails follow the laws. If you want to continue running successful email campaigns, check out what you can do to be extra safe.
Subject lines must reflect content in email message
Most marketers are aware that they cannot use deceptive subject lines, but you also need to make sure your subject lines match the content inside your email message. You need to let your recipients know what your email is about and your actual email must reflect that information. Exciting subject lines that get your recipients to immediately open your emails might sound enticing, but if your content doesn’t match, you could find yourself in trouble.
Disclose if your message in an advertisement
If the intent of your message is to sell something, you must identify somewhere in your email that the message is an advertisement. This can be done in a number of ways—fine print at the bottom, caption above or below your images, in the wording of your content, etc. You will be violating CAN-SPAM laws if you don’t find a way to let your recipients know that you’re attempting to sell them something.
Include a valid postal address in the body of the email
This might not seem important, but including a valid postal address in the body of your email is completely necessary if you want to comply with CAN-SPAM laws. You must let recipients know who you are and where your business is located. This can either be a street address or a PO Box. These postal addresses are usually placed at the bottom of the email where the unsubscribe button is located.
Honor opt-out requests within 10 business days
Even if you’re aware of the importance of honoring opt-out requests, you might not know there’s a time limit. Opt-out requests must be honored within 10 business days, so try to do it as quickly as possible to avoid fines. It is strongly recommended that you honor this requests immediately in order to avoid complaints.
If you want to read up on CAN-SPAM laws in order to ensure that you’re taking all the necessary steps to remain complaint, check out the Bureau of Consumer Protection’s Can Spam Act: A Compliance Guide for Business. Do you know of any other lesser-known laws email marketers should be aware of? Share with us in the comments!