Spam: How To Prevent Problems when Bulk Emailing

Spam laws are based around the fact that you need to be able to prove you have someone’s permission to email them.

HOW TO GET PERMISSION:

1. Add a section to your business’s Terms and Conditions paperwork that informs your customers that you’ll send out emails from time to time.

For Example: “By purchasing anything from this website/our business you may receive promotional emails from time to time from us. You can unsubscribe anytime.”

2. Add a tick box to your customer forms with something along the lines of “Would you like to go on our email list for promotions and advice? Y/N”

3. Add to your website a Sign Up to Our Newsletter box where people can voluntarily sign up to your email promotions.

YOUR EMAIL LOOK

There are a number of things that you should included in an email in order to keep them from being picked up as spam plus avoid any legal problems.

In your emails you need to have:

1. Your business name

2. Your business address (A Post Office Box won’t do, it must be a physical address)

3. An unsubscribe link

So far this is what the CAN-SPAM Act sets as a standard.

Spamming is illegal under United States law and you should check the law in your country.

However, if you don’t know the law in your country be aware that the United States are ahead of most countries in terms of internet regulation so whatever happens there usually rolls on to happen in other countries years later.

Please source your own legal council on these matters as I’m not a lawyer. I’m simply sharing my own experience and research with you.

AN EXAMPLE E-MAIL STRUCTURE:

“You are receiving this email because you have purchased a product from Exampleurl.com

If you think that you are receiving this information in error, please click on our opt out link at the bottom of this message.

If you have questions concerning this email or your purchase please contact us on (phone Number) or (email address)

If you no longer wish to receive communication from us Unsubscribe Here

Did you get forwarded this email and want to get on this List? Click here to subscribe (unsubscribe anytime)”

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As an interesting aside I found this article about how spammers get email addresses www.newcreations.net/webmaster/spam.html

Also, if you’re wondering if emailing works, here’s a great article http://www.corporate-eye.com/blog/2011/07/research-shows-lifecycle-email-campaigns-work/