FAQ: How do I comply with CAN-SPAM regulations? | Predictive Response

FAQ: How do I comply with CAN-SPAM regulations?

What is CAN-SPAM?

The CAN-SPAM Act, is a law that sets the rules for commercial email, establishes requirements for commercial messages, gives recipients the right to have you stop emailing them, and spells out tough penalties for violations.

Despite its name, the CAN-SPAM Act doesn’t apply just to bulk email. It covers all commercial messages, which the law defines as “any electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is the commercial advertisement or promotion of a commercial product or service,” including email that promotes content on commercial websites. The law makes no exception for business-to-business email. That means all email – for example, a message to former customers announcing a new product line – must comply with the law.

Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $16,000, so non-compliance can be costly. But following the law isn’t complicated.

What does CAN-SPAM require in an email?

Here’s a rundown of CAN-SPAM’s main requirements:

check Don’t use false or misleading header information. Your “From,” “To,” “Reply-To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person or business who initiated the message.
check  Don’t use deceptive subject lines. The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message.
check  Identify the message as an ad when applicable. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.
check  Tell recipients where you’re located. Your message must include your valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you’ve registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you’ve registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.
check  Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. You can use one of the following options:

  1. Use the Predictive generic unsubscribe link, or
  2. Create your own unsubscribe page that provides a global optout or your own unsubscribe that provides a global optout and a campaign optout choices for the recipient. Refer to the module in our online user guide titled “B. Customizing Your Opt Out Pages” for more information on how to create your own page, or
  3. Use our Subscription Management feature to create a subscription page with a link that allows your members to subscribe/unsubscribe from a campaign or globally optout of all communications from your organization.

check Honor opt-out requests promptly. If the member clicks the link that provides a global optout option, the Email Opt Out check box on their lead or contact record will be checked. If they contact you by other means, you must honor the opt-out request within 10 business days. This means, you should check the Email Opt Out box on the lead or contact record. When a member is marked as a global optout any other campaigns they are in will show an optout status and if they are added to any campaigns after the optout, those campaigns will also show an optout status and the member will not receive any emails.
 

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