All marketers could get excellent open rates using spam subject lines and email titles such as “URGENT: Your Mother`s Health News” – unless nefarious tactics like these violate the CAN-SPAM Act. High yields. Effective branding opportunities. Low investment costs. What`s not to love about email marketing? Syed Balkhi is the founder of WPBeginner, the largest free WordPress resource site. With over 10 years of experience, he is the industry`s leading WordPress expert. You can learn more about Syed and its portfolio of companies by following him on his social networks. The European Union`s General Data Protection Regulation is the anti-spam law that applies to all EU countries. However, it is much more than an email law.
On the contrary, it controls how information on EU recipients is processed. In addition to being binding only on EU companies, it applies to any company that interacts with EU parties. You need to make unsubscribing as easy as possible so you can`t charge a fee, request personal information beyond their email address, or get them to do anything other than unsubscribe. Once you remove the recipient from your list, you can no longer sell or transfer their information to third parties, except for companies you hired to help you comply with CAN-SPAM. Especially for clients in Canada and Europe, it is essential to maintain valid consent records. If your previous email capture methods did not record consumer consent, a re-approval campaign is acceptable. While the FTC doesn`t provide answers in every case, there are some helpful guidelines for distinguishing between commercial and transactional emails. In general, the primary purpose of each email controls the applicable regulations. Your example of a mixed-use email considered commercial is one where commercial content dominates, with a brief mention of the transaction. If the email contains mostly transactional information, it is generally considered transactional. An old spammer knows that intriguing subject lines are the easiest way to get people excited, including the “you`re a winner” email that almost every inbox has seen. Instead, the subject line should accurately reflect the content of the message.
For example, if the offer is 10% cheaper, your subject line might not suggest a higher percentage. It`s simple: don`t mislead your recipients. Anything you ask or suggest to make it clear and simple. When you create your subject lines, be sure to choose the one that reflects the content of your message. Think of it this way: you might get people to open your emails more often using intriguing subject lines, but they`ll never be interested in your genuine suggestion anyway. Finally, let`s look at California`s Consumer Protection Act, or CCPA. This law was passed in 2018 and came into force in 2020. In short, it obliges companies to inform consumers about what information they collect and what it is used for.
You should also delete certain types of information upon request and respect a customer`s wish that their information not be sold to third parties. CAN-SPAM is one of the oldest email marketing regulations in the world. Its laws were published in 2003 after years of email spam and unwanted pornography filling mailboxes around the world. Let us talk about data protection. This is a hot topic. Everyone cares about what companies do with their information, and rightly so. Even though email laws and regulations may not be part of the bigger picture, breaking the law can cost you dearly and put your company`s reputation at risk. If you`ve never thought about email laws before, this list will help you implement the rules.
And if you`re already following some anti-spam rules, quickly follow these 8 steps to see if you missed anything. Any self-respecting company doesn`t want to be a spammer. This is bad for their reputation with customers and the industry, as well as their online reputation with search engines and email providers. This reduces marketing as a practice as a whole – while companies compete with each other, they don`t want to hurt the entire industry.