Email Marketing News and Tips

As an email marketer, even though you may be using an ESP to send your email marketing campaigns, your company is still responsible for the emails that are sent on its behalf.  Should any CAN-SPAM compliance (specifically CAN-SPAM 2008) issues arise, your company could become involved in civil actions with the FTC.

In this blog article, we will discuss the CAN-SPAM 2008 unsubscribe provisions in detail and how the unsubscribe process should work based on CAN-SPAM 2008 requirements.  We will also discuss what things to ask for when searching for an ESP with unsubscribe processes.

Unsubscribe Processes

If you are in the United States and you plan to send emails within the United States, you must remain fully compliant with not only the Federal laws (CAN-SPAM), you must be aware of any local laws that may affect your ability to send email.  If you are unsure if you have any state, county, city or municipality laws that apply, you should contact an attorney, solicitor or barrister in your area.

The CAN-SPAM 2008 updated provisions are quite clear on how unsubscribe mechanisms must operate. The new opt-out provisions in the CAN-SPAM 2008 update have created greatly simplified provisions to help recipients opt out faster.

FTC.gov’s web site states:

“(1) an e-mail recipient cannot be required to pay a fee, provide information other than his or her e-mail address and opt-out preferences, or take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page to opt out of receiving future e-mail from a sender”

To expound on that statement, the following is a list of items that must be provided to be compliant:

1. A link or Reply-To unsubscribe process must exist in every email sent and these unsubscribe processes must remain functional for at least 60 days following an email campaign
2. The Reply-To send-an-email opt-out request must remove the address within 10 days
3. If choosing a link to unsubscribe, the link must either immediately unsubscribe the user on click or, alternatively, lead only to a single page that contains a simple one-page one-click unsubscribe form.
4. The unsubscribe form must consist of a simplified one-step form

The following is a list of items that cannot be utilized on the unsubcribe form:

1. The form is forbidden from using persuasive language to entice the person to remain subscribed
2. The form must not contain any advertising
3. The unsubscribe process cannot lead to additional forms, pages or links or utilize any additional processes to unsubscribe.
4. It must not cost money to unsubscribe.
5. The unsubscribe process may not be hidden behind any login and/or password process.

Examples of unsubscribe forms that are not CAN-SPAM 2008 compliant:

• Clicking a link in an email that leads to a form that asks the recipient to verify their address, then emails instructions on how to ‘change’ or ‘update’ your subscription.
• Asking for a login or password before proceeding to remove the user.
• Advertising for your products or services on the unsubscribe form
• Using any kind of multiple step or multiple page process to complete the unsubscription

What to ask your Email Service Provider (ESP)

When you are shopping for your ESP for your email marketing campaigns, you may not have control over the mechanisms that they supply to you. It’s always a good idea to ask your ESP if the mechanisms they are using are fully CAN-SPAM compliant.  Specifically, the unsubscribe process.

At Boomerang, our unsubscribe form consists of a CAN-SPAM 2008 compliant single form verifying only the recipient’s email address which then immediately unsubscribes the address when they submit the form.  If you are shopping for an ESP to manage your email marketing campaigns, you will want to make sure that the ESP is doing everything to keep you (and them) compliant.  So, you should test everything an ESP is offering you, even down to the unsubscribe processes.  If they are not compliant, you should ask them to comply or look for a different ESP.  Of course, even if you ask them to comply, it may take them quite some time to roll out the changes to actually become compliant.  In the interim, that leaves you and your company liable for lack of compliant processes while using that ESP.

Is a specific ESP right for you?

Just because an email marketing company places lots of advertising around the Internet and touts itself is being ‘easy’ or ‘fast’ or whatever marketing term they apply today, the ultimate test is whether the company is helping you remain compliant as part of the tools you need as an email marketer.  If not, you may find yourself and your company embroiled in legal entanglements with the FTC.  Ultimately, it is up to you to make sure your campaigns remain compliant.  But, it is up to the ESP to provide you with those compliancy processes.

At Boomerang, we strive to make sure our processes are flexible enough to help you remain compliant with CAN-SPAM and other state and local laws.  We also understand that laws vary from state to state and country to country.  If you need specific help with compliancy issues in your locale, please call our Customer Care team at 1-800-769-4000 who can work with you on your compliancy needs.