Anyone who has an email account knows that spam is a problem. It seems that no matter how protective you are of your email address, the spammers will eventually find you and start sending you offers for free downloads, herbal and diet pills and other unsolicited ads. Spam is such a problem that the federal government took notice and created the CAN-SPAM act back in 2003. While the CAN-SPAM act serves as a buffer to reduce the amount of spam that people receive, it can cause problems for companies who wish to send out legitimate emails to customers.
If you are a business who wishes to send out emails to customers and want to follow the rules set forth by the CAN-SPAM, here are some tips on how you must set up your emails.
Titles Must be Truthful
You must create an honest subject line for the emails. Many spammers use titles such as “Free Item!” when it isn’t true. This deceptive practice is against the CAN-SPAM act. To avoid being labeled as misleading, try to find a line within the email to use as a heading. This will prevent any misleading titles from happening.
Business Contact Information
All businesses must provide the email receiver with ways that they can contact the business that is sending the email. Contact information must include a physical address, phone number and occasionally an email address or website information.
Opt-Out
If you are sending an email to a number of email recipients you must provide an opt-out option so that those who wish to no longer receive emails from your company can get off the list. Opt-out options can come in the form of an email address that email recipients need to send an email to, a link to a form to fill out or even just simply clicking reply and writing “opt-out.”