“But this mail is transactional,” a client said to me today. “That means we don’t have to comply with CAN-SPAM.”
Not exactly true, and you're not necessarily asking the right question, I replied. Yes, transactional messages must comply with CAN-SPAM, though there is a different set of requirements for transactional messages. It’s true, you DON’T have to offer up an unsubscribe mechanism, nor do you have to respect unsubscribe requests. Meaning, you can send a transactional message to somebody who has unsubscribed.
But, BE CAREFUL! Keep in mind that CAN-SPAM is not the only consideration here!
ISPs will gleefully block transactional messages every day of the week, if they determine you to be a bad sender. They DON’T make a distinction between transactional and commercial sends. So if you end up with a crazy high spam complaint rate, you’re going to get blocked. No matter that those messages were transactional.
Also, be sure to make sure your messages really are transactional. How do you measure whether or not a message is transactional? Look to CAN-SPAM. It says: The term "transactional or relationship message" means an electronic mail message the primary purpose of which is-- to facilitate, complete, or confirm a commercial transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender; to provide warranty information, product recall information, or safety or security information with respect to a commercial product or service used or purchased by the recipient; to provide -- (I) notification concerning a change in the terms or features of; (II) notification of a change in the recipient's standing or status with respect to; or (III) at regular periodic intervals, account balance information or other type of account statement with respect to, a subscription, membership, account, loan, or comparable ongoing commercial relationship involving the ongoing purchase or use by the recipient of products or services offered by the sender; to provide information directly related to an employment relationship or related benefit plan in which the recipient is currently involved, participating, or enrolled; or to deliver goods or services, including product updates or upgrades, that the recipient is entitled to receive under the terms of a transaction that the recipient has previously agreed to enter into with the sender.
And finally, make sure you don’t accidentally send messages as transactional when you don’t mean to, as happened to one of my colleagues. The issue Liz ran into highlights for me how important it is to stop and think whether or not your message really counts as transactional. In Liz’s case, those messages might actually be transactional, so technically she would probably have been okay to continue to send them to recipients, even if they had unsubscribed.
But is it wise to send mail to people who don’t want it? Even if you're legally allowed to do so? Most of the time, the answer to that is a loud and clear NO.
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