Be careful where you get your legal advice from. As Spamtacular reports, the Attorney General for the state of South Carolina isn't quite up to speed on CAN-SPAM, inaccurately reporting that it enables private right of action. Oops.
Some of the worst legal theories I've heard on the topic of CAN-SPAM are those spouted by the permission challenged. "What I'm doing is OK! This is perfectly legal! ISPs have to accept this mail!" This adds up to a whole big old ball of incorrectness. Sure, it's legal (repeat after me: SPAM IS LEGAL IN THE US). But it's very, very stupid, and ISPs block it whenever they can (repeat after me: IT'S PERFECTLY LEGAL FOR ISPS TO BLOCK YOUR PERFECTLY LEGAL SPAM).
Stop telling people that you are CAN-SPAM compliant. Instead, ask yourself:
If people are blocking your mail, even if it's CAN-SPAM compliant, that's where to start. Where do you go from here? Ask your ExactTarget contact for a copy of our Reputation Equation whitepaper, which goes into detail about what things govern your online reputation (and by extension, your ability to get mail delivered).
Some of the worst legal theories I've heard on the topic of CAN-SPAM are those spouted by the permission challenged. "What I'm doing is OK! This is perfectly legal! ISPs have to accept this mail!" This adds up to a whole big old ball of incorrectness. Sure, it's legal (repeat after me: SPAM IS LEGAL IN THE US). But it's very, very stupid, and ISPs block it whenever they can (repeat after me: IT'S PERFECTLY LEGAL FOR ISPS TO BLOCK YOUR PERFECTLY LEGAL SPAM).
Stop telling people that you are CAN-SPAM compliant. Instead, ask yourself:
- How do people end up on my email list? Am I asking for permission, or just assuming?
- Do I provide significant disclosure and notice at the time of signup, what mail they'll be getting and when?
- What's my plan for subscriber lifecycle management? At what point am I going to drop people off the list when they're not responding?
If people are blocking your mail, even if it's CAN-SPAM compliant, that's where to start. Where do you go from here? Ask your ExactTarget contact for a copy of our Reputation Equation whitepaper, which goes into detail about what things govern your online reputation (and by extension, your ability to get mail delivered).
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