Target Marketing

You will be automatically redirected to targetmarketingmag in 20 seconds.
Skip this advertisement.

Advertisement
Advertisement
 
 

The New CAN-SPAM Rule Provisions: What’s an E-mail Marketer to Do?

June 2008 By Rick Buck
3

Offering an inducement, discount or loyalty points for forwarding a promotion is acceptable, and the ruling simply means that the message needs to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.

Assigning Responsibility When Multiple Advertisers Are Involved
If you are an affiliate marketer or have multiple advertisers in your e-mail messages, this rule is for you. When an e-mail features several ads from multiple advertisers, responsibility for opt-out is assigned based on who the sender of the message is. The sender meets two criteria: the marketer that is featured in the “from” address and that advertises its own products, services or Web site somewhere in the e-mail. More than ever, avoiding misleading transmission information or deceptive subject headings should be priority.

This ruling could also have important implications in list rental scenarios. Let’s say Company A rents its e-mail list to Company B for a promotion. If Company A is featured in the “from” address and advertises itself in the message, then Company A is responsible for supporting the opt-out and CAN-SPAM compliance.

One recommendation is for Company A to feature an ad or reference in the e-mail—for example, “Visit our site to see what’s new at Company A”—to ensure the subscriber understands who the e-mail is from. As a best practice, Company A should provide two options for opting out

1. Stop receiving e-mail from Company A.

2. Stop receiving third-party e-mail from Company A.

In any case, the sender is responsible for sharing any opt-outs specifically for the advertisers, with the advertisers, and those opt-outs must be added to the advertiser’s suppression list and be effective within 10 days.

Overall, the new rulings introduced by the FTC are good news for subscribers and marketers alike. For subscribers, these changes will help increase their control over unwanted messages. For permission-based marketers, the new rulings make it that much harder for unscrupulous companies to skirt the system. The result is a better business environment for everyone.

Rick Buck is the director of privacy and ISP relations for e-Dialog. He can be reached at rbuck@e-dialog.com.
 

Companies Mentioned:
3

SPONSORED CONTENT

MORE ON ONLINE MARKETING >>

FROM THE BOOKSTORE

<P>“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.” <BR><STRONG>--Chris Brogan</STRONG>, president of Human Business Works <BR><BR>“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do it right is significant, and not knowing precisely how social media helps your business and how to gauge that progress is a dereliction of duty. In <EM>Social Media ROI</EM>, Blanchard provides the missing playbook for sensible, sustainable, profitable social communication. It’s about time.” <BR><STRONG>--Jay Baer</STRONG>, coauthor of <EM>The NOW Revolution: 7 Shifts to Make Your Business Faster, Smarter, and More Social <BR></EM><BR>“<EM>Social Media ROI</EM> gets down to the heart of the matter: How will social communications positively impact my organizational goals? Olivier takes us through a journey starting from the start, creating a strategy to achieve objectives, and in turn, the means to measure return on investment. If you want to get serious about online communications, you can’t go wrong with <EM>Social Media ROI</EM>.” <BR><STRONG>--Geoff Livingston</STRONG>, author of <EM>Welcome to the Fifth Estate</EM> and <EM>Now Is Gone</EM> <BR><BR>“Olivier explains the intricacies of building a social media-influenced company for every layman to understand. It is important to understand reach, attention, and influence for social media ROI. This is the book to help with that understanding.” <BR><STRONG>--Kyle Lacy</STRONG>, principal at MindFrame (yourmindframe.com) and author of <EM>Branding Yourself <BR></EM><BR>“Ladies and gentlemen, the social media code has officially been cracked. In <EM>Social Media ROI</EM>, Blanchard reveals how companies can apply the massive power of social media to achieve equally massive results. Incredibly practical, yet supremely enjoyable, this book offers a clear roadmap to growing your revenue in the dizzying world of tweets and retweets, likes and shares, connections and comments.” <BR><STRONG>--Sally Hogshead</STRONG>, author of <EM>Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation</EM> <BR><BR>“If you know Olivier, you know he goes beyond the bullshit. He ‘gets it.’ This book will put you in the mindset to successfully plan and achieve real business objectives with social media. It’s a hard fact that good business decisions depend on real results. Olivier avoids the fluff with clear-cut ideas that will help you produce results.” <BR><STRONG>--Brandon Prebynski</STRONG>, social media strategist <BR><BR><STRONG>Use Social and Viral Technologies to Supercharge Your Customer Service! <BR></STRONG><BR>Use this book to bring true business discipline to your social media program and align with your organization’s goals. Top branding and marketing expert Olivier Blanchard brings together new best practices for strategy, planning, execution, measurement, analysis, and optimization. You will learn how to define the financial and nonfinancial business impacts you are aiming for--and achieve them. <EM>Social Media ROI</EM> delivers practical solutions for everything from structuring programs to attracting followers, defining metrics to managing crises. Whether you are in a startup or a global enterprise, this book will help you gain more value from every dime you invest in social media. </P> Social Media ROI

“Blanchard is demanding. He won’t allow you to flip through this book, nod your head, and leave. If you’re in, you’re going to have to invest to get your rewards.”
--Chris Brogan, president of Human Business Works

“Social media isn’t inexpensive; it’s different expensive. The human effort required to do


...

ORDER NOW

Available as a PDF.<BR> <BR>A guide to prospecting, lead generation, building an Opt-in database, tracking, social media integration, deliverability, mining content and balanced creative. While email marketing has reached maturity, there’s still plenty of life in this channel — if used wisely. <BR><BR>That’s the focus of this new guide to email marketing, with articles devoted to best practices for prospecting; continuing to build and refresh your opt-in file; how social and email work together; generating relevant content; keeping your messages safe from spam filters and junk-mail folders; and more. <BR><BR>Are you searching for ways to create stronger email marketing campaigns? <BR><BR>The DirectMarketingIQ and Target Marketing editorial teams have been researching, writing and collecting expert advice from industry leaders about how to create top-notch email marketing campaigns for years. <BR><BR>We’ve compiled this information and made it easy for you to find all in one place, with our easy-to-read report – <EM>Email Marketing That Works (2nd Edition)</EM>. Email Marketing that Works (2nd Edition)

Available as a PDF.

A guide to prospecting, lead generation, building an Opt-in database, tracking, social media integration, deliverability, mining content and balanced creative. While email marketing has reached maturity, there’s still plenty of life in this channel — if used wisely.

That’s the focus of this new guide to email



...

ORDER NOW

 

COMMENTS

Click here to leave a comment...
Comment *
Most Recent Comments:
Christal - Posted on July 01, 2008
I don't understand the forward-to-a-friend provision outlined in your article, specifically this part: "They must be suppressed if they previously opted out from the forwarded message"... how can I be expected to know and police whether someone is going to forward my message to someone who is on my opt-out list? If I am not the one sending the (forwarded) message, then how can I control where it goes? Okay, the "new" opt-out ("they must be able to opt-out of the email they just received") part I understand, but the rest? I hope you can allay my confusion. Thank you!
Rick Buck - Posted on June 18, 2008
While you should be concerned, this activity will not get your firm blacklisted. For the most part your e-mail reputation is tied to the sending IP, and since your IPs are not sending the spoofed mail, their reputation is not impacted. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent your brand from being spoofed or phished. However, there are things you can do to mitigate it. To begin, be sure that all of your outgoing e-mail is authenticated with SPF, Sender ID, Domain Keys/DKIM. If the ISPs are checking for authentication, the fraudulent e-mail should fail the check and will not be delivered. When signing with DKIM, your brand and IP are both associated with your reputation. Since spammers are not using your IP or domain (even if it looks very similar) your reputation should stand on its own.

You should also devote space on your website, privacy policy or dedicated e-mail campaigns that speak to your customers about what they can and cannot trust as legitimate e-mail coming from your brand.
Ken Gruneisen - Posted on June 13, 2008
Thanks for the information... Should I be concerned when illegal marketers send spoof emails appearing as if originating from my domain, and can that activity end up getting my legit firm blacklisted?
Click here to view archived comments...
Archived Comments:
Christal - Posted on July 01, 2008
I don't understand the forward-to-a-friend provision outlined in your article, specifically this part: "They must be suppressed if they previously opted out from the forwarded message"... how can I be expected to know and police whether someone is going to forward my message to someone who is on my opt-out list? If I am not the one sending the (forwarded) message, then how can I control where it goes? Okay, the "new" opt-out ("they must be able to opt-out of the email they just received") part I understand, but the rest? I hope you can allay my confusion. Thank you!
Rick Buck - Posted on June 18, 2008
While you should be concerned, this activity will not get your firm blacklisted. For the most part your e-mail reputation is tied to the sending IP, and since your IPs are not sending the spoofed mail, their reputation is not impacted. Unfortunately, there is no way to prevent your brand from being spoofed or phished. However, there are things you can do to mitigate it. To begin, be sure that all of your outgoing e-mail is authenticated with SPF, Sender ID, Domain Keys/DKIM. If the ISPs are checking for authentication, the fraudulent e-mail should fail the check and will not be delivered. When signing with DKIM, your brand and IP are both associated with your reputation. Since spammers are not using your IP or domain (even if it looks very similar) your reputation should stand on its own.

You should also devote space on your website, privacy policy or dedicated e-mail campaigns that speak to your customers about what they can and cannot trust as legitimate e-mail coming from your brand.
Ken Gruneisen - Posted on June 13, 2008
Thanks for the information... Should I be concerned when illegal marketers send spoof emails appearing as if originating from my domain, and can that activity end up getting my legit firm blacklisted?