What is the CAN-SPAM Act and what does it mean for your business?

by Anna Hahn

In a nutshell, the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 is Federal anti-spam legislation that went into effect on January 1, 2004 to help combat flagrant spammers. It applies to businesses that use email to communicate marketing messages to their customers....that means us!

If you are following ethical email marketing practices, chances are you don't have to worry. Here are some examples of unethical email marketing practices:
• Email address harvesting from websites
• Randomly generating email addresses
• Fake or deceptive subject lines, headers, or return addresses
• Continuing to send email to someone who has opted out. CAN-SPAM is an opt-out law, meaning that if one of your email recipients wants to opt-out, you have to stop sending them emails or you could face fines or other prosecution. This requires an email unsubscribe system that works.

ConvergeFx offers email list management solutions tailored to your individual business, utilizing both opt-in and opt-out forms so that you only send email to people who requested it in the first place! If you would like to discuss some of the options available or see examples, feel free to contact us.

For more details about the CAN-SPAM Act, read the Press Release from the White House.