Hi, I'm providing email marketing services. I don't sell lists or contacts my job is to deliver content (emails) to the client lists. In most cases I even don't know what they send and where their list originate from. So can you tell me what info I have to ask my clients to provide me to protect myself from any legal issues. Should I ask to prove that their list is opt-in, not purchased etc? Thanks Mikhail
It is not just the list you need to worry about. Under the Can-Spam Act you are defined as a "sender" of the email and are therefore responsible for compliance under the act. Under the act it is a felony punishable with jail terms, fines and forfeitures: 1. To use proxies or relays to send your mail, 2. To falsify your header (by definition, you are falsifying your headers if you purposely disguise the e-mail’s origin), or 3. If you falsify the registration information when buying domains or setting up e-mail accounts, or when registering for IP addresses. The act goes on to list civil penalties unless you take the following actions to conform to the requirements of the law: 1. Your header information and registration information has to be true and correct. 2. You must have a valid from address, registered with true and correct information. 3. You cannot use a subject line that would be likely to mislead the recipient about the contents of the e-mail. 4. You must have a conspicuous opt-out mechanism which works for 30 days after the mailing is completed. (This can be at your website). 5. You must honor your opt-outs within 10 days of request. 6. Your message must have a conspicuous identification that it is an advertisement. 7. The message must contain a valid physical postal address of the sender. 8. You must not use recipient addresses that were obtained using an address harvester or by means of a dictionary attack. (Triple damages apply.) 9. You cannot use automated means to register for multiple e-mail addresses. 10. Sexually orientated material will require special marks of content. 11. Customers who know their products are being sold in violation of the act are also held to be liable.
I'm not 100% sure that I'm defined as a "sender" I only provide the platform to send emails. Maybe you can point me on any info about this? for example: I get from the client 2 files 1. the list 2. message body with a subject Do you think that I have to verify the list and email body??? Or what else I have to ask my client to provide to be sure that I'm not in response for his content and mailing. Thanks Mikhail
You are the physical sender as it is your servers doing the sending. Whatever you do you are going to have liability because of the above. What you need to ensure is that the contract you get your clients to sign first of all requires them to give warranty that the list is opt in/ double opt in (as appropriate) etc etc and that they will indemnify you against any losses. A lawyer would be able to draw up a suitable contract for you.
Four Tips For Getting Creative With Email Marketing Email marketing may not get as much press as search engine optimization, social media, or PPC campaign. However, it is no less powerful or persuasive when it comes to driving sales and traffic via your website. While some associate email marketing with spam or junk mail, once well design, email marketing could still be a productive, efficient, and worthwhile tool capable of making a real difference to your ROI online. Here are a few tips for you to get started with. 1. Make sure you’re not spamming. Everyone hates junk mails. If your email appear to be so, it will get deleted before being read. Then it will be a waste of time and money. 2. Add some color to your email. Colorful email is one of easiest way to attract attention. 3. Crank up your copywriter. We all have our ways of writing. So, sometimes, shifting to some other people for help would help put your marketing message in different way to meet different tastes. 4. Make your subject stand out. Writing the subject line of an email shot is often done at the last minute with very little thought put into it. Start with the above four tips to spruce up your email efforts. Making sure you are welcome in the inbox and adding a little creativity to the product will really help boost your open rate!
Email marketing may not get as much press as search engine optimization, social media, or PPC campaign. However, it is no less powerful or persuasive when it comes to driving sales and traffic via your website. While some associate email marketing with spam or junk mail, once well design, email marketing could still be a productive, efficient, and worthwhile tool capable of making a real difference to your ROI online. Here are a few tips for you to get started with. 1. Make sure you’re not spamming. Everyone hates junk mails. If your email appear to be so, it will get deleted before being read. Then it will be a waste of time and money. 2. Add some color to your email. Colorful email is one of easiest way to attract attention. 3. Crank up your copywriter. We all have our ways of writing. So, sometimes, shifting to some other people for help would help put your marketing message in different way to meet different tastes. 4. Make your subject stand out. Writing the subject line of an email shot is often done at the last minute with very little thought put into it. Start with the above four tips to spruce up your email efforts. Making sure you are welcome in the inbox and adding a little creativity to the product will really help boost your open rate!
Let me know when it's all set-up, i'm always up to trying a new email marketing service. Or if anyone passes by can suggest a good service or has their own, pm me and we'll work out a deal.
Yes, by definition in the Can-Spam Act you are a sender. The actions of your clients can create liability for you. It really does not matter if your list is double opt-in, etc. The Can-Spam do's and don'ts I listed above still need to be meet.
how often are spammers really sued? not often enough; Hell, I get spam daily... I read spam with my morning coffee...
Spammers get sued everyday! Just because someone else has not been caught does not mean you won't be caught.
You can get free email marketing software, so whether you get free software or you buy the software make sure that it is specialized in the operation that you want it to perform. You can get software that can perform a lot of tasks in the same package, But be careful, check this out because it may not be the best tool that you want for a particular job. _________________________ Email-marketing-software-solutions.com