www.am-graphix.com

This article was especially relevant with the mass of emails being recieved over the holiday season. Before you do mass email marketing make sure you know the FTC's rules for email. You don't want to be a $16,000US casualty of the CAN-SPAM Act!

A few weeks ago I received an email out of the blue from a local restaurant. I can only speculate as to how they got my email address, as I certainly didn't sign up to receive emails from them. There were no contact details on the email at all, only information about their current specials. Nor were there instructions on how to unsubscribe from further mailings. The email was copied to hundreds of recipients; I know this, because I could see everyone it was sent to!

I replied to the email, politely asking to be removed from their mailing list. There was never a response, but I assumed I'd been removed. A few days ago I received another email from them, in the same format with no way to remove myself from their list.

In addition to losing a potential patron, this restaurant is breaking the law. In the United States, the CAN-SPAM Act provides restrictions on email marketing, and fines can reach US$16,000 per email sent. This business is unknowingly putting themselves at risk by failing to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.

Avoid being in a situation like this business owner. Know the laws by reading up on the FTC's Compliance Guide for Businesses and learn best practices by reading the email marketing chapter of Online Marketing Inside Out.

Article from SitePoint Tribune 12/17/09 - to sign up or for more information visit www.sitepoint.com