| Before you send an email
to your leads, just think about all the
garbage you get in your Inbox each day.
Is your email going to add to that garbage
or is it bringing something of value? Are
you cultivating your contacts or are you
just filling up their Inbox with junk they'll
delete before reading? The answers to those
questions will determine your success in
this business, so proceed with caution!
As of January 7, 2004, these are the Anti-Spam
Guidelines you MUST follow to stay legal:
(1) The new CAN-SPAM Act requires that
all commercial emails sent must include
a "valid physical postal address of
the sender." I interpret that to mean
P.O. boxes are acceptable. Any messages
you send MUST include YOUR OWN postal address.
No exceptions!
I recommend that you include your address
at the end of your email, where you sign
your name. For example:
Sincerely,
Joe Smith 123 Elm Street, Anytown, California
90200
(2) The new CAN-SPAM Act prohibits the
sending of a commercial email where the
subject heading of the message "would
be likely to mislead a recipient, acting
reasonably under the circumstances, about
a material fact regarding the contents or
subject matter of the message."
In English, this means you cannot, for
example, send an email with the subject
line of "Your Account Info" when
your message is clearly an advertisement
for a business opportunity.
(3) The content of your emails should not
include anything that is illegal or in any
way related to adult content. If your email
is adult-material related, by law it must
be clearly identified in the subject line.
(4) You should not covertly add subscribers
to your mailing list (without their permission).
(5) You should not include any 'spam disclaimer'
in your email that is not in compliance
with this Spam policy.
In addition to an Unsubscribe link, you
should include any one of the following
disclaimers. You may change a word or two
to fit the correct circumstances:
"In the last few weeks, you expressed
interest in receiving information from one
of our partner websites by supplying your
name, email, contact information, and IP
address. If you are no longer interested,
please use the permanent removal link below."
"To comply with the CAN-SPAM Act,
I have offered my contact information below,
included a working permanent removal link,
and can provide your opt-in details upon
request."
"You are currently receiving a series
of letters from me. To be removed please
use the permanent unsubscribe link below."
"You recently received training materials
from me and have chosen to remain on my
mailing list. Should you wish to be removed
at any time, please use the permanent unsubscribe
link below."
"You recently received my Email Marketing
Course and have chosen to remain on my mailing
list. Should you wish to be removed at any
time, please use the permanent removal link
below."
"I hope you are enjoying my Email
Marketing Course! I'm sending you this email
in hopes that we can continue our business
relationship."
"I hope you enjoyed my Email Marketing
Course! Here is something else you may be
interested in as well."
If you include anything that looks like
the following paragraph, you will probably
be reported for spamming:
"Under Bill S1618 TITLE III, passed
by the 105th US Congress, this message cannot
be considered SPAM as long as there is a
way to be removed, paragraph (a) (c) of
S. 1618."
Why is this so important? If you've read
the CAN-SPAM Act, you will see that companies
and individuals are liable for up to $2,000,000.00
(two million dollars) in damages for violating
ANY part of the CAN-SPAM Act.
For more information on the CAN-SPAM Act,
visit:
http://www.spamlaws.com
http://www.isipp.com
SPECIAL NOTE: To comply with the CAN-SPAM
Act and to increase email deliverability,
some leading autoresponder services now
have an option for you to enter a postal
address within the autoresponder settings.
This postal address will then automatically
appear in the footer of your emails... ensuring
your messages are CAN-SPAM compliant.
If your autoresponder service has yet to
implement this feature, just make sure you
include your postal address within the "Unsubscribe
or Signature Message" settings to ensure
you are abiding by the new law.
I wish you safe and successful emailing!
About the Author
Derek Jones is the owner of Mirage
Home Business Systems, a service that's
geared to helping people start a profitable
Home-Based Business online. For more details
on starting a Work at Home Internet Business
and to join our Free Home Business Tips
Newsletter, visit: http://www.HomeBusinessCreation.com
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