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Did you know that almost twenty-four billion emails are sent and received every day? Out of these emails roughly half of them can be classified as spam mail.

Now, if you’re marketing your business, then you might think that unsolicited emails are a good way to gain new customers. While this can be effective if utilized correctly the reality is that there’s a thin line between unsolicited emails and spam.

And, if you’re not careful, then you enter sketchy legal territory that results in expensive penalties. So, how do you make sure that your cold emails aren’t spam?

Simple: by reading this article. In this guide, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about email practices. Let’s get started!

What Is Spam?

Spam is essentially an impersonal advertising message that applies to the largest demographic possible. In terms of marketing, spam can be a pretty lazy technique.

As a marketer, you want to be targeting specific demographics with personalized messages that are relevant to their interest. However, it’s important to clarify that spam isn’t necessarily the same as a cold email or unsolicited email.

The cold email might be unsolicited, like spam, but it’s much more targeted. Still, rules and laws are surrounding both of these things that must be followed. If they aren’t, then both are technically illegal. Let’s find out how. 

Is Spam and Unsolicited Emails Illegal?

As we mentioned before, spam refers to solicitations that aren’t asked for and are impersonal. Many people think that spam is illegal and in some cases their right. However, the reality is that most of the time spam is perfectly legal in the United States.

All it has to do is follow the rules and requirements laid out in the CAN-SPAM Act. The same goes for all cold emails, solicited emails, and any other types of commercial emails.

It’s perfectly legal as long as you follow the requirements listed in the law. Let’s find out exactly what they are and how they work. 

The CAN-SPAM Act and Its Requirements

So, spam isn’t technically illegal as long as you follow the requirements that come with the commercial email. These rules and requirements are laid out in the CAN-SPAM Act, which was passed in 2003.

If you send a promotion or ad via email, then your business needs to follow these requirements. If you don’t, then it can result in penalties for each email that cost up to $43,792.

To help you learn what’s allowed in this section we’ll discuss the various requirements you should always follow. If you want to learn more about the CAN-SPAM Act, then you can visit this FTC resource. 

1. Avoid False Header Info and Deceptive Subject Lines

First, it’s important to include accurate header information. This applies to all routing information that’s in the email. Routing information is whatever identifies the person or business sending the email.

As long as this information is accurate and identifying the entity correctly, then you should be fine. Make sure you also avoid deceptive subject lines. These are attention-grabbing statements that intentionally do not reflect the message.

An example might be some subject line that says, “URGENT, Your Financial Information Is At Risk.” Avoid this problem by being honest with your attention-grabbing statements. And don’t be afraid to personalize the subject line by being clever or funny. 

2. Disclose That the Message Is an Advertisement

When you send an email for a commercial, then you must identify that it’s an advertisement. Otherwise, you’re intentionally misleading the person receiving the email.

The good news is that the law gives you some leeway on how you can do this. As long as you reveal in some way that is clear and conspicuous, then you should be fine.

3. Tell the Audience Where Your Company Is Located 

If you want to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act, then you will need to include a physical postal location that’s valid. You can do this at the bottom of your email. It can be your home address, a registered U.S. Postal Service mailbox, or a private commercial one.

This only applies to unsolicited emails sent in the United States. Oftentimes it’s not required for other countries. However, beware of countries like Canada and Germany, which come with much more strict versions of the spam laws. 

4. Give the Recipients an Opt-Out Method

One of the most important requirements is to give your audience an opt-out method in case they don’t want to receive messages from you anymore. What’s more, this opt-out option must be clear, concise, and easy to follow.

The easiest way to do this is to give a return email address that lets them communicate their choice. Just make sure that it’s simple. All you can have them do is send an email, or go to a single page on the internet.

Anything more extensive than that is simply not allowed because it wastes the person’s time. Also, make sure that your spam filter doesn’t accidentally block out these requests. Otherwise, you’ll be in serious legal trouble. 

5. Honor Any Opt-Out Requests Quickly

Once your reader requests an opt-out you have a limited time to comply with this request before you get into legal trouble. Officially, you have ten business days to comply with the opt-out message.

Additionally, you aren’t allowed to charge a fee or ask for any personal information in return for opting out. You also can’t sell or share the person’s email with other companies that also send unsolicited emails. 

6. Know What Others Are Doing On Your Behalf

Some people think they can avoid spam laws by contracting off their work to another company. Unfortunately, this flimsy legal defense won’t work.

The law makes it crystal clear that if you hire another company to send illegal spam, then both you and the other company will be held responsible. As such, you should make sure that you trust the company you hire before you go with them. 

Are Unsolicited Emails Ever Effective?

Unsolicited emails do have a notably low bounce-back rate. However, that doesn’t always mean that they aren’t worth trying. The truth is that if you have resources, like a dating provider and efficient writer, then you can make cold emails that get results.

The important thing is that you avoid making your message sound like spam. This can immediately turn away potential customers who won’t read generic messages. So how do you make your unsolicited email stand out? Let’s find out. 

How to Send Successful Commercial Emails

The first rule of commercial emails is to keep your solicitation list small. There are two reasons for this. One, there’s no reason why a business needs to send thousands of emails unless it’s for spam reasons.

Two, sending this many emails triggers your internet service provider’s attention. As a result, your emails will immediately get allocated to people’s spam folders. This is perfectly legal for the internet service provider to do.

So, keep your solicitation lists small. You should also get your leads honestly. Don’t purchase them off of potentially sketchy suppliers. Do your research and groundwork to find good potential customers.

If you rely on other parties, then you can damage both your wallet and reputation. It’s also important to make your commercial emails creative and interesting. Attention is a valuable thing.

As such, you can’t expect some to give your email proper attention if it blends in with the hundred other ones they receive. So, make it stand out. Use personal details or humor to keep your audience reading.

Start with startling statistics, or perhaps a sale/deal. It’s also important to remember that your emails don’t need to be an obvious advertisement. One example is sending a press release or newsletter about the organization.

This helps people learn about your business or organization while alerting them to new products and events. Just remember that these types of press releases also need to follow the same rules as commercial emails. Check out this page to find a company that handles all the work for you. 

Want More Content? Keep Exploring

We hope this article helped you learn more about the dos and don’ts of email marketing. As you can see, there’s a lot to consider when using email to try and gain new customers.

If you decide it’s the right way to market your business, then it’s important to never cut corners. Otherwise, you could get a spam violation that results in thousands of dollars in penalties.

However, as long as you follow the advice in this article, then you should be fine. Did you enjoy this article? If the answer is yes, then you’re in the right place. Keep reading to find more topics that you’re sure to love.