I'm a little worried about some of the people out there writing e-newsletters in-house. Canada's Anti-Spam laws (CASL) are important regulations to protect users from unwanted emails. It's your responsibility to make sure you get permission before you send emails.
While you're probably trying to communicate with customers legitimately, there are still spammers out there who need to be stopped. Anti-spam legislation does this. Anti-spam rules in Canada have been around for a few years now, but if you're new to email marketing, you might not have had to deal with it yet. It might seem like a hurdle you don't want to deal with, but it's actually better for real marketers and consumers alike. If your target audience is international remember to check for country-specific laws before you send.
You could be harming your brand without knowing it as you try to get your business noticed through email campaigns.
I want to educate people who are unaware of the e-marketing anti-spam laws. So, here is a quick summary:
- You MUST have an obvious, easy-to-use unsubscribe button. Recipients must be given a choice, or you'll ruin your credibility.
- Use a double-opt-in process to collect your database. You'll get an authentic list of people who actually want to receive your database, which means you can track results more authentically. You don't have to worry about getting tonnes of hard bounces which could wreck your online credibility.
- Don't send out "BCC emails" to a bunch of people. Asking people to unsubscribe by writing to you will make people feel uncomfortable and can hurt business relationships.
Email Software Helps You Follow Anti-Spam Rules
Pro tip: Use an e-newsletter software client. They help you set up permission-based marketing, like a double-opt-in program, so you can follow all of the anti-spam laws and regulations correctly. Popular email platforms such as Constant Contact, Mailchimp, and HubSpot won't let you send unsolicited emails. They also make it easy for you to add your contacts manually with explicit permission and use automation to make it easy for contacts to sign up and receive your emails quickly with just a few clicks.
