How to Be Canspam Compliant when sending email legally and effectively.

Please use this link for the updated Canspam Rules and information regarding CASL, visit the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation website.

Email CanSpam rules and guidelines to follow

The CAN-SPAM laws require commercial emails to follow certain guidelines. These are set by the FTC, allowing B2B organizations to market to new prospects within clear compliance rules:

There are 7 steps to be CanSpam compliant.

Best practices and a basic understanding of the law will ensure your business email follows all regulations and reaches the inbox of your recipients.

1. Header information

2. Subject lines

3. Identify the message as an ad

4. Location

5. Opt-out link

6. Honor opt-out requests

7. Monitor all email activity

1. Don’t use false or misleading header information.

In your From, To, Reply-To, and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify who sent the message.

2. Don’t use deceptive subject lines
The subject line must accurately reflect the content of the message. For example, you can’t have a subject line that says, “Win a new car!” with no mention of a car or a contest in the body of the email.

3. Identify the message as an ad.
The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement.

4. Tell recipients where you’re located.
Your message must include your valid physical mailing address. This can be in fine print at the bottom of the email.

5. Tell recipients how to opt-out of receiving future emails from you.
Your message must include a clear explanation of how the recipient can opt-out of getting an email from you in the future. You may say, “Reply “unsubscribe” to be removed from our mailing list. Or you may have a valid opt-out link.

6. Honor opt-out requests promptly.
Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your message. You must honor a recipient’s opt-out request within 10 business days.

7. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.
The law makes it clear that even if you hire another company to handle your email marketing, you must ensure they comply with the law.

For the full guide to CAN-SPAM compliance, please visit the FTC website.