By Nikki Holland-Plum, JVA Consulting

Most of us know what a “spammy” email looks like, but you may not know that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) spam. commercial email, whether it is sent to one recipient or is sent to a list, that promotes a product or service must adhere to seven main requirements, set by the CAN-SPAM Act, listed on the FTC’s website. The rules are not hard to follow. By following them you avoiding violating the law.

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

This requirement would take some effort to violate. When you send an email on behalf of your business/organization the “from” and “reply-to” section should be the person or organization that initiated the email.

2. “Don’t use deceptive subject lines.”

Where is the line between a creative subject line and a deceptive one? Here’s how to answer this question. Does your subject line have any correlation with the content of your email? If you answered yes, then you are good to hit send.

3. “Identify the message as an ad.”

This does not mean you have to say, “This email is a advertisement.” Simply having a link that reads “register here” or “check out our upcoming event on our website” is enough to satisfy this requirement.

4. “Tell recipients where you are located.”

You must provide an address for any commercial emails. This is usually found in the signature or in the footer.

5. “Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future emails from you.”

If you are not sending an email through a direct email service, you probably do not have an optout button or link. Provide your recipient with a reply address where they can send their request to no longer receive commercial emails from that email address. (.g. Reply to this message to opt out of receiving future commercial emails from this sender.)

6. “Honor opt-out requests promptly.”

You have business days to comply with an opt-out request.

7. “Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.”

If someone else is sending emails from you or your organization, make sure you have reviewed the content. You don’t want to be surprised by something “you” have sent.

Always remember feeling duped. If they are tricked into opening an email they are less likely to engage with the message it contains and you could be violating the CAN-SPAM Act. Also, allowing people to opt-out is not a bad thing. If they no longer want to receive your emails they will ignore them. Keep it simple, be respectful and spell check before you hit send.