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“Permission
Marketers are totally obvious about their objectives with the
consumer. They make it crystal clear what they will be doing
with the data they collect and exactly why it's beneficial to
the consumer to give this data.”
-
Seth Godin,
Permission
Marketing |
Student
Horizons, Inc. often consults with Silicon Valley law firm Wilson
Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on legal matters
related to technology. Find out what they say about spam regulation
in their Federal CAN-SPAM
Act Memorandum.
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In
the next edition of Email Marketing Best Practices:
“A day in the life of a college-bound teenager."
Plus, ideas for reaching them. |
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SPAM
101 – Learn the basics…
Student Horizons, Inc. is often asked about the differences
between spam and permission email marketing. Here are some
answers to your commonly asked questions…
Q: How would you define spam?
A: According to the FTC's website (http://www.ftc.gov/spam/),
spam is
"unsolicited" email. So, as we've
all received in the past, email that arrives in
your inbox from someone you've never heard
of selling value stocks or certain
prescription drugs, for example, is spam.
However, if schools collect prospective
student email addresses on their
websites, those email addresses are "solicited."
Email sent to those addresses
is not spam. This type of email is "permission
email marketing." It is not only
legal but an extremely effective way to
build relationships with constituents.
Q: What exactly
is the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003?
A: CAN-SPAM is short for "Controlling the Assault of
Non-solicited Pornography
and Marketing." In a nutshell, the
law requires four things…
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1. Accurate
headers. The "From" address, subject line,
originating
domain name,
and email address must accurately
represent the sender and the intent of the
message.
2. Opt-out/Unsubscribe method for every message sent.
You'll find
our unsubscribe link at the bottom of
this email. (Please don't
click it!)
3. Process opt-outs/unsubscribes within 10 days.
Also, your opt-out
mechanism must be able to process opt-out requests
for at least
30 days from the date the message was
sent.
4. Physical mailing address. Each message must include
the
sender's valid physical postal address.
(You'll find Student
Horizons, Inc.'s address at the bottom
of this email.)
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For more
information on CAN-SPAM, please visit the FTC spam website at
http://www.ftc.gov/spam/.
Q: Are these things taken care of for
me by my email vendor?
A: Any viable email marketing vendor automatically includes
an opt-
out/unsubscribe link at the bottom of their
(and your) transmissions and
processes opt-outs according to the law.
And, most likely, they will require that
your email have a physical mailing address
at the bottom. Everyone, however,
must ensure they comply with point #1 above.
Q: What is spoofing,
phishing, whitelist, blacklist, etc.?
A: Here are some definitions of common email marketing terms.
Enjoy! |
- Spoofing:
The falsification of an email header so that the email
appears to have originated from someone or somewhere other
than
the actual source. Spammers use spoofing to disguise their
identity in an attempt to commit fraud and avoid prosecution
for sending spam. Federal law prohibits spoofing. However,
until sender identity can be established, spammers will
continue to escape the law.
- Phishing:
(pronounced "fishing") Refers to email scams that
aim to
steal identities. Identity thieves send fraudulent email
messages with
return addresses, links, and branding that appear to come
from credit
card companies, banks, etc. These emails "phish"
for personal and
financial information (e.g. passwords, usernames, social
security
numbers, etc.). For examples, see www.anti-phishing.org.
- Blacklist:
Lists of known spammers, their IP addresses, and/or their
ISP (Internet Service Provider). Using this information,
spam filters can
block all messages coming from known spammers and/or their
ISPs.
You do not want to be blacklisted.
- Whitelist:
The opposite of a blacklist. Instead of blocking the email,
it
verifies that the server should accept it. If you are on
this list,
recipients will continually receive what you are sending.
You do want
to be whitelisted.
- Spam
Filter: A spam filter is a program that will actually
capture
emails that look like spam before they are sent to a person's
inbox.
- Auto
Responder: An email that is set up to automatically
send a
response when someone emails a specific address. The most
common uses of auto responders are for subscribe and unsubscribe
confirmations, welcome emails and support questions.
- CTR
(or Click-through Rate): The percentage (the number
of unique
clicks divided by the number that were opened or sent) of
recipients
that click on a given URL - or link - in your email.
- Hard
Bounce/Soft Bounce: A hard bounce is the failed delivery
of an
email due to a permanent reason like a non-existent address.
A soft
bounce is the failed delivery of an email due to a temporary
issue, like a full mailbox or an unavailable server.
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