 |
|
 |
“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.
In
the next edition of Email Marketing Best Practices:
“A day in the life of a college-bound teenager."
Plus, ideas for reaching them.
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…
1. Accurate headers. The "From"
address, subject line, originating domain name (what's this?),
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.)
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!
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
8. 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.
PS) Please keep the questions coming. Send an email to: info@studenthorizons.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
