In 2003, Bush Government passed Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003, which is popularly known as CAN- SPAM Act. The law was basically aimed at standardizing and regulating the commercial emails.
All legitimate email marketing services require their clients to abide by the rules laid out by the CAN-SPAM act. Violation of these rules is subject to fines up to $16,000.
How to ensure that your emails are CAN–SPAM compliant, here is the checklist?
1) Messages must not be transmitted through insecure e-mail relay or proxy servers.
2) E-mail servers must have valid reverse DNS records.
3) Your ‘From’, ‘To, ‘Reply’ ‘To and routing information including your domain name and email address should be authenticated.
4) Your Mail must contain the physical address of the business, who initiated the message
5) Don’t use deceptive subject line, FREE, OFFER, GUARANTEE, such words in your subject line should be avoided. The subject line must reflect the body copy of your email.
6) A clear and distinct instruction to opt out or unsubscribe
7) Clean your list frequently by removing all hard bounces, unsubscribe and opt-outs from your mailing list
If you are sending unsolicited mails the receivers can file a complaint to FTC (Federal Trade Commission.) http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/edcams/spam/index.html.
