"Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day.
Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick.
It would be funny if it weren't so exciting.
" - Bill Gates on spam Every so often it is prudent to take a refresher on fundamental email marketing topics and best practices.
CAN-SPAM, officially known as the Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act of 2003,is one of the most important online marketing topics.
To follow are some of the basic facts, principals and rules concerning CAN-SPAM legislation.
But like most legislation, this is not a simple bill.
I recommend reading the entire act to learn more details.
Opt-Out and Opt-in Rules:

• Opt-out email addresses cannot be shared or sold for marketing purposes.
  
• The opt-out option must be available to recipients for at least 30 days after they receive a commercial email.
  
• Opt-out requests must be handled within 10 business days.
  
• Opt-out methods must be available either via an email option or single web page option.
  
• If affirmative consent is not used, the email must be identified in the body of the message as an advertisement and include a valid brick-and-mortar postal address.
  

Other Related Information:

• The CAN-SPAM Act went into effect January 1, 2004.
  
• Header information must be correct and legitimate.
  
• An email's "from" and "to" lines must be accurate.
  This includes the originating domain name, and identifying the organization or person who initiated the email.
  
• The subject line cannot mislead email recipients about the content within the email.
  
• Email addresses cannot be harvested, and automated means cannot be used to create email addresses.
  
• "Clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated" must be given if an email address is to be shared with a third party.
  
• CAN-SPAM law is intended for the U.
  S.
  only.
  
• It is up to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the State Attorney General, and ISP's to prosecute CAN-SPAM offenses.
  A spammer can be subject to a maximum $16,000 fine per violation.
  One of the largest CAN-SPAM violation settlements to date was $2.
  9 million in penalties.
  This case occurred in 2008.
  

So those are the rules.
Pay close attention and as always, Happy Marketing!