CAN SPAM and Your Email Marketing

1
CAN SPAMandYour Email Marketing

• Best Practices for Email Senders
• By
• Lars Helgeson
• CoolerEmail

2
CAN SPAM and You

• CAN SPAM Requirements
• The Make-Up of an Email
• Managing Unsubscribes
• Legally Acceptable Behavior
• Best Practices
• Current Trends

3
5 Requirements

• Correct header information
• Accurate subject line
• Functioning return email address
• Cannot send to anyone for whom sender has
  received unsubscribe request (10 days to process)
• Commercial email must
• Clearly state it is an advertisement
• Allow for unsubscribe
• Display physical postal address

4
Header Information

• Forward and Reverse DNS
• Domain Name vs IP Address
• Mail-From and From
• How Mail Transport Agents work

RBL
Internet
DATA
Originating Message Server
Mail Transport Agent
Recipient Server
RESPONSE
POP / IMAP
Recipient Inbox
Originating Message Builder
5
Sample Email Header
From - Tue Dec 16 103637 2003 X-UIDL
dd45ee14f36b0000 X-Mozilla-Status
0001 X-Mozilla-Status2 00000000 Received by
freya.icebase.net (mbox lars) (with Cubic
Circle's cucipop (v1.31 1998/05/13) Tue Dec 16
103639 2003) X-From_ root_at_mailer1.cooleremail.n
et Tue Dec 16 100831 2003 Return-Path
root_at_mailer1.cooleremail.net Received from
modi.icebase.net (modi.icebase.net
64.186.224.237) by freya.icebase.net
(8.12.9/8.12.9) with ESMTP id hBGI8VWH021255 for
Tue, 16 Dec 2003 100831
0800 Received from mailer1.cooleremail.net
(64.186.224.241) by modi.icebase.net with
ESMTP 16 Dec 2003 100830 0800 From
CoolerEmail editor_at_cooleremail.com To Lars
Helgeson lars_at_cooleremail.com Date Tue, 16 Dec
2003 100519 0800 Subject CoolerTips 39 - New
Cooler Controls! Mime-Version 1.0 Message-ID
20031215111121706811.1448_at_mailer1.cooleremail.net
Content-Type multipart/alternative
boundary"_CoolerEmail_  
--_CoolerEmail_ Content-Tr
ansfer-Encoding binary Content-Type text/plain
charset"iso-8859-1" format"flowed"
6
Subject Lines

• Should ALWAYS be accurate
• Avoid spamtrap keywords
• People dont respond
• Content filters will catch your email
• Examples free, guarantee, mortgage,
• Test for effectiveness

7
Return Email Address

• Recent trends show that your From address is
  more important than your subject line
• Use your strongest brand here
• Carefully consider your name vs your companys
  name
• Consider awareness first, then perception of
  brand
• Have a human readable From
• Bounces will go to Mail-From (same as From if
  Outlook)
• Out of office replies
• White list challenge-response services (e.g.,
  Matador)
• Reply-based unsubscribes

http//www.marketingsherpa.com, Jan 2004
8
Managing Unsubscribes

• Immediately remove from your database
• Make sure removals are permanent
• Do not transfer or sell unsubscribers names
• Record date/time of unsubscribe
• Should be handled automatically by your email
  service provider
• Link active for 30 days

Sample Unsubscribe Screen
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Email Content Requirements

• Commercial Advertisement if primary purpose
• Number of recipients does not affect CAN SPAM
  applicability
• Unsubscribe link
• Beware of content filters creating false
  positives
• Consider synonyms
• Physical Postal Address

10
So Legally You Can

• Send one piece of spam and ask for recipients to
  opt-out
• Buy, sell, and rent email lists with third
  parties
• Send as many emails as you want

But legality does not make it right.
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Best Practices

• Do not use opt-out methods
• Do not buy, rent, or sell lists
• Have a clear privacy and anti-spam policy
• Make it clear when and how someone is added to
  your email list
• Be careful automatically adding someone to your
  list just because they purchase from you
• Describe what you will send them (newsletter,
  promotions, third party ads, etc)

12
Maximize Your ROI

• Research your email service provider
• DNSstuff.com, SenderBase.com
• Privacy/anti-spam policy and enforcement
• Fine for spamming
• Grounds for termination
• Automatic Subscribe/Unsubscribe
• Bonded Sender Program

13
Maximize Your ROI

• Measure email campaign success
• Track aggregate reads, clicks, bounces
• Send surveys to your client base
• Watch for bounce messages for domains
• Calculate revenue generated by campaigns

14
Maximize Your ROI

• React
• Improve message
• List and content segmentation based on
  demographics and behavior
• Change email service providers if not satisfactory

15
Tips on Growing Your List

• Contact all of your existing clients
• Search Engine Optimization with website analytics
• Website signup form

16
More Tips

• Send-to-a-Friend
• Referral programs
• Co-promotions with partners

Sample Send-to-a-Friend Image Form
17
Current Trends in Email

• 74 of all email is spam
• The CAN SPAM law has not decreased the amount of
  spam
• Average open rates depend on industry, but are
  40-50
• Later this year CANSPAM will be augmented to
  include SMS marketing

Multiple sources, including eWeek,Postini.com,
and ClickZ.com Based on data collected from
CoolerEmail users
18
Thank You
This Presentation on the Web At http//www.Coole
rEmail.com/canspam2004.ppt