United States legislators have cracked down on spam and the senders of unsolicited email with clear laws and punishment for offenders with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Are your commercial emails can-spam complient?

If you are sending commercial emails whether to previous or potential customers you need to know the new laws to make sure you don't get in trouble for violating spam laws. Offenders may find themselves with large fines, three years+ prison sentences and all money, products and computer equipment involved in the email confiscated. To avoid being under penalty of law and also to establish healthy advertising relationships with your email customers follow the commercial email guidelines. Below is a summary of the main guidelines and how they may affect your opt-in email campaign.

You must have permission, either affirmative or implied consent, from the email recipient to send them an email.

Affirmative Consent*
The term 'affirmative consent', when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means that:

1. The recipient expressly consented to receive the message, either in response to a clear and conspicuous request for such consent or at the recipient's own initiative.

2. If the message is from a party other than the party to which the recipient communicated such consent, the recipient was given clear and conspicuous notice at the time the consent was communicated that the recipient's electronic mail messages.

Implied Consent*
The term 'implied consent', when used with respect to a commercial electronic mail message, means that:

1. Within the 3-year period ending upon receipt of such message, there has been a business transaction between the sender and the recipient (including a transaction involving the provision, free of charge, of information, goods, or services requested by the recipient); and

2. The recipient was, at the time of such transaction or thereafter in the first electronic mail message received from the sender after the effective date of this title, provided a clear and conspicuous notice of an opportunity not to receive unsolicited commercial electronic mail messages from the sender and has not exercised such opportunity.

What You Should do to be CAN-SPAM Complient 

• Create your own email lists from visitors to your website and be very cautious of purchasing opt-in lists.
• Provide 800 number, email and physical address for recipients to send requests to opt-out
• Send a double opt-in email to assure email recipients really want to hear from you.
• Send only the type of correspondence that email recipients agreed to receive.
• Keep track of correspondence with customers in case an audit of your implied consent contacts is necessary.

*As defined by the US government