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 Originating Message Builder Recipient Inbox

5. Sample Email Header From - Tue Dec 16 10:36:37 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 10:36:39 2003) X-From_: root@mailer1.cooleremail.net Tue Dec 16 10:08:31 2003 Return-Path: root@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 <lars@cooleremail.com>; Tue, 16 Dec 2003 10:08:31 –0800 Received: from mailer1.cooleremail.net (64.186.224.241) by modi.icebase.net with ESMTP; 16 Dec 2003 10:08:30 –0800 From: CoolerEmail editor@cooleremail.com To: Lars Helgeson lars@cooleremail.com Date: Tue, 16 Dec 2003 10:05:19 –0800 Subject: CoolerTips #39 - New Cooler Controls! Mime-Version: 1.0 Message-ID: 20031215111121706811.1448@mailer1.cooleremail.net Content-Type: multipart/alternative; boundary="============_CoolerEmail_============“  --============_CoolerEmail_============ Content-Transfer-Encoding: binary Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"; format="flowed"

6. Subject Lines • Should ALWAYS be accurate • Avoid spamtrap keywords • People don’t 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 company’s 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

9. 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….

11. 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.CoolerEmail.com/canspam2004.ppt