My local newspaper runs a column called “Figuratively Speaking.” It appears on the daily puzzle page and features factoids about society along with some related percentages. A recent example: In 2005, only 12 percent of retail e-marketers provided email opt-out links that allowed recipients to make changes to their subscription preferences. Today, 32 percent do so.*
To what can we attribute the increase in including email opt-outs? Hopefully, more people are looking to the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act), which establishes requirements for sending commercial email and spells out penalties for violations.
The law, under the jurisdiction of The Federal Trade Commission, became effective January 1, 2004, and we have it to thank for clarifying many email communication best practices. Among other things, the law states that senders have 10 business days to remove an email address from their send-to list once an opt-out request has been received from that address. It’s also illegal for commercial email senders to sell or transfer the email addresses of people who have opted-out.
These best practices exist to allow the consumer experience to be as positive as possible. There is a philosophy that email marketers can retain subscribers by making the opt-out process difficult. It is possible to be CAN-SPAM compliant and erect barriers to the opt-out process, such as making people who wish to unsubscribe opt-out twice, or requiring an exit survey or requesting some type of personal information. Sure, you may keep people on your list this way, but you’re certainly not engendering any lovely feelings for your brand by doing so.
An easy opt-out process is just one of the facets to managing a successful email marketing campaign. As increasing numbers of online marketers turn to email as a cost-effective and efficient way of reaching out to consumers, it is ever more important that your email 1) not end up in the spam folder, and 2) not aggravate the good humors of your recipients. MightyMerchant’s article, “Successful Email Marketing,” is loaded with tips on getting started using addresses you might already have from your existing customers, email composition, and managing your list.
*Source: Silverpop Email Marketing Services
Posted on October 14th, 2007 by Vanessa
Filed under: Email
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