5 Tips to Make Your Email List Legal

“Build your email list!”

“ Facebook could go away over night, how will you reach your customers?”

I’m sure you’ve heard all of these, and more. As a business, reaching your current and prospective customers is key to your success, and your bottom dollar! An email list is an invaluable asset to a business. But, did you know there are a few legal things you  must do to ensure your email list is legal? If not, you could be sued!

Here is what you need to know to make sure your list is compliant:

1. Customers must know that they are actually subscribing to your list.

Are you using a freebie to grab an email? Hey, I do it too! But, do you add that email to your newsletter? Your targeted list? You MUST disclaim this upfront and let the customer know that their email might be used for more than just the “freebie”!

2. Customers must be able to unsubscribe from your list. 

Your customers must have a way to unsubscribe from your list. Many of your email campaign platforms ( i.e. Constant Contact and MailChimp) include the ability to unsubscribe in each email. Unsubscribe request must be honored within 10 days in the United States.

3. Your header must match the email content.

To be in compliance, your subject and from line must be an accurate representation of the content of the email. What does this mean? This means that you cannot use a catchy subject that does not relate to the content of the email in order to get your customer to open the email. For example, a subject line that reads “I have a quick question”, but the content is an advertisement for your new clothing line, is not compliant and can leave you open to liabilities.

4.  If your email is an advertisement, it must be clear that you are advertising.

No, it does not have to say explicitly “This is an advertisement”, but if you state in the from line that this email is from Your Company and the Subject line clearly reflects this is an ad (Open for 20% off), then you are compliant.

5. You need a physical address in your email.

It does NOT have to be your home address, in fact, do NOT do that! If you do not have an address for your business, a virtual office or PO Box will suffice.

Are you worried your email list isn’t compliant? Do you need a web audit to ensure you are in compliant with all the new laws? Reach out to courtney@cenglishlaw.com to discuss our Website Audit Program!