Maxmail HQ Email Marketing Blog

SPAM is a chronic problem world-wide and quite often that means us, as email marketing service providers, have a pretty tough job policing and ensuring all emails that go out of our system are compliant with relevant Spam laws.

In this article we’ll attempt to explain the issue of SPAM, what it means, what are the laws, what’s at stake and how to make sure you are compliant with all relevant international guidelines and policies.

The Issue of SPAM in simple Engligh

Spam is an issue about consent, not content. Whether the Unsolicited Bulk Email (“UBE”) message is an advert, a scam, porn, a begging letter or an offer of a free lunch, the content is irrelevant – if the message was sent unsolicited and in bulk then the message is spam.

Spam is not a sub-set of UBE, it is not “UBE that is also a scam or that doesn’t contain an unsubscribe link”. All email sent unsolicited and in bulk is Spam.

This distinction is important because legislators spend inordinate amounts of time attempting to regulate the content of spam messages, and in doing so come up against free speech issues, without realizing that the spam issue is solely about the delivery method.

Definition of SPAM

The word “Spam” as applied to Email means “Unsolicited Bulk Email”.

Unsolicited means that the Recipient has not granted verifiable permission for the message to be sent. Bulk means that the message is sent as part of a larger collection of messages, all having substantively identical content.

A message is Spam only if it is both Unsolicited and Bulk.

• Unsolicited Email is normal email
  (examples: first contact enquiries, job enquiries, sales enquiries)
• Bulk Email is normal email
  (examples: subscriber newsletters, customer communications, discussion lists)

International Regulations around sending email communication

The United States Can-SPAM Act

New Zealand Unsolicited Electronic Messages Act

Australian Anti-SPAM Act (2003)

Anti-Spam and Privacy Laws for the European Union

Maxmail introduces new policy to fight SPAM and eradicate Spammers from its global network

Fighting SPAM comes as part of the territory of being a market leader in email marketing. Since there’s no way we can “predict” who will SPAM, all we can do is make sure we have tough enough policies in place to deter SPAMMERS and make sure our system is not used for sending unsolicited emails.

Hence, as of July 1, 2010, Maxmail has introduced new policies that imposes hefty fines and penalties with potential for litigation if it is proven that a particular Maxmail user has breached our Anti-Spam policies and our Terms of Use Agreement.

Read the Maxmail Terms of Use Agreement here.

The bottom line is this

• DO NOT send emails where you are not sure whether or not you have the “express permission” from your subscribers
• In all your campaigns make sure you have an unsubscribe link
• Mention your full company name, contact details and a phone number
• Specify where, when and how you got the email address of your subscribers – remind them of when they opted in
• Collect evidence that your subscribers indeed opted in – Capture the IP address from which they opted in (if using web forms), the date, website URL etc.
• If in doubt – do the right thing – ask for their permission before sending them the email.