How to Send Emails Legally

Course content (38 lessons)

Watch and learn the foundational information about the legalities of sending email marketing. Note that this lesson does not substitute for official legal advice. We recommend further research, or connecting with a business lawyer if there are aspects of sending email marketing that you'd like to clarify.

Legal Acronyms Defined:

CAN-SPAM is The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing Act. CAN-SPAM sets rules around commercial email.

GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation. The GDPR is meant to protect personal data for individuals within in the EU.

CASL is Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation. CASL helps protect Canadians while ensuring that businesses can continue to compete in the global marketplace.

Note that depending on the country that you own and operate your business, it’s highly recommended that you research the local email laws in your region.

✅ Take some time to read through the below resources to consider the legalities of communicating with customers and potential customers.

Resources:

[MUSIC PLAYING] Picture this. It's one year from now, and your business is highly profitable. You're selling tons of your product, building your team, and you've started wearing an ascot. But then, you check your mail, and see you've been hit with a lawsuit, a big one. Why? You're in violation of CAN-SPAM. That's enough to stop your momentum, right? You might even take off the ascot.
If you're confused about CAN-SPAM, or CASL, or GDPR, you're not alone. These are all rules and regulations that govern how to email. I recommend that you take the time to learn the legalities around sending email. I'll share the key points to know in this lesson, and in the resources below, I share the links to all the details. Note that this lesson is not official legal advice. Please do not call my cell if you get sued.
I will have nothing to offer other than moral support. If you have any specific questions about sending email legally, it's best to consult a lawyer who specializes in this area. Let's start with the CAN-SPAM law. CAN-SPAM sets rules around commercial email. Here are some general best practices for sending CAN-SPAM compliant emails. BT dubs, this is straight from the FTC site on CAN-SPAM. Don't use false or misleading header information.
Don't use deceptive subject lines. Identify the message as an ad. The law gives you a lot of leeway in how to do this, but you must disclose clearly and conspicuously that your message is an advertisement. Tell recipients where you're located. Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future email from you. Honor opt-out requests promptly. Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.
This means if you ultimately outsource your email marketing down the line, you're still legally liable. Oh, and your business must comply with the US CAN-SPAM Act, even if your business is outside of the US. Comprende? Bueno. Now, let's discuss GDPR. GDPR is the General Data Protection Regulation. The GDPR is meant to protect personal data for individuals within the EU.
The goal is to give people more control over their personal data. GDPR is setting a new standard in permission-based marketing. Here are a few key highlights that you have to keep in mind about the regulations. Firstly, you have to inform your subscribers if you're going to add them to a broadcast list after they opt into your website. You'll learn more about opt-in soon enough, though keep this in mind.
Secondly, you need to carefully manage your marketing automation. Throughout this course, we're going to teach you how to send automated emails and build customer segments. You'll learn more about this soon enough. If you add customers to a list with content they don't ask for, you're technically in violation of GDPR. And another important highlight is the right to be forgotten. From an email marketing perspective, this means you give this subscriber the opportunity to unsubscribe, which is similar to CAN-SPAM.
So what happens if you blow off GDPR? Non-compliance with GDPR can result in big financial penalties. The full list of regulations is available in the resources below, and remember to err on the side of caution. Also remember that I am not a lawyer, and "Drew Sanocki said I could do it" will not fly in most courts. Now that I hope I thoroughly scared you into avoiding a million-dollar lawsuit, it's time to get back to the fun stuff-- creating email content that makes you more revenue.
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How to Send Emails Legally

Course content (38 lessons)

Overview

01 |Get Started with Email Marketing

02 |Create Your Welcome Series

03 |Optimize Your Shopify Store

04 |Grow Your Email List

05 |Measure What Matters with Email Analytics

06 |Advanced Email Strategy

Legal Acronyms Defined:

Resources: