You are at: Home > Articles > Dos and Don'ts of Email Marketing

	Dos and Don'ts of Email Marketing Posted 23 March 2009

Being easy to setup and cost effective, it's no wonder more and more people use email marketing to promote their products and services. But how do you know you're meeting legal requirements and consumer preferences? Here is the guide to help you out...

What are the Regulations?

The regulations regarding spam are called 'The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003.' The important bits are that you can't:

		Transmit unsolicited emails to an individual subscriber (a consumer) unless the recipient has previously notified you to receive them.
		Send either solicited or unsolicited emails if your identity is disguised or concealed, or if there is no way to Opt-Out.
		You cannot reveal recipients' details in emails (sending an email out just using the BCC field).

What many organisations fail on when sending emails regards rules set out by the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002. The rules are to list a company registration number, place of registration and registered office address when sending out emails.

You can read more on the Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 by reading our full article on what you need to do. This affects your website and other marketing communications.

The Exceptions

The regulations do not cover electronic mail marketing messages sent to businesses (opposed to individual subscribers) on a purely Opt-Out basis. So, if an email is something along the lines of "info@company.com" then it OK to send an unsolicited email.

There has been criticism for the legislation being weak in matters such as the above. It's also legal to send emails to a person who has actively expressed an interest in purchasing a product or service and has not opted out of receiving future marketing messages (having been given a clear opportunity to do so). The company can continue to send them related product/service marketing material by e-mail until that person opts out. This is known as a "soft Opt-In."

Sending email marketing is also fine if the recipient was given an opportunity to refuse the marketing when their details were originally collected (such as a tick box) and, if they did not refuse, are given a simple way to opt out in all future communications.

Can you pass on email details to a third party?

You are only allowed to pass on a subscriber's email if it was clearly upon registration who you were proposing to pass the email details on to. If there was no indication, you must obtain permission first.

The law states that you cannot use an Opt-Out approach. Here is the wrong and right way to approach it:

‘We will pass your details onto third parties we feel may be of interest to you. If you do not wish to receiving any mailings from third parties, please write to us."

"We would like to pass your details on to specially selected third parties so that they can send you more information on holidays. Do you agree to this?"

In general, when requesting information from consumers you should tell them who you are, why you are collecting the information and whether you will share it or put the information to a use significantly different to the original purpose (requiring their explicit permission). Also be aware that you shouldn’t keep personal information for longer than is necessary for the purpose for which it was obtained.

Email tracking

As is a theme with the regulations, communication is key. It is fine to use tracking techniques with your emails, but the regulations point out that the recipient should be told if there is a tracking device within an email. They should also have the option or instructions on how to turn it off as part of their privacy rights.

Unsubscribing

First of all, the regulations state that identity of the person or organisation sending an email cannot be disguised or concealed. When it comes to opting out, there must be a valid address for the recipient to be able to unsubscribe to in line with Privacy Regulations. Instructions to Opt-Out should should be very simple.

When an Opt-Out request is received it must of course be honoured, with the contact details ideally being “suppressed” (stored but not used) rather than deleted.

If someone does unsubscribe, make the most most it! By using a form opposed to just an email address, you can ask the recipient a) why they are unsubscribing and b) if they have any suggestion on how to improve your mailings.

What is good practice?

Good practice guidelines have been set out by the The Information Commissioner to summarise the regulations. These are:

		Try to go for Opt-In email lists as much as possible.
		Provide a statement of use when you collect details.
		Make sure you clearly explain what individuals' details will be used for.
		Do not have consent boxes already ticked.
		Clearly display website and contact details.
		Provide a simple and quick method for customers to Opt-Out
		Have a system in place to deal with complaints about unwanted marketing.
		When you receive an Opt-Out request, suppress the individual or company details rather than deleting them (so you have a record of who not to contact).

Following these guidelines will stand you in good stead. You also read the Direct Marketing Association's 45 page Best Practice Guidelines to Email Marketing for further advice.

You may also be interested in reading....
 

	The Benefits of Email Marketing
	What is an Opt In email?
	Making the most of unsubscribes

Articles to your inbox

Discover more about Search Engine Optimisation, Pay Per Click advertising and Email Marketing by getting our articles when they're published.

Just put your e-mail address in the box below.

Latest Articles

	Getting to the top of Google Business listings
	Making the most of unsubscribes
	Getting people to subscribe
	The benefits of permission based email marketing
	The subject line commandments