Are you using a bulk email company in Canada for your email sends? Are looking to do bulk email sends in Canada? We've got five legal tips you should be using to stay compliant.
1. Use a double-opt-in method to ensure you have permission to contact recipients especially if they are Canadian Residents. Even though it is not required to comply with United States Can-Spam laws, it is required to comply with Canadian Privacy Law. Better safe than sorry when sending from any bulk email company especially with the new anti-spam law starting in Canada in 2013. Not sure where your client resides? Now is the time to gather that data and have it at your disposal.
2. Store all information related to an individual in a data bank secured in proportion to the sensitivity of the information being stored. For example, sensitive medical, banking or employee information requires greater security than a first name and an email address combination.
3. Collect, request, and store only as much information as you need at any given time. If all you need is a first name and an email, don't store anything more than that. First, you will need more secure facilities to house the information and comply with legislation. Second, you place yourself at greater risk for damages should a breach in security occur.
4. Make sure that at all times your unsubscribe method works. Don't just comply with the 30-day requirement. Some people don't read their email for months. An angry recipient 60 days later is still an angry recipient. It's better to let them unsubscribe quietly and lose a contact you probably didn't want anyway than have to deal with an investigation from the Federal Trade Commission. When using SimplyCast, your unsubscribe method is always working and tested as it is provided by our service. If you have further questions on this, please contact our customer care team.
5. Finally, be honest with your audience about your content. If your message is clearly to solicit business, then say so in the body of the email. A better strategy is to use an email newsletter and focus on delivering quality, relevant content that benefits the recipient and gets them to your website where you can sell them more effectively and without distraction. Focus on engagement rather then selling.
By following these guidelines, it will help you stay not only on the right side of the law, but perhaps even increase the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.
Interested in using a bulk email company in Canada?
With SimplyCast, you can easily store your user data in Canada - click the link to read about why you may want to and our upcoming Canadian Data Center now.
