Adding a physical location is necessary. Make sure a valid postal address is clearly visible in every email sent. For this reason, footers are non-negotiable as they typically contain some or most of this pertinent information.

Speaking of header information, you must always accurately identify the "From," "To," and "Reply-To" routing information along with the originating domain and email address. No exceptions.

Being clever isn't the same as being deceptive. By all means, break the mold by creating splashy subject lines, but intentionally misleading your recipient is not allowed (example: FREE MONEY INSIDE).

Email marketing might yield the highest ROI for your marketing spend, but failure to adhere to stipulations laid out by the CAN-SPAM Act could put you out of business fast. This law a�ects just about everyone—covering all commercial email—sent individually or in bulk. Be aware, B2B and B2C companies, the only exceptions are transactional and relationship messages.

At its core, CAN-SPAM is meant to uphold and protect; recipients always have and always will retain the right to opt out of emails they don't want to receive, a principle iContact heartily stands by.

Each separate violation carries a hefty fine, punishable up to $42,530, so there are 42,530 of incentives to play by the rules. Following the requirements isn't di�cult, so long as you keep these things in mind:

Stay in compliance and out of trouble with the FTC.

CAN-SPAM: A Must for Email

Even if you've hired a consultant or company to send emails on your behalf, you are still legally at fault if your emails violate these conditions. You cannot shirk responsibility because of ignorance; the onus is on you to stay on informed.

Opting out of future email correspondence has to be just as easy, if not easier than subscrib-ing. Most ESPs assist with automatically removing unsubscribed contacts, but if yours doesn't, that's grounds for another conversation. Another thing to note, once unsubscribed, you cannot sell, transfer, or distribute those email addresses.

If your message is an ad, make that known. Adding a line of text outlining how you acquired the email address and why the recipient is on your list is satisfactory.