Bronto Blog

Last week, the FTC approved several new rule provisions under the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. Read the press release or download the full article (PDF). If you don’t have time to sort through the comments and legalese, below is a brief overview.

These new provisions were included largely to clarify the meanings of and intents of existing rules, so not too much has changed. There were a few clarifications that dealt more with the technicalities of the Act; however, there are two main changes to concentrate on. One of the biggest additions was an augmentation to ensure that subscribers could easily remove themselves from your list, which we’ve paraphrased here:

“…an e-mail recipient cannot be required to…take any steps other than sending a reply e-mail message..

This means even more diligence is required when managing replies. You, as the sender, must include a valid reply-to address and read/respond to replies often. Also, avoid reply-to’s such as “donotreply@” or “noreply@”. It is essential to honor unsubscribe requests when subscribers ask to be removed via replying to your email. Additionally, avoid the dreaded “DO NOT REPLY TO THIS EMAIL.” For more details, read the BrontoFire episode, “Don’t Hide That Unsubscribe” (look under the TurboTax section).

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It was a lovely morning (8AM) in Durham, NC as Kimberly and I rendezvoused in the friendly confines of our local Starbucks Barista. Kimberly was sipping on a tall peppermint mocha; I was working my standard “medium” (I refuse to call it Grande) coffee. As we began brainstorming this month’s topic for BrontoFire, Kimberly suddenly shouted out, “Don’t Hide That Unsubscribe.” After I cleaned up the coffee I spit out in a fit of laughter, I told Kimberly: “Great idea. Let’s roll.”

Below is a recap of the 45-minute conversation that ensued. We reviewed some of the big boys - Barnes & Noble, Big Lots, Costco, Reebok, TurboTax (Intuit). Enjoy.

Barnes & Noble

DJ - I like how they have a bolded section, “How to unsubscribe.” However, why do I need to log in to my account in order to change my preferences?

Kimberly - Furthermore, DJ, I really don’t like the fact that I have to follow detailed instructions on how to manage my preferences. Don’t make me work so hard.

Big Lots

Kimberly - I like the phrase “we will promptly remove you from our list.” They are clearly telling me what they will do and then are doing it. I believe and trust them more because of this statement. To boot, I really like the fact that they list my favorite store and allow me to update it very quickly.

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