Email marketing is a vital component of any digital marketing campaign. It’s a direct method of communication between your business and your customers; you get a spot in their inbox and share valuable information with them. But too much of anything, even something good, can be harmful.
Most of us have given out our email address to a business before only to be bombarded by annoying junk mail to the point of resentment and disappointment.
The government of Canada, in response, has implement a new law to protect consumers (and their sanity). Commonly referred to as CASL, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation has outlined rules and regulations for sending out Commercial Electronic Messages (CEMs). This applies to all CEMS that are sent to and from all Canadians. That means even businesses outside of Canada must adhere to these rules if the recipient of their CEMs are Canadians.
What You Need to Know
As a business owner, if your marketing strategy includes emailing your consumers or prospects, you’ll need to abide by these 3 points of compliance:
- Consent is mandatory. You can only send emails to those people who have given you their consent. Their consent can be explicit or implied, but you do need their approval before you can add someone to your email list. That means you can’t just randomly start emailing people because you found their email address online.
- Include your contact information. All CEMs must clearly identify the sender of the message (that’s you) and their contact information (e.g. your email address, phone number, etc.).
- An “Unsubscribe” option must be available. CEMs must include the option of unsubscribing from the sender, and the option should be clear, prominent, and free. (Most email newsletter software will offer a button or link at the bottom of their template.)
Explicit vs. Implied Consent
The point of CASL is to shield people from unsolicited emails. Hence the need to get their consent before you email them. So what’s the difference between implied and explicit or expressed consent?
The former allows for a looser interpretation and the latter is pretty darn clear. That’s why we would recommend you get expressed consent whenever possible.
In general, you can claim that you have implied consent if the recipient of the email:
- Has purchased a product/service from your business within the last 24 months
- Has made a donation to your organization (only applicable for registered charities and political organizations)
- Has given you their email address for the purpose of professional communication
- Has their email address published conspicuously, without a corresponding message barring unsolicited messages
It’s best, however, if you can get their expressed consent. Doing so can save you a headache in the long run and, most important of all, prevent your business from becoming associated with spam emails.
Expressed or explicit consent must:
- Be a written or oral agreement between your business and the recipient.
- Specify the type of messages to be sent and the frequency (e.g. a weekly newsletter, etc.)
- Request the recipient of the CEM to provide their name and contact information
- Include a statement explaining that the recipient can unsubscribe at any time
Keep Track of It All
CASL demands that you keep records of all consent messages for the recipients of your emails. This includes those emails that you’ve collected over the years. You’ll have to ask those clients to send you a message expressing their consent for your newsletters, etc. A great way of staying up to date and maintaining records is through a email newsletter software. Our favourite is Constant Contact. It offers users an easy to navigate dashboard and amazing templates that are already CASL compliant.
Our Final Piece of Advice
With so many businesses sending out emails every day, it’s easy for your email to get lost in someone’s inbox. It might look similar to another one they’ve opened and didn’t like. Or they may simply not be interested in looking at yet another monthly newsletter. Take the time to craft valuable emails. Don’t send out the same old content week after week. Create original content that will be of use and interest to your customers. Add a splash of colour with beautiful pictures and include personal messages that will make the recipient feel appreciated. Chances are, if they feel happy seeing your email, they won’t report you for a violation of CASL (not that you will, right?!).
