Email Marketing Guidelines

The Golden Rule

The three key steps y ou should follow are:

1. Consent Only - send commercial electronic messages with the addressee's consent - either express
or inferred consent.

2. Identify - include clear and accurate information about the person or business that is responsible for
sending the commercial electronic message.

3. Unsubscribe - ensure that a functional unsubscribe facility is included in all y our commercial
electronic messages. Dea l with unsubscribe requests promptly .

What you need to know about permission

By far the most important aspect of email marketing is the concept of permission. It's the only thing
separating y ou from the spammers of this world, but for many it remains a grey area. It doesn't need to
be. First of all, let's clarify what spam is, and then what kind of permission y ou will need to use Clip Magic
Email.

This is so important. You can land y ourself in l egal t ro u bl e

(http://seattlep i.nwsource.com/local/271371_spa m24.h tml) if y ou don't comply with the law.

While the A u st ral ian S pam Act 20 03 (http://www.acma.gov.au/WEB/STANDARD/pc=PC_310321)

and CA N-SP AM (http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm) laws are a step in
the right direction for classify ing and reducing spam, we don't feel they go far enough. Our definition of
spam goes bey ond the laws in most countries and encompasses what we believe to be true permission
email marketing.

Spam is any email you send to someone who hasn't given you their direct permission to contact
them on the topic of the email.

Being ‘legal’ is not enough

But that's not enough. Permission is a fuzzy word open to interpretation. Let's get into some specific
scenarios so it's clear what does and doesn't constitute permission.

You can only email subscribers using Clip Magic Email if y ou obtained their permission in any of the
following way s.

http://www.clipmagic.com.au/email-marketing/guidelines
 Clip Magic 2009 Page 1/3
The type of permission you MUST have

 They opted in via your web site

This could either be through a newsletter subscribe form or by ticking a checkbox on another form.
This checkbox cannot be checked by default and it must clearly explain tha t checking it will mean y ou
will be contacting them by email.

 They completed an offline form and indicated they wanted to be emailed

If someone completes an offline form like a survey or enters a competition, y ou can only contact them
if it was explained to them that they would be contacted by email AND they ticked a box indicating
they would like to be contacted.

 They gave you their business card

If someone gives y ou their business card and y ou have explained to them that y ou will be in touch by
email, y ou can contact them. If they dropped their business card in a fishbowl at a trade show, there
must be a sign indicating they will be contacted by email.

 They purchased something off you in the last 2 years

By making a purchase from y ou they have provided their permission implicitly . Feel free to email
them but a t the same time, we think it's alway s better to ask any way , so why not include an opt-in
checkbox as part of the checkout process.

Scenarios that DON’T equate to permission

Basically , any thing outside the examp les above doesn't equal permission in our view, but here are some
examples to make sure we're cry stal clear.

 You obtained the email addresses from a third party

Whether y ou purchased a list, were provided one by a partner or bought a bankrupt competitor's
customer list, those people never gave YOU permission to email them and they will consider y our
email spam. No matter the cla ims of the source of this list, y ou cannot email them with Clip Magic
Email.

 You scraped or "copy and pasted" the addresses from the Internet

Just because people publish their ema il address doesn't mean they want to hear from you.

http://www.clipmagic.com.au/email-marketing/guidelines
 Clip Magic 2009 Page 2/3
 You haven't emailed that address for more than 2 years

Permission doesn't age well. Even if y ou got their permission legitima tely , they won't remember
giving it to y ou. If y ou haven't sent something to that address in the last 2 y ears, y ou can't start
now.

Related topics

 A u st ral ian Co mpeti tio n & Co nsum er A ffai r s

(http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/54073) view on spam

Related downloads

 S pam A ct 20 03 - A Prac tica l Gui de fo r Bu si ness

(http://www.acma.gov.au/webwr/consumer_info/frequently _asked_questions/spam_business_practi
cal_guide.pdf)

 Cl ip M agi c E mai l P er mi ssio n gui del ines a gr eem ent (http://www.clipmagic.com.au/email-

marketing/uploads/File/guidelines/Clip Mag ic Mailer Magic Permissions Agrmt.pdf )

http://www.clipmagic.com.au/email-marketing/guidelines
 Clip Magic 2009 Page 3/3