"Permission-based email marketers" confused about CAN SPAM law [sp]

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

---
        
From: "Rochelle" <Rochelle () edgepress com>
To: "Editorial Dept. \(Editorial Dept.\)" <rochelle () edgepress com>
Subject: CAN-SPAM Law Sows Confusion Among Legitimate Emailers, New 
EmailLabs Audit Finds
Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 15:15:20 -0800


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Regards,

Rochelle Srigley
Edge Communications, Inc.
P 818.719.9299
F 818-719-9295
rochelle () edgepress com


 For Immediate Release




 CONFUSION REIGNS AS PERMISSION-BASED EMAIL MARKETERS


COMPLY WITH SOME REQUIREMENTS OF CAN-SPAM LAW BUT NOT OTHERS,


EMAILLABS BENCHMARK AUDIT REVEALS






Informal Survey of 100 Major Email Marketers Shows Administrative 
Complexities Slowing Compliance as Legitimate Marketers Weigh New Best 
Practices




REDWOOD CITY, Calif. (January 27, 2004) – In the wake of the new federal 
CAN-SPAM law, EmailLabs, a leading provider of email marketing automation 
solutions, today reported that a majority of permission marketers are 
exceeding most requirements of the Act, but remain confused over 
administrative aspects of the law.

In a new benchmark audit of 100+ major email marketers, 95 percent include 
an unsubscribe process, as mandated by the law.  At the same time, just 56 
percent were in compliance with one of the simplest aspects of CAN-SPAM – 
the new requirement to add a postal mailing address.  The informal survey 
will be replicated later in Q1, to determine changes in compliance patterns.

            “The bare majority complying with the postal address 
requirement appears to indicate that many legitimate email marketers are 
confused by CAN-SPAM, don’t understand the requirement and/or simply 
haven't gotten around to it,” said Loren McDonald, Vice President of 
Marketing, EmailLabs.  “Most major permission-based email marketers do 
already adhere to best practices, and have long been doing what the law now 
requires, but many are clearly confused by the nuances and gray areas of 
the law.

“From a broader perspective, one potential benefit of CAN-SPAM and the 
intense focus on unsolicited email is that ‘unintentional spammers’ -- 
those legitimate companies who have not followed email marketing best 
practices -- may begin adopting permission practices and go well beyond 
just complying with CAN-SPAM,” McDonald said.  “Even if the Act doesn’t 
stop fraudulent and annoying spam, it may raise the standards of what is 
considered good permission email practices.”

            The federal CAN-SPAM law took effect on January 1, and is 
intended to curb the proliferation of unsolicited emails. CAN-SPAM contains 
requirements that must be met by all mailers whether an email message is 
unsolicited or permission based.  Companies sending unsolicited emails must 
include a clear notice that the message being sent is an advertisement or 
solicitation, among other requirements.

Conducted from Jan. 1-Jan. 15, the EmailLabs audit evaluated 104 emails 
from some of the nation’s largest online retailers, media and publishing 
companies, along with Fortune 500 enterprises.  Fifty-seven percent of the 
sample consisted of newsletters and 29 percent of appeals from online 
retailers; another 18 percent of emails were classified as “corporate” in 
nature.  Emails were obtained randomly from employees who had opted-in to 
receive these emails.

In terms of strict CAN-SPAM compliance, 56 percent of the sample included 
postal addresses and more than 95 percent provided an unsubscribe 
mechanism. None of the emails reviewed appeared to contain misleading 
subject lines or other fraudulent practices employed by spammers. Among the 
multiple methods to unsubscribe, 87 percent offered a link, 22 percent an 
email reply and 11 percent notification by phone or mail.

Although not mandated by CAN-SPAM, 54 percent enabled recipients to update 
their preferences, 40 percent each explained why the email was received and 
supplied complete contact information (address, phone, email), and 37.5 
percent referenced a privacy policy.

            The EmailLabs audit is not intended to represent a 
statistically valid sample of all permission-based emails sent in the U.S., 
but is instead an analysis of a random sample of opt-in emails to which 
consumers and businesspeople might subscribe.

The audit of permission emails is in sharp contrast to other findings on 
initial CAN-SPAM compliance of unsolicited commercial email.  Email 
security firm MX Logic found that among a random sample of more than1,000 
unsolicited commercial emails received during the first week of the year, 
just three complied with the CAN-SPAM law. Audiotrieve, a Boxborough, Mass. 
maker of anti-spam filtering tools, found in its recent analysis of 1,000 
"junk" emails that only 102 met all the CAN-SPAM Act requirements.



EmailLabs Offers Compliance Assistance

“CAN-SPAM -- and the surrounding buzz around permission email marketing -- 
has clearly helped distinguish the difference between trusted/legitimate 
permission emails, emails that are not fraudulent but are unsolicited or 
sent by companies with poor permission practices, and plainly fraudulent, 
pornographic or offensive unsolicited spam emails,” McDonald said.

To help ensure that clients are in compliance with the law, EmailLabs has 
added a new Mailing Address Footer feature to its core hosted software. The 
mailing address footer is automatically included at the bottom of all email 
messages sent to any of the customer’s mailing lists.  The EmailLabs 
application already enables compliance with many of the Act’s other 
requirements, including ensuring that the unsubscribe mechanism adheres 
precisely to a recipient’s subscription preferences.  The company has also 
made available a CAN-SPAM legal brief from the law firm of Dow, Lohnes & 
Alberston PLLC, at http://www.emaillabs.com/resources_tools.html.

 “Unsolicited email has been legalized by CAN-SPAM, and regardless of 
whether the law increases or decreases spam, for legitimate email marketers 
there is only one choice  -- taking the permission high road,” said 
McDonald.  “Doing anything else will damage your brand and bottom line.”

About EmailLabs

EmailLabs is a leading provider of advanced email technology solutions to 
agencies, publishers and marketing, sales and customer service departments 
of middle-market and Global 2000 companies. The EmailLabs email-marketing 
platform is provided as an ASP (Web-based) service, and is easily 
customized and integrated with a company's Web site, sales force automation 
and CRM technologies. The company provides email-marketing solutions to 
more than 275 companies, including Nokia, Agilent, AON, Jupitermedia and 
Silicon Valley Bank. Headquartered in Redwood City, Calif., EmailLabs is a 
service of Uptilt, Inc. Uptilt is privately held and profitable. For more 
information, visit www.EmailLabs.com.

Contacts:

Loren McDonald
EmailLabs
650.569.3939  925.202.5976 cell
loren () uptilt com

Ken Greenberg
Edge Communications, Inc.
818.719.9292
ken () edgepress com


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