81% Of Email Marketers Not Aware Of CAN-SPAM

More than two years after the CAN-Spam Act took effect, email marketers still show a “shockingly low level” of understanding about the requirements and penalties of the law, according to a new report from WebSurveyor Corp.

Of the 1,082 organizations responding to a WebSurveyor poll, 81% said they are unaware of the CAN-Spam Act and its requirements. Almost 84% said they received no training or information from their organization about the law, and only 19% could correctly identify the act as the legislation governing the broadcast of commercial email, according to the survey.

Nearly 75% responding to the survey said they broadcast emails to customers at least once a month. Of that number, 26% do weekly email broadcasts and 7% used daily mailings, WebSurveyor said.

Customer email broadcasts made up 38% of all mailings, while mailings to prospective customers accounted for 25% of all mass emailings.

“This combination of high reliance on email broadcasts and low level of knowledge of legal requirements is putting organizations at risk for civil and criminal penalties, as well as at significant risk of blacklisting by major ISPs and bandwidth providers,” WebSurveyor said.

CAN-Spam provides penalties for up to $250 per email spam, with a cap of $2 million that can be tripled for aggravated violations.

Source: Internet Retailer

Comments

[Yegor Kuznetsov]

The CAN-SPAM Assurance Kit is available! It consists of a customized suppression tool, compliance guide and a consultation package that facilitates organization-wide opt-out list maintenance.

We are sponsoring a free web seminar on CAN-SPAM compliance on Tuesday, April 4 at 11 a.m. Eastern time. You can register here: http://websurveyorevents.webex.com/websurveyorevents/onstage/g.php?d=482026894&t=a

[Tim Whelan]

This doesn’t surprise me when you consider the arrogance of the industry. Because they function in a virtual world, the thought for compliance on their part seems a little vague. For newbie’s it is just the lack of education by the email industry who themselves would rather forget about the Can Am anyway. I'm glad that you brought this thought to the surface. There are many who have a willingness to comply with the law that are just unaware.

[Yegor Kuznetsov]

Just wanted to let you know that WebSurveyor is about to announce a CAN-SPAM Assurance Kit, a comprehensive product that helps organizations of all sizes comply with 2003 U.S. CAN-SPAM Act.

[Rob]

Great blog!
So, How was your business trip?