3 Simple Steps for Coping with the Canadian Anti-Spam Law for Affiliates and Merchants
This is a guest post from Share Results
Yet another piece of legislation is going to affect the way affiliate marketers do business in North America. This time, the law will affect those that are based in Canada. The Canadian Anti-Spam Law (CASL), formerly called the Fighting Internet and Wireless Spam bill (FISA) or Bill C-28, aims to protect email recipients in Canada from spam. As a result, businesses everywhere are applying protective measures for the arrival of this new law (which could go into effect as early as this fall season). Anyone convicted of violating this new law will be subject to heavy duty fines: up to $1million for individuals and $10 million for companies.
This means that affiliates who use email as a means of doing business will need to take strategic measures to make sure they do not become classified as a spammer under this new law. Here are three simple, strategic ways to help you get started with protecting your affiliate business in light of the CASL.
#1: Make Opting-In as Easy as 1, 2, 3
CASL, in a nutshell, is meant to ensure that any Canadian recipient of a business-related offer has voluntarily opted in to receive the messages. Unlike the US CAN-SPAM Act, which is more about facilitating opting out, the Canadian Anti-Spam Law stipulates that any business offers sent via email must first be approved by the recipient. Therefore, things like placing an explicit description about the offer the person is signing up to, a large opt-in field above the fold on a web page, or a clear follow-up message during double opt-in communication to the user is a smart way to clarify to your consumers, just what kind of information they are subscribing to.
#2: Avoid Saturation: Give Consumers a Choice
Have you ever submitted your email to a land-based retailer after shopping at their store, and then become bombarded by their daily coupon deals via email? We don’t know about you, but getting an email almost every single day about the latest flash sale can be a bit much. When your potential consumers are opting into your promotions and the like via email, it’s a good idea to give them the option of choosing how often they would like to receive communications from you. This gives your consumers the power to choose to receive your coupon promotions daily, weekly or monthly. This also helps you avoid saturating their inbox with unwanted email.
#3: Use Email Software
With the right email software, you can create sophisticated messages that will help you avoid being accused of violating the CASL. The right email software will supply you with straightforward unsubscribe link features that can easily be embedded into your content. Additionally, having software that facilitates the removal of recipients will make things easier for your business to operate and continue complying with the new law. Many in the affiliate marketing industry swear by platforms such as AWeber, Campaign Monitor and VerticalResponse.
Ultimately, the real goal of the CASL is to deter spammers; however, many Canadian business owners see major flaws with this law, as the bulk of spammers are actually located outside of Canada. In any case, whether you are a Canada-based affiliate that uses email marketing, social media marketing or instant messaging to market to consumers, or a virtual mall owner that caters to Canadian shoppers, it’s important to be educated about the CASL. Simple, but consistent steps like the ones mentioned above can help you keep your business clean. But, if you really want to protect your business, stay abreast of when the CASL will go into effect, consult with legal counsel to find other methods of shielding your operations, and do your homework on how this could impact affiliate marketers north of the border.
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About Share Results
Share Results has a network of over 12,000 affiliates that promote a variety of products and services from select merchants. Some of the more popular categories of product and service offers range from women’s apparel, family and education lead generation, as well as health and wellness.
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#1 Guest Post on 5Star Affiliate Programs and more Affiliate News | Share Results wrote on October 19, 2011 :
[...] You can read the full blog by going to this 5Star blog link. [...]
#2 Bob Miller wrote on October 19, 2011 :
Seems to me that all internet marketers should already be using these guidelines. I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t get tired of spammers fairly quickly. I know there are other good email managers out there, but I use both iContact and Aweber which are easy to use. Thanks for encouraging us with your list of excellent guidelines. Bob Miller
#3 Share Results wrote on October 20, 2011 :
Agreed, Bob. In general, affiliate marketers should be practicing these and other guidelines so they don’t end up in hot water. It’s just good business sense.
#4 More Web Site Traffic wrote on October 26, 2011 :
Most marketers are already following these guidelines. Although, most online merchants need to focus more on the second one. Most marketers are not offering choices on the frequency of sent mail. Regarding the email software, I find Aweber a good one.