RULES: What you need to know about mass emails
First a valuable resource for businesses using email. Can Spam Act.
The short version.
You cannot send email to anyone unless they are a client or associate with which you have a business or personal relationship unless that recipient has "opted-in" to receive your email messages.
If you send otherwise legitimate marketing emails or news letters, the footer of each email must contain instructions on how the recipient may ask to be removed from future mailings. This is not strictly necessary when emailing your own customers and certainly not when you email friends, as by virtue of your relationship they agree to receive emails from you. Receiving your messages can be made a part of your terms of service.
If someone sends you an email requesting information, no unsubscribe notice is required, however you may not place that person on any list without their permission and must discontinue communications after the request has met with the sender's satisfaction.
You can purchase opt-in email lists for marketing campaigns but be sure the source is a reputable company. Also hire them to send your messages for you to be sure of full compliance with the law. Don't try to do it yourself because of the possibility of landing yourself and our server on a black list. Professional mailers have made arrangements and met certain criteria for bulk emails which are recognized by major ISP's and email providers such as AOL, Yahoo, Gmail etc. If you go it alone and with the result of our IP being blacklisted you will be in violation of our Acceptable Use Policy and your account is subject to immediate termination.
In addition to losing your web site and email accounts, the Can Spam act provides for civil penalties of up to $600 for each unsolicited email you are responsible for.
It is important that you understand the law and our policies with regard to the sending of bulk emails. Our server and your email accounts are NOT intended for mass marketing email campaigns, however you are welcome to email actual customers regardless of how many you have.
