By now, every business who sends out emails to their list (this includes newsletters) have heard of the new Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). Not only is this affecting us Canadians, but it actually effects businesses outside of Canada who have Canadians on their list.

This new legislation is to prevent businesses from sending out unwanted commercial or promotional electronic messages. This means that more than ever, you are not allowed to add people to your list just because you met them at a networking event or connected with them on LinkedIn.

I have never understood why businesses add people to their list without someone saying they want to be part of your list. Believe in your product or services. And have a reason for people to sign up for your list. You can always have a free opt-in report such as a pdf, audio, or even a checklist.  You may need to update your website to have an opt-in report available. When people sign up for your opt-in report, they provide their email address, to be part of your list, in exchange for giving them a free report. This free report should always be something of value to your audience.

As of July 1,2014, all businesses must be compliant. A commercial electronic message is any message that is based around your business. These messages could contain offers, promotions, new products, services, newsletters, etc.

Three important things to remember:

1) Consent – You must have expressed or implied consent (and proof of consent) from everyone who receives your messages.

2)  Identify your name and business, the name of anyone else on whose behalf you are sending the message, current mailing address, phone number, email address, or web address.

3) Include details on how to unsubscribe in each message. All unsubscribe requests must be handled within 10 days or less.

If you are sending out commercial or promotional messages that are strictly email based that do not have your contact info including an unsubscribe button, you may wish to use programs such as AWeber, Constant Contact and MailChimp. These programs are inexpensive, sometimes free to use and are always compliant.

You will not be receiving a consent required email from Social Dragon Marketing as we’re proud to say we have always been compliant. Everyone who receives a commercial or promotional message has signed up to receive these messages. If at any time you do not wish to receive these communications anymore, you can always click on the unsubscribe button at the bottom the messages.

For more information about the CASL legislation, you can visit the Canadian Government CASL website. I’m a fan of this site. It’s actually written well and easy to understand. Not a lot of lawyer mumble jumble.

I would love to hear from you how this affects your business. Are you now compliant? If you are a business outside of Canada, how will this affect you when sending messages to Canadians?