Since recently launching the SavyConnect email marketing platform, we’re of course immersed in the most important aspect of email marketing, the concept of permission. We thought we’d share what actually equates as “permission” with your email marketing campaigns.

While the CAN-SPAM laws are a step in the right direction for classifying and reducing spam, they don’t always go far enough. Our definition of spam goes beyond the laws in most countries and encompasses what we believe to be true permission email marketing.

Spam is any email you send to someone who hasn’t given you their direct permission to contact them on the topic of the email.

But that’s not enough. Permission is a grey area word open to interpretation. Any of the following are some specific scenarios that do constitute as permission.

• They opted in via your web site

  This could either be through a newsletter subscribe form or by ticking a checkbox on another form. This checkbox cannot be checked by default and it must clearly explain that checking it will mean you will be contacting them by email.

• They completed an offline form and indicated they wanted to be emailed

  If someone completes an offline form like a survey or enters a competition, you can only contact them if it was explained to them that they would be contacted by email AND they ticked a box indicating they would like to be contacted.

• They gave you their business card

  If someone gives you their business card and you have explicitly asked for permission to add them to your list, you can contact them. If they dropped their business card in a fishbowl at a trade show, there must be a sign indicating they will be contacted by email about the specific topic.

• They purchased something off you in the last 2 years

  By making a purchase from you they have provided their permission implicitly. Feel free to email them but at the same time, we think it’s always better to ask anyway, so why not include an opt-in checkbox as part of the checkout process.

Of course there are the scenarios that don’t constitute as permission, but we figured so long as you stayed within the above,  your Mother May I will pass. Be sure to contact us if you have any questions or if we can help you get started.

The Savy Team