There are frequently discussions on the internet about how much is too much or too little. I think a company’s biggest concern should be not annoying their customers.

What do you think? What does it take before you get annoyed enough with a company to unsubscribe? Several times a week? Once a week?

Do your newsletters include a physical postal address (either physical location or PO Box)?

These are just two of the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. Are your email newsletters in compliance?

I get e-mails frequently from well-intentioned companies that are in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. Can your business afford such a violation? For starters, each violation is subject to fines of up to $11,000! Ouch!! In addition, deceptive commercial email is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising.

There are a couple of ways to avoid those penalties. One is to read up on the CAN-SPAM Act. Which would mean monitoring changes and keeping up to date with the changes in the law.

The other is to use an email marketing company such as VerticalResponse or ConstantContact.

Here are just a few of the functions they provide:

• Keeping current with anti-spam laws. Such as the requirement to have an address and an unsubscribe link.
• Reviewing your email for common spam elements.
• Allow recipients to view your newsletter online – for those recipients who can’t see it in their mail program.
• Communicating with major ISPs to help ensure your newsletter doesn’t get bounced or put in a junk folder.
• Campaign tracking – See who opens your newsletter and what links they click. You can also see bounces and unsubscribes.

bwh Web Designs researched several of these companies in 2006. We now use and recommend VerticalResponse. Here’s just a few reasons:

• A reasonable price, based on the number of addresses to which you send a newsletter.
• Ability to maintain completely separate mailing lists.
• Flexibility in newsletter design, including uploading your own HTML to coordinate with your website.
• Ability to send postcards through the U.S. Mail.

You can sign up with VerticalResponse through this link:

Email Marketing from VerticalResponse

Our favorite feature is being able to maintain separate mailing lists. We use one VerticalResponse account to manage mailing lists for 3 separate websites. One of our clients uses it to track customers by geographic location. She can target a newsletter to let people in one area know when she’ll be in their area.

Contact bwh Web Designs today to get your mailing list started!