It has become a welcome courtesy that recipients of any content marketing campaign can opt-out (i.e. decline to receive further promotional emails).
Based on Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), you are now required to obtain express or implied consent before you can send a promotional email to a person. CASL targets any electronic communication that could be considered to “encourage participation in a commercial activity”. Any email, text message, instant message and messages sent through social networks that have a commercial aspect will be considered to be a Commercial Electronic Message (CEM).
A plain language guide provided by the Government of Canada recommends you ask yourself the following four questions before you send a CEM. If the answer is “yes” to all four questions, your CEM is within the allowable guidelines and you can hit the “send” button:
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Has the recipient given you consent? (You must answer at least one of the following with ‘yes’)
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Do you have a record of the recipient agreeing to receive your CEM (express consent)?
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Did the person or company publish contact information on-line without any “don’t contact instructions” (implied consent)?
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Do you have a family/friend relationship with the recipient (implied consent)
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Have you had some sort of business transaction with the recipient within the last two years? (express consent)
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Are you confident that the content in your email will not be misleading the recipient/s?
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Did you provide your contact information including mailing address, phone number, email or web address?
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Does your message give a clear option to decline receipt of further CEMs?
We recommend you also consult some of the links provided below to ensure you comply with Canada’s Anti Spam Legislation. Don’t forget: if you email a large group of recipients at the same time, always use BCC to keep the email addresses of your recipients private.
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