Webex Event: Customized Online Solutions

The Design World Digital Network
Leveraging 5 million page views monthly from over 800,000 registered network site users.
Our focus is enabling you to participate online utilizing the latest technologies and innovations. By supporting and creating customized integrated print and online ROI based solutions, you’ll find Design World a key a partner in your marketing efforts. Whether it be creating video, developing widgets, syndicating RSS feeds, hosting 3D catalogs, customizing and targeting eNewsletters, Design World enables you to drive measurable results from your marketing investment.

Join us for a Webex Event to learn more.
Thursday July 31, 11am EDT – 45 minutes
Sign up at: http://reg.designworldonline.com

New CAN-SPAM Rules

Come July 2008, there will be 4 new CAN-SPAM rules, or modifications on the rules. The first is in regards to opting-out. A subscriber cannot be asked to log into a portal or website to then unsubscribe. Design World has always made it very easy with a one-click unsubscribe at the bottom of all eNewsletters. There was some caveat about the recipient cannot be asked to pay a fee to opt out- now thats a great one! I cannot image a subscriber being required to pay to opt out of eNews, but I suppose someone would try this. Moving on..

Another key change is the definition of the Sender. Design World occasionally sends ‘on behalf of Company X’. The company now mentioned in the subject line is on the hook as official sender, meaning both Design World and named company are both responsible for adhering to the new rules, or all parties face liability. We always work closely with companies when they offer their own opt-out mechanism, but is key that companies wishing to send offer compliant systems.

The other rules cover address requirements and differences between transactional email versus commercial and defines term ‘person’ to include individuals, groups, unincorporated associations,
corporations, limited or general partnerships, and non-profits. None is excempt.

It turns out, the law requires an opt-out to be executed within 10 days- apparently to accomodate longer data sync cycles, but you sure could get a lot of spam in 10 days from the same sender. DW has always practiced immediate opt-out, and would recommended the same to anyone involved in eDelivery.

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2008/05/canspam.shtm

More on eNews ‘Content Checking’

In an earlier post, I mentioned using the term FREE in eNews tends to throw red flags for spam filters and even flag a scam alert in Thunderbird. Turns out using the term ‘click here’, ‘buy online‘ and even ‘subscribe‘ may raise a filter. So even valid offers using these terms should be avoided. We even removed the term ’subscribe’ when referring to subscription offers for Design World in print. So no more subscribing, now we just encourage engineers to ‘Get DW in Print’. More to come no doubt on this front.

Free! Blog Post

Design World uses content checking software on eDelivery, and came across a straightforward email call to action from a customer that Thunderbird flagged as a scam.

The simple reason was the use of ‘free’ 3 times in the text. Simply removing the word free from the text and changing one instance to ‘complimentary’ resolved the issue. Note that the domain, subject line and company name had nothing to do with the scam flag - just the repeated term in the body copy. We’ll be sure to offer more complimentary advice when we come across other red flags.