Summary
Sending legally mandated email notifications requires a comprehensive strategy focusing on communication, infrastructure, compliance, and reputation management. Preemptive outreach to ISPs and ESPs is vital to prepare for high-volume sends and discuss necessary accommodations. Utilizing dedicated IPs, proper email authentication, and list segmentation contributes to improved deliverability. Legal adherence, including GDPR and CAN-SPAM compliance, necessitates transparency and accessible opt-out options. Moreover, carefully monitor domain reputation, prioritize user experience through mobile-optimized design and thorough testing, and maintain list hygiene to optimize engagement and minimize deliverability risks.
Key findings
- Proactive Communication: Preemptive outreach to ISPs and ESPs ensures they are prepared for high-volume mandated sends and can offer necessary support.
- Dedicated Infrastructure: Using dedicated IPs and properly authenticating emails (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) helps improve deliverability and manage user complaints.
- GDPR and CAN-SPAM Compliance: Adhering to GDPR and CAN-SPAM, including transparency about data processing and accessible opt-out options, builds trust.
- Segmentation & Gradual Rollout: Segmenting lists and sending emails in chunks over time minimizes spam flags and allows for careful monitoring.
- Transparency and Identification: Clearly identifying the email's purpose and sender in the subject line and body builds trust and avoids misinterpretation.
- List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists improves engagement, reduces bounce rates, and enhances sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Domain Strategy: Carefully consider the domain to use for mandated sends, balancing reputation impact with deliverability needs; a new subdomain may be a good compromise.
- Email Testing: Thoroughly test email rendering across various devices and email clients to ensure readability and accessibility.
- Bounce Handling: Implement robust bounce handling to promptly remove invalid email addresses and protect sender reputation.
- Monitoring Domain Reputation: Actively monitor domain reputation and sender score to detect and address deliverability issues promptly.
- Legal Review: Consult with legal counsel to ensure full compliance with all applicable laws and regulations related to mandated email notifications.
- User Experience: Prioritize a positive user experience through mobile optimization and clear, concise messaging, enhancing overall trust and engagement.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
Sending legally mandated email notifications requires a multi-faceted approach focusing on transparency, deliverability best practices, and legal compliance. Preparation with ESPs and ISPs is crucial, including using dedicated IPs and proper authentication. Following GDPR guidelines, segmenting lists, maintaining good list hygiene, and monitoring domain reputation are also essential. Design considerations for mobile devices and thorough testing across different email clients help ensure readability and accessibility. Finally, being transparent about the purpose and sender, including an unsubscribe option, and adhering to CAN-SPAM regulations are important for building trust and minimizing spam complaints.
Key opinions
- Proactive Communication: Contacting ESPs and ISPs beforehand is crucial for preparing them for the volume and impact of mandated sends on IP reputation.
- Dedicated Infrastructure: Using dedicated IPs for mandated mailings, DKIM signing, and informing ISPs helps manage user complaints and deliverability.
- GDPR Compliance: Even with a legal basis, GDPR principles of transparency, data accuracy, and data minimization still apply.
- Segmentation & Warming: Segmenting lists and warming up IPs optimize deliverability and prevent emails from being marked as spam.
- Reputation Monitoring: Closely monitoring domain reputation and sender score is important for identifying and addressing deliverability issues after large sends.
- Unsubscribe Options: Including a prominent and easy-to-use unsubscribe link, even for legally required emails (where compliant), builds trust and reduces spam complaints.
- Transparency: Clearly identifying the purpose and sender of the email builds trust and avoids spam flags.
- Mobile Optimization: Optimizing email design for mobile devices is crucial for readability and accessibility.
Key considerations
- Domain Strategy: Depending on send size, consider using a dedicated subdomain or even an entirely separate domain to protect the reputation of your primary sending domain.
- List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive or disengaged subscribers improves deliverability.
- Email Authentication: Properly authenticate your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to ensure providers trust your messages.
- Email Testing: Thoroughly test emails across various devices and email clients to guarantee proper rendering and readability, especially for legal notices.
- Legal Counsel: Consult legal counsel to ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, including CAN-SPAM and GDPR, for specific email content and audience.
- Content Clarity: Ensure the content of the mandated email is clear, concise, and easily understood to avoid confusion or misinterpretation.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Postmark responds that you should regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or disengaged subscribers, this ensures your messages are reaching an audience that wants to receive them, improving deliverability.
28 Feb 2024 - Postmark
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailchimp shares to optimize email design for mobile devices to ensure that your message is readable and accessible on any device, and provide a better user experience. Make sure the messaging is clear as it may be hard to read on some devices.
8 Nov 2021 - Mailchimp
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Successfully sending legally mandated email notifications involves a strategic combination of deliverability best practices and transparency. Segmentation of recipient lists and the controlled dispersal of emails over extended periods helps mitigate deliverability risks. Choosing a subdomain over a brand new domain balances reputation concerns. Above all, clearly communicating the legal basis for the email is essential, and maintaining a positive sender reputation through authentication, list hygiene, and providing an unsubscribe option (when possible) are crucial.
Key opinions
- Gradual Rollout: Breaking up large sends into chunks and sending over a longer period (3-4 weeks) reduces the risk of being flagged as spam.
- Subdomain Strategy: Using a new subdomain is preferable to a brand-new domain because it avoids immediate reputation issues.
- Transparency is key: Clearly stating the legal requirement for the email in both the subject line and body is essential for building trust.
- Sender Reputation: Maintaining a good sender reputation through proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, and unsubscribe options improves deliverability.
Key considerations
- Segmentation: Prioritize sending to newer, engaged contacts first to minimize spam complaints during initial sends.
- Domain Age: Be aware that email providers, such as Gmail, factor in domain age when evaluating sender reputation.
- Legal Compliance: Ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations regarding email communication, especially concerning mandated notifications.
- Suppression of Unengaged Users: Routinely suppress unengaged users to maintain list quality and avoid sending to potentially problematic addresses.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that being transparent about the reason for sending the email and who is sending it is crucial. Clearly state the legal requirement in the subject line and body of the email.
13 Jun 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise recommends maintaining a good sender reputation by following best practices like list hygiene, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and providing an easy way to unsubscribe, even for mandated emails where legally permissible. It is also good to suppress unengaged users.
25 Jun 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Sending legally mandated email notifications requires careful attention to deliverability and compliance. Clear identification of the email's purpose and sender is crucial, along with offering an accessible unsubscribe option when legally permissible. Segmenting recipient lists and warming up IP addresses help to maintain optimal deliverability. Adhering to CAN-SPAM regulations, including providing a clear opt-out method, is essential for compliance. Finally, implementing robust bounce handling improves sender reputation by removing invalid addresses.
Key findings
- Clear Identification: Clearly identify mandated emails with recognizable subject lines and sender information.
- Unsubscribe Option: Offer an easy-to-find unsubscribe option whenever feasible, even for legally required messages.
- Segmentation and Warming: Segment your list and warm up your IP address to optimize deliverability and avoid spam filters.
- CAN-SPAM Compliance: Adhere to CAN-SPAM regulations, including providing a clear and conspicuous opt-out method.
- Bounce Handling: Implement robust bounce handling to remove invalid email addresses and protect sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Legal Permissibility: Ensure offering an unsubscribe option complies with applicable laws and regulations.
- Recipient Engagement: Prioritize engaged recipients during the warm-up phase to build positive sender reputation.
- IP Reputation: Monitor your IP reputation closely, especially after large sends, to identify and address any deliverability issues.
- Data Accuracy: Maintain accurate and up-to-date email lists to minimize bounces and maximize deliverability.
Technical article
Documentation from RFC explains implementing robust bounce handling to remove invalid email addresses from your list, this practice prevents sending to non-existent addresses, which can significantly damage your sender reputation.
20 Dec 2023 - RFC-Editor.org
Technical article
Documentation from M3AAWG.org emphasizes the importance of clearly identifying mandated emails with a recognizable subject line and sender information. They recommend providing an easy-to-find unsubscribe option, even for legally required messages, where feasible, to comply with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
3 Aug 2023 - M3AAWG.org
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