ClickZ: CAN-SPAM: The Reality

ClickZ's Paul Soltoff describes how advertisers using third party lists can help ensure that their marketing efforts conform to the newly-enacted Can-Spam legislation. He suggests seeding rented lists to ensure that headers aren't falsified and subject lines don't become misleading - two of the law's requirements.

The unsubscribing aspects to the law remain confusing, and it will likely take some test cases to determine how it will be interpreted by the government. Emailers are required to honor unsubscribe requests within 10 days, but no one is yet sure what lists apply to these requests. Does that unsubscribe request apply to the parent list from which the emailer acquired the name (as annoyed spam recipients surely intend) or does it apply only to that particular mailing (as some email marketers are sure to insist).