Mike Seidle ...notes from the road

One thing that gets old and tiresome in helping companies with internet marketing: dealing with misconceptions on what spam is, what it isn't and what you can do about it.

It's really not that tough to understand.  And it is an important issue because if you are in the US and you send emails of a commercial variety, then you need to know the law, and you need to know the rules that ISPs and blacklists will make you play by.

Instead of wasting your time with my opinion, here are the facts:

The Law
You can get sued and/or fined for not following the law. Read it, know it, and accept it.

The FTC's Spam Site
The FTC's CAN-SPAM Act Site

The Blacklists
OK, so the law put some big limits on you. Prepare for more. Ignore blacklist rules at your own peril.  The penalty is your email being stopped cold.  Oh, and there's probably nothing you can do about it, so better to conform that be crushed.

Spamhaus's FAQ
Spamcop's Service Description - What gets blocked.
The SORBS Blocklist's definition of spam (scroll down)
MAPS Guidelines on List Management

can-spam spam