At Rule, we take permits very seriously. By creating an account with Rule and accepting our terms of use, you also accept our policy against spam.
The law is not enough, it’s permission that counts
Although the CAN-SPAM laws are a step in the right direction to reduce the spam problem, we feel that they don’t go far enough. Our definition of spam, goes beyond the law in most countries and includes what we consider to be truth-telling for email marketing.
Spam is an email that you send to someone who has not given you their direct permission to contact them, about the current subject of the email. But it’s not enough. State is a vague word that is open to interpretation. Let us below compile specific scenarios to clarify what constitutes Spam and does not constitute a permit.
What kind of email addresses are OK to send to, with Rule?
To send an email to anyone using Rule, you must clearly have permission to do so. This can be done by:
- A subscriber function, such as a newsletter on your website.
- A check box on a form. This check box does not have to be checked by default, the person who fills in the form must voluntarily select the check box to show that they want to hear from you.
- If someone fills out an offline form as a survey or joins a contest, you can only contact them if it was explained that they would be contacted via email AND they ticked a box indicating that they would like to be contacted.
- Customers who have bought from you within the last 2 years.
- If someone gives you their business card and you have explained to them that you will be in touch via email, you can contact them. If they dropped their business card in a fishbowl at a trade show, there must be a sign indicating that they will be contacted via email.
Basically, you can only email to someone who has clearly given you permission to email them specifically about the topic you are contacting them about.
What type of email address is NOT OK to send to, with RuleMailer?
Here are some examples below for us to be crystal clear. By using Rule, you agree that you will not import or send to any email address such as:
- You don’t have explicit, proven permission to contact in relation to the subject of the email you send.
- You have purchased, borrowed, rented or in any way acquired from third parties, regardless of what they claim about quality or condition. You must obtain a permit yourself.
- You have not been contacted by email in the last 2 years. The condition does not age well and these people have either changed their email address or do not remember to give their permission in the first place.
- You scraped or copied and pasted from the web. Just because people publish their email address does not mean they want to hear from you.
Sure, some of these people may have given you their email address, but what’s missing is your permission to email them commercial messages. Blasting advertisements to any of these people will not be effective and you will then more than likely see your email marked as spam by many of your recipients.
What content do I need to include in my email?
Every email you send with Rule must include the following:
- An end link that immediately removes the subscriber from your list. When they subscribe, you can never email them again.
- Sender’s name and physical address. If you are sending an email to your client, you must include client information instead.
How do we know if you're not authorized?
Rule has many layers of approval and monitoring for you to follow our policy against spam. Here are some of them:
- Our software is integrated directly into the spam reporting systems of some of the largest ISPs such as Hotmail. If you don’t have permission and someone marks your campaign as spam, we will know about it when you press the button. If you receive a complaint amount of more than 0.25% of all recipients (there are 25 complaints for every 10,000 recipients), your account will be terminated. This is a generous figure that takes into account false spam reports.
- Our team verifies all large lists imported into our software. Until it’s done, you can not send to these.
- We monitor blacklists and our abuse accounts all day every day. We can identify who is causing delivery problems or who is attracting complaints very easily.
- If we discover that you are sending emails to people without their permission, we will terminate your RuleMailer account immediately.
In the end, it’s really common sense. Take off your marketing hat and put on your recipient shoes. If they don’t recognize who you are or are not interested in what you are sending, they think you are a spammer. It’s so simple.
Contact us regarding the Rule anti-spam policy
If you have any questions about our Anti-Spam Policy, or if you would like to report spam activity by one of our customers, please contact us:
Postal address:
Rule Communication – Nordic AB
Kammakargatan 48, 111 60 Stockholm, Sweden
Phone: 08 5250 7580
E-mail: info@rule.se
