HTML Email Campaigns

Jason Morningstar and Billy Hylton

Presentation Goals

• Overview of technical issues
• Overview of legal mandates
• Discussion of ethical issues

HTML Email

"HTML email – you either love it or you hate it. Some love the simplicity of text-only emails, while others praise the flexibility and good looks of HTML. But it doesn't really matter whether you love it or hate it because sooner or later a client will ask you to design one of those ‘pretty looking email thingies' for their own customers, and then what do you do?"

-- David Greiner (Campaign Monitor)

How HTML EMail Works...

• Rule #1: Never paste HTML into email application or attach HTML file
• Multipart-Alternative MIME Format
• Outside vendor or Lyris Listserver

Images and Multimedia

• Design for images being turned off. Avoid excessive use of images.
• Never use images for important content like headlines, links and any calls to action.
• Create a text alternative (Multipart aka MIME)
• Don’t use Flash or rich media

Page Layout and CSS

• Tables only. Do NOT use CSS for layout. Take a shower afterwards.
• Fixed width of no more than 550-600 pixels
• But… presentational CSS can be OK (particularly inline)
• Test in as many as desktop and web clients as possible: Outlook, Thunderbird, Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, and of course UNC Webmail. Tip: set up a small test list.

Essentials

• Obey the law (see CAN-SPAM)
• Compelling subject line
• Link to a web-based version
• Add to safe-senders note
• Text-only version

Measuring Performance

• How do you know if it's successful?
• Did people take action?

The CAN-SPAM Act

• Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act
• Law became effective January 1, 2004
• Covers email whose primary purpose is advertising or promoting a commercial product or service, including content on a Web site.

CAN-SPAM Does Not Cover

• A "transactional or relationship message" – email that facilitates an agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer in an existing business relationship – may not contain false or misleading routing information, but otherwise is exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act.

Bad Cop, Bad Cop

• The FTC enforces CAN-SPAM, and DOJ acts on sanctions.
• "Other federal and state agencies" can enforce in their jurisdiction
• Companies that provide Internet access may sue violators.

What the Law Requires: SMTP Headers

• Email "From," "To," and routing information – including the originating domain name and email address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the email.
• No deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.

What the Law Requires: Opt Out

• Email must give recipients an opt-out method.
• Provide a return email address that allows recipients to ask you not to send future email messages to that address, and honor requests.
• Opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email.
• When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending email.

What the Law Requires: Selling Information

• It's illegal to sell or transfer the email addresses of people who choose not to receive your email.

What the Law Requires: Identification

• Commercial email must be identified as an advertisement
• Must include the sender's valid physical postal address.
• Message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement and that the recipient can opt out

The Mighty Hammer of Justice

• Each violation of CAN-SPAM is subject to fines of up to $11,000.
• Deceptive commercial email also is subject to laws banning false or misleading advertising.
• Additional fines are provided for commercial emailers who engage in practices so evil that no University employee should be exposed to them.

Oh, You Want to be Exposed to Them?

• Address harvesting, dictionary attack address generation, robot subscriptions, unauthorized relays and zombies, falsification of commercial header information or registration information.
• Conspiracy to do any of the above.

Handy Links

• Contact Jason Morningstar at jason_morningstar@unc.edu
• Contact Billy Hylton at billy_hylton@unc.edu
• Marketing Sherpa
• Vitamin – “HTML Emails: Taming the Beast”
• CAN-SPAM