The Anti-spam Revolution

There’s a bit of a kerfuffle lately about the new Canadian anti-spam regulations (CASL). Organizations are busy pushing out emails asking us to re-opt-in to their mailing lists before July 1st. Are you wondering what it’s all about? Or are you ignoring it, hoping it will never impact you?

As a small business owner, you should know the basics because, unless you plan to stop doing emails, text messages, and social media posts, your business communication is regulated by the new law. It’s not just about these enewsletters.

First, only commercial electronic messages (CEMs) fall under the regulations. Your message is a CEM if it encourages participation in a business transaction or activity, regardless of whether there is an expectation of profit. Many emails, texts, and social media posts sent on behalf of your business are going to be CEMs.

Now you know that you need to know. Read my blog post CASL Basics for Small Business for a quick overview. You can find lots of information online at fightspam.gc.ca.

These new regulations are not meant to hinder legitimate business in Canada. But they may mean that you have to consider some tweaks in your processes.

Do you realize it’s been 6 years since the National Do Not Call List changed the way many sales people prospect? That was also a big kerfuffle at the time.

originally published in Work Better, Not Harder June 5, 2014

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