Every day, Victorians just like you receive millions of emails, and a lot of those emails are spam. Your business could be unknowingly sending emails or text messages that don’t comply with the Spam Act 2003 and the Spam Regulations 2021.
Before your business sends anyone a commercial electronic message via email, SMS or instant messaging, you must have their permission. This is also known as consent or opting in.
As well as gaining consent, you also need to prove consent was given. Getting that permission can also be navigating a minefield, as sending a message asking someone for consent counts as a commercial electronic message!
Just as you include your business details on your letterhead when sending a letter or invoice to a customer, you should include your details when sending electronic messages.
As part of the Spam Act, any message you wish to send to your customers must include:
Have you ever received an email or SMS that didn’t include an option to unsubscribe or stop receiving messages?
All electronic messages must include an option to unsubscribe that:
A common mistake businesses make is to add any email address they have to their own email marketing list. This can include emails from customers who have only made enquiries, emails from purchased lists, or emails from other companies.
Just because you have an email address, doesn’t mean you have permission to use it for marketing.
This article was originally published by Business Victoria
