Email newsletter rules for small organizations (CAN-SPAM basics)

What CAN-SPAM requires

The Federal Trade Commission's CAN-SPAM compliance guide lists the main requirements for commercial email. In plain English:

1. Honest header information. Your From, To and Reply-To details must be accurate and identify who is sending.
2. An honest subject line. It has to reflect what's in the email.
3. Say it's an ad, where it is one. A commercial message must disclose clearly that it's an advertisement, though the FTC allows flexibility in how you do that.
4. Your physical postal address. A current street address, a PO box registered with the US Postal Service, or a registered private mailbox.
5. A clear way to opt out. Tell people how to stop getting your email, in a way that's easy to spot.
6. Honor opt-outs within 10 business days. Your opt-out has to keep working for at least 30 days after you send. You can't charge a fee, ask for anything beyond an email address, or make people do more than reply or visit a single web page.
7. Don't share opt-outs. Once someone opts out, you can't sell or transfer their address.
8. You're responsible even if someone else sends. Using an email service or an agency doesn't move the legal responsibility off you.

Two points surprise people. The law isn't only about bulk email; the FTC says it covers all commercial messages. And it makes no exception for business-to-business email. Each email that breaks the rules can carry a separate penalty.

Commercial, transactional and relationship messages

CAN-SPAM sorts email by its primary purpose.

• Commercial messages advertise or promote a product or service. A sale announcement, a new menu or a "book your appointment" email is commercial. All the rules above apply.
• Transactional or relationship messages only do things like confirm a purchase, give warranty or safety information, tell someone about a change to their account or membership, or deliver something they already agreed to receive. These mostly need to avoid false or misleading routing information, but the other requirements don't apply.

Many newsletters are a mix. The FTC looks at what a reasonable reader would think the email is mainly about, starting with the subject line. If the subject line suggests an ad, or the commercial part is the focus, treat the whole email as commercial. For a small business newsletter, the safe assumption is that it's commercial.

Churches, HOAs, clubs and nonprofits

CAN-SPAM is about commercial messages. A church announcing service times, an HOA reporting on a board meeting or a club sharing its schedule may not be sending commercial email at all, so the law may not strictly apply. Once a nonprofit promotes something for sale, like event tickets or merchandise, those messages can look commercial.

Our advice: follow the same rules anyway. An unsubscribe link, your mailing address and an honest subject line cost you nothing, and they keep people from marking your mail as spam. That matters, because spam complaints hurt delivery for everyone on your list. HOA boards in particular often worry about residents asking to stop getting email; a working unsubscribe link handles that for you, while official notices your bylaws require can still go by whatever method they specify.

If you email people in Canada, the EU or the UK

Other countries' rules can apply based on where your readers are, not where you are.

• Canada (CASL). Canada's anti-spam law requires consent before you send commercial email, either express (they agreed) or implied (for example, an existing business relationship, within limits). Messages must identify you, include your mailing address and another way to contact you, and have an unsubscribe that you act on within 10 business days.
• EU and UK (GDPR and related rules). Marketing email to people in the EU or UK generally needs their consent or another lawful basis, and people must be able to withdraw easily. You should be able to show how and when someone agreed.

The practical takeaway is the same everywhere: only email people who asked to hear from you or clearly expect to, and make leaving easy.

What MailWild handles for you

MailWild adds the pieces you'd otherwise have to remember:

• A one-click unsubscribe link on every newsletter. People who unsubscribe aren't emailed again, and you aren't billed for them.
• Your mailing address in the footer of every newsletter, automatically.
• Bounced addresses removed automatically, so you keep a clean list.
• Sending from your own domain, signed so inboxes can verify the mail really comes from you.
• When you import a Mailchimp export, people who unsubscribed there stay unsubscribed.

What it can't do is decide who belongs on your list. Getting permission is still on you. Start with our guide on how to start an email newsletter, or see pricing.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws change and details depend on your situation, so check the official sources or ask a lawyer if you're unsure.

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