Bill Myers

If you publish an email newsletter, an email tip of the week, or send email to current or potential customers, the new CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 has requirements that you must meet - or face stiff fines and possibly jail time.

This new law goes into effect on January 1, 2004, so you only have a few days to make sure all your email complies with the law.

If you send out a tip of the week like this one, there are four things you need to do immediately.

First, make sure the subject line of your tip is clear about what the message is. For example, 'Bill Myers Tip of the Week'.

Second, make sure that you have an unsubscribe or opt-out link in the message. The new law requires that all commercial messages include this feature.

Third, make sure the return and reply-to address of your email are valid and working.

And fourth, make sure you include your postal address with all emails you send. (See bottom of this message for example).

For more about how the CAN-SPAM Act affects you, see http://www.bmyers.com/public/755.cfm?sd=30