What are the best practices for sending legally mandated email notifications?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Postmark responds that you should regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or disengaged subscribers, this ensures your messages are reaching an audience that wants to receive them, improving deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailchimp shares to optimize email design for mobile devices to ensure that your message is readable and accessible on any device, and provide a better user experience. Make sure the messaging is clear as it may be hard to read on some devices.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares to thoroughly test the email across different devices and email clients to ensure proper rendering, especially for legal notices where readability is critical.
Email marketer from Reddit explains to always include an unsubscribe link, even if it's legally required. Make it prominent and easy to use. This builds trust and reduces spam complaints.
Email marketer from SparkPost responds that you should closely monitor your domain reputation and sender score, especially after sending a large volume of mandated emails, to quickly identify and address any deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that depending on the send size and nature of the issue, different domain uses can be implemented and that for large data breach emails sent to 100mm people sometimes a completely unrelated domain is used due to resulting issues from the send.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests reaching out to ISPs preemptively, as they can make accommodations for legal mail.
Email marketer from SuperOffice highlights that the GDPR still applies, although the legal basis might be 'legal obligation'. You need to be transparent and provide information about why you're processing their data. Also, you must have accurate data and consider data minimization (only send to those affected).
Email marketer from SendGrid explains to properly authenticate your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your identity and ensure email providers trust your messages, reducing the likelihood of being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Litmus highlights that you should clearly identify the purpose and sender of the email, making it obvious why the recipient is receiving it. Transparency is key for maintaining trust and avoiding spam flags.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that you should contact your ESP ahead of time to prepare them for high volume sends. This ensures that they are prepared for the sends, the volume and impact it can have on your IP reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends using dedicated IPs for legal and other mandated mailings only, DKIM signing the mail, and informing the ISP about the domain. This helps manage issues arising from user complaints.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that being transparent about the reason for sending the email and who is sending it is crucial. Clearly state the legal requirement in the subject line and body of the email.
Expert from Word to the Wise recommends maintaining a good sender reputation by following best practices like list hygiene, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and providing an easy way to unsubscribe, even for mandated emails where legally permissible. It is also good to suppress unengaged users.
Expert from Email Geeks advises breaking up large sends into chunks over a longer period (3-4 weeks if possible) and segmenting the list by starting with the newest and most engaged contacts to minimize spam issues.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests using a new subdomain for legal notifications, as a brand new domain might have inboxing issues due to lack of reputation, and Gmail is smart enough to denote a domain's age.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC explains implementing robust bounce handling to remove invalid email addresses from your list, this practice prevents sending to non-existent addresses, which can significantly damage your sender reputation.
Documentation from M3AAWG.org emphasizes the importance of clearly identifying mandated emails with a recognizable subject line and sender information. They recommend providing an easy-to-find unsubscribe option, even for legally required messages, where feasible, to comply with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
Documentation from SocketLabs recommends segmenting your list and warming up your IP address when sending legally mandated emails to ensure optimal deliverability and avoid being marked as spam.
Documentation from CAN-SPAM emphasises adhering to CAN-SPAM regulations, including providing a clear and conspicuous opt-out method. Even for legally mandated emails, offering an opt-out reduces the chance of spam complaints and improves sender reputation.