Spam
There are many strategies that marketers use to ensure that more people become aware of the existence of a brand. One of the strategies is through the use of the internet where there is a large audience to reach out to. The use of spam emails is one of the internet approaches that help in sending bulk messages to email users within a short time. Spam is an electronic unsolicited junk mail that is sent in bulk to people’s email addresses. It spams are emails used for advertising products. Spams normally start to trickle into your email when you register an account on a website using the email, and the website shares it to a third party. If your email continuously keeps getting the spam messages, it is marked by spammers, and they send more to the extent of the email box becoming overloaded.
CAN-SPAM Act
Spams can be used in a positive or negative way. To avert the negativities, there are laws set to regulate the spammers so that people do not fall victims of hacking and loss of data. The CAN-SPAM Act is a law that creates rules that are followed in commercial email. This act provides people with the right to stop a company from sending the bulk messages, and if it does not adhere to that, there are hefty penalties that are set in case of a violation. This act also deals with commercial email messages that entail any form of commercialization of adverts and promotions of goods and services that bring forth incomes. Even emails that contain information pertaining to a commercial website are covered by the website. However, commercial emails from one company to another are exempted from the law.
CAN-SPAM Act Requirements
This act has a set of requirements that spammers are supposed to adhere to without violating, which could lead to a penalty of about $43,000. The law requires that the sender does not provide any false information or misleading information on the header. The information should be true and accurate and provide details about the individual or organization. Also, the subject line is supposed to portray the actual reflection of the email content. The initiator is supposed to indicate that the message is an advert. This is provided by the law on how to achieve it. The message must clearly be indicated that it is an advertisement and nothing else. Location of the initiator is necessary. It is supposed to be indicated on the message in a conspicuous manner where the recipient can clearly see. It should indicate the post office box either a public or private mailbox that is registered.
Another requirement is that the sender should provide the recipient with an option of unsubscribing to opt-out from receiving the emails. The option should be clear to read for any person. The company can provide a menu where the receiver can choose the email messages to receive and cancel others. The request to opt-out should be honored with immediate effect, and the act provides 30 days to do so. It is illegal to ask for an unsubscribing fee from the receiver. Sharing of the email address is prohibited, and a company is only permitted to do this with another company that they worked together so that this company assists in complying with the act. Lastly, the law states that if a company has hired another to handle its marketing, it is not exempted from the legal duties. It should monitor what the other company is doing so as to comply fully.
Spam and the first amendment act
The First Amendment of the U.S Constitution gives people freedom of speech. Online marketing spam is annoying as they are sent every day and fill up the mailbox with unwanted advertisement messages. There has been an argument on concerns over developing laws that would restrict the spam messages sharing. Though the amendment gives people the freedom of speech, it does not give them the right to force information on others through the emails. However, there are those that believe that prohibition of the spam emails is a violation of the constitution. Interstate commerce is allowed by the commerce clause, and since spams are sent to all states, the national government is the one to make amendments for uniformity to all states. Spam should be protected by the First Amendment as people have the right to express themselves. However, regulations of the CAN-SPAM should be adhered to effectively.
Criminal liability for spam
Criminal liability is appropriate for those who use spam with ill intentions towards the recipients. Those who use it to hack, bully or blackmail people are supposed to be prosecuted since they violate the law. There are cyber laws that monitor cybercrimes, and those found guilty are jailed. Everyone is liable for what he shares as spam and is not above the law. Those who violate any of the CAN-SPAM act requirements are supposed to be fined irrespective of having a legally registered business. Companies should adhere to every law before engaging in the use of spam as a tool of marketing for their goods and services.
Negative aspects of a Spam
Sending of spam is not a crime that is punishable in most cases, for a jail term. However, there are instances that spam can violate the law and lead to sentencing. Spams can expose the recipient to money frauds where the email asks for bank details or to send money to buy something or help in a disaster. Other spams contain cracking software that once the receiver downloads and runs the program unknowingly, allows hackers to remotely access the computer. This leads to soliciting for funds from the receiver since the computer is locked and data could be lost. All these are instances where spams are used in a negative way, and when the initiator is arrested, he is liable for sentencing in court and can be jailed due to violation of the law. However, most spams are used as a marketing tool for legally registered businesses and hence, do not violate any laws.
Marketing strategy
For this business of T-shirt printing, we are going to use spam as our tool of marketing our services to a larger audience. The spam email will be for advertisement purposes only where it will follow all the CAN-SPAM act requirements. Since the business is legally registered, the spam messages will not be viewed as malicious as the information contained coincides with our company. We shall be cautious of violating any laws as it could be a costly affair to our business. The reason for using this marketing strategy is because it uses the internet which transmits commercial messages through all states in America and even beyond. It is a cheap marketing method where bulk messages can be sent at once, and more customers will receive them and contact us easily. Creating public awareness about the existence of a business contributes significantly to the expansion of the customer pool.
Conclusion
Spam is an online marketing tool that is used by companies to send bulk emails that contain commercial adverts and promotions. As a marketing tool, there are rules set by CAN-SPAM that regulate how the email should appear and the information contained. Failure to follow leads to heavy punishment. Sometimes people use spams for criminal acts such as hacking and blackmails. These vices are punishable by law, and people are jailed for that. For our T-shirt printing business, with this information, we are going to adopt spam as our marketing strategy as it is advantageous in reaching more customers regardless of the negative aspects associated with it. It is fairly cheap, and hence, we will make more profit from the increased number of clienteles.