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Unsubscribe Links and Commercial Emails
Types of Email Content
According to the Federal Trade Commission's article "CAN-SPAM Act: Compliance Guide for Business" (link opens a new window), an email can contain three different types of information:
- Commercial content – which advertises or promotes a commercial product or service, including content on a website operated for a commercial purpose;
- Transactional or relationship content – which facilitates an already agreed-upon transaction or updates a customer about an ongoing transaction; an
- Other content – which is neither commercial nor transactional or relationship.
Commercial Content
If an email is considered commercial, it must abide by the following rules:
- Don't use false or misleading header information.
- Don't use deceptive subject lines.
- Identify the message as an ad.
- Tell recipients where you're located.
- Tell recipients how to opt out of receiving future marketing email from you.
- Remember that subscribers and members can opt out of marketing emails, too.
- Honor opt-out request promptly.
- Monitor what others are doing on your behalf.
Transactional or Relationship Content
For an email to be considered transactional or relationship content, it consistents only of content that:
- Facilitates, completes, or confirms a commercial transaction thtat the recipeint already has agreed to;
- Gives warranty, recall, safety, or security information about a product or service the recipient bought;
- Notifies the recipient about a change in the terms or features of a membership, subscription, account, loan or other ongoing commercial relationship; notifies the recipient of a change in their standing with respect to that ongoing commercial relationship; or provides regular, periodic account balance information to the recipient;
- Provides information about an employment relationship or employee benefits; or
- Delivers goods or services as part of a transaction that the recipient already has agreed to.
In the table below are some examples of each type of message in an admissions context.
Commercial |
Transactional or Relationship Content |
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Marketing your program's qualities: If you find yourself writing an email to your applicants that is trying to "sell" your program's best traits to a prospective students, it is likely going to be considered a commercial email. Example subject lines:
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Reminding students of a requirement or upcoming deadline: If you are emailing a prospective student simply to inform them that there is an important part of the application that is missing or that an application deadine is approaching, it is likely going to be considered a transactional or relationship email. Example subject lines:
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Promoting any sort of application-related incentives: If your email is promising a reward to prospective student for a certain action, then it is likely going to be considered a commercial email. Example subject lines:
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Informing students of application updates: If you are emailing a prospective student to inform them about their submitted application, it is likely going to be considered a transactional or relationship email. Example subject lines:
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Adding an Unsubscribe Link to Commercial Emails
In general, the Graduate School's instance of Slate is not set up for a large volume of marketing or commercial emails. Primarily, we anticipate Graduate Program Managers and Coordinators to use Slate emailing systems to inform applicants of important updates about their application in a transactional way.
However, if you do plan to use Slate to send a commercial email to your applicants, you must include an unsubscribe link in the email, as that is the law. As stated in Federal Trade Commission's article: "Each separate email in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act is subject to penalties of up to $53,088, so non-compliance can be costly."
Therefore, if you are found to be sending commercial emails without providing an unsubscribe link (or violating the CAN-SPAM act in any other way) you will lose the permissions to send bulk emails out of Slate.
Allow Unsubscribe Graduate School Program Recruitment Emails
To add an unsubscribe link to your email, follow the steps below:
- When editing your mailing in Deliver, select the "Edit" button in the top right-hand corner, as shown in the screenshot below.
- In the Edit Mailing window that appears, select the "Opt Out" dropdown which will reveal all of the unsubscribe link options, as shown in the screenshot below.
- From the list, select "Allow Unsubscribe Graduate School Program Recruitment Emails" as shown in the screenshot below
- Select the "Save" button in the bottom left hand corner, as shown in the screenshot below.
- Verify you have successfully set an unsubscribe link by reviewing the Opt Out listed, as shown in the screenshot below.
What If My Email Is Both Commercial and Transactional?
It is possible that you are putting together a mailing to prospective students that contains some commercial aspects and some transactional and/or relationship content. For example, you may wish to create a mailing to your unsubmitted applicants to remind them of an upcoming deadline and try to convince these potential applicants that there are many great reasons to apply and join the program.
In cases like these, always be cautious and treat it like a commercial email: add an unsubscribe link and make sure to abide by the rules above.