UCE/SPAM Policy and
Compliance
As an online service that enables the broadcast of email
newsletters, iMakeNews is very sensitive to issues regarding unwanted emails and SPAM. We
work with all of our customers to make sure they understand and abide by common principals
of email protocol and "opt-in" policy.
Newsletters, by their nature, are best used only as
"opt-in" communications between a company and its customers and an organization
and its members. Unlike other forms of direct marketing, newsletter marketing is often
used as a tool for educating and building long-term bonds with customers. However, the
iMakeNews service can also be used for prospecting and more traditional direct mail
marketing. In these cases, iMakeNews works with its customers to ensure they are working
with valid "opt-in" lists that have been provided by reputable sources and we
make sure these sources are identified to us and to the recipients of the newsletter.
Opt-in Tools
We take the issue of unwanted email seriously and provide many powerful tools
within our technology to help assure and enforce the "opt-in" nature of the
service. These tools include: Embedded subscribe/unsubscribe box, instant remove link at
the bottom of every message, and opt-out protection.
Embedded subscribe/unsubscribe
The default layout of every newsletter includes an easy to use subscription
management module. This is a form that sits within the page allowing subscribers to easily
add or remove their email address from the newsletter list.
Instant remove link
In addition to the subscription module, at the bottom of every email sent,
recipients have a one-click option to remove themselves from the list. A single click on
this link will instantly remove their email address and prevent future correspondence.
Opt-out protection
When an email address is removed, the system remembers exactly who opted-out and
can prevent this person from being mistakenly re-added to the subscriber list. This
protects the subscriber and enforces the opt-in policy to which the newsletter publisher
has agreed to abide.
SPAM and Policy Abuse
Despite all of these precautions and policies, there remains the possibility that
a customer will send emails to a person (or a list of people) who will view the email
received as un-welcomed solicitation or unwanted email. In some cases this may be due to a
misunderstanding between our customer and the recipient. In other cases this may be due to
an abuse of our email policies. As a first step, we encourage email recipients to first
consider if they are indeed part of the "opt-in" email list that this publisher
has used. If not, and in light of these potential problems, a special email box has been
reserved for reporting SPAM mail and iMakeNews policy abuse. To file a report, send an
email to abuse@imakenews.com
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