CASL stands for the Canadian Anti-Spam Law. This law was implemented in July 2014 to protect Canadian consumers from over ambitious email marketers spamming our inboxes.

Even though the law has been well established for a little over four years, I still hear questions about what it is. When looking up the regulations online, readers are often overwhelmed by text-heavy web pages and documents.

Here, we will sort out CASL compliance in three simple steps.

1. Be clear about who you are and who your company is.

This can be accomplished in a number of ways. However, the fastest and most earnest way to go about it would be to have an About Us page and to make your company logo clearly visible at all times.

2. Be clear about what the user is signing up for.

Is it a weekly newsletter? An incentive for a digital asset, like a checklist? Or, are you collecting social media likes, followers, or shares? Put your objective in the language around the sign-up prompt and have a tick-box to opt-in for the user.

3. Always provide a way to unsubscribe at the bottom of every email.

Luckily, almost all email marketing template software requires an un-subscribe button before sending any marketing related emails to a mass list.

Following these three simple steps will keep your email marketing techniques in the clear and CASL compliant.

For more information, visit the Canadian Government Anti-Spam Legislation page.