Before July 1, record where each address came from, when, and on what basis. Keep the forms and sheets behind it, ask for consent only where the basis is weak, and remove addresses you cannot explain.

A list nobody can fully explain

An office manager exports the newsletter list to see what the anti-spam law will mean for it. The addresses go back nine years, and nobody can say where many of them came from.

Some came from the website's sign-up form, some from business cards typed in after trade shows. A few hundred arrived in a file a former employee imported, for reasons nobody wrote down.

The law comes into force on July 1, five weeks from today, and inboxes are already filling with requests to confirm a subscription.

What the law asks of a sender

From July 1, commercial email sent to or from Canada needs consent, must name the sender with a mailing address and one other contact, and must let people opt out, with each opt-out processed inside ten business days.

Consent is either express, given in answer to a clear request, or implied by a relationship such as a recent purchase. Whoever claims consent carries the burden of showing it.

Treat this as a plain summary rather than legal advice; questions about particular addresses belong with a lawyer.

What to record for every address

The record that shows it is plain. For each address it holds:

Most of it already exists in order records, old forms and the mailing service's history. The work is putting it beside each address before July 1.

Express and implied consent

Express consent is a yes to a request that names the business, explains the purpose and mentions the right to withdraw. Pre-ticked boxes do not qualify, and once given, a genuine yes stands until the subscriber withdraws it.

Implied consent has limits. A purchase carries it for two years and a written contract for its term plus two years; an enquiry carries it for only six months.

A business card handed over without a refusal can imply consent for messages about the person's work. The record shows which of these applies to each address, and when it runs out.

The transition for existing customers

Where a business relationship exists on July 1 and already includes sending email, the law treats consent as implied for a three-year transition, unless the person asks you to stop.

That covers many customers on a small business's list, but only those the record can show were customers. An address with no known source gains nothing from it.

A worked example

A copier dealer in an industrial area sells and leases office copiers and printers, and services them under contract for businesses across the region. Its monthly email carries toner offers and service tips.

In April the office manager sorted the list by source: customers on lease or service contracts, offices that had asked for a quote, and business cards collected at trade shows.

There were also entries to a draw for a free printer, and a list bought from a directory years ago with no note of how it was gathered.

Each group stood on a different footing. Contract customers had a current business relationship, and quote requests carried implied consent for six months from the enquiry.

Draw entrants had agreed only to enter a draw. The bought list had no basis the dealer could show.

The dealer recorded source, date and basis for every address in one spreadsheet, kept the contract customers under the transition, sent the draw entrants one clear request in May, and deleted the bought list.

Asked why a particular office receives the email, the dealer can now point to one line in a file.

Why a permission blast falls short

Many senders are emailing their whole list this month asking people to confirm. Many recipients ignore such requests, and removing everyone silent throws away customers the transition already covers.

Timing matters as well. From July 1, an emailed request for permission falls under the same rules as an offer, so sending it would itself need consent.

Asking is worth it where the basis is weak or running out, such as old enquiries and draw entries, through a form that records each answer and its date.

Records already kept elsewhere

Mailing services usually keep the date and the form for each sign-up. Export that history now, with the list of people who unsubscribed, and store both outside the service.

Save each sign-up form's wording with the dates it was in use. Paper sheets from the counter or a trade show should be kept, or scanned with their headings visible.

New addresses from July 1

Every new sign-up should arrive with its record attached. The form should name the business and give its contact details, describe what subscribers will receive and mention that they can leave at any time, with the box left empty.

A confirmation email, with a link the person clicks to finish signing up, adds a second dated record and keeps mistyped addresses off the list.

The counter-case

Some messages need no consent, such as a quote the customer asked for or a notice about their own account, though they still need the sender's details and an unsubscribe.

A business that only ever emails customers about their own orders may need little more than that.

Once a newsletter or an offer goes to a list, every address on it needs a record. Building that properly is work for a lawyer on the rules and for whoever runs the website on the forms.

Five weeks of record keeping

  1. Export the list with every field the service holds.
  2. Add columns for source, date, basis and evidence.
  3. Fill them in from orders, contracts, forms and sheets.
  4. Mark the customers covered by the transition.
  5. Ask for consent where the basis is weak, before July 1.
  6. Remove addresses nobody can account for.
  7. Change the sign-up forms so new records build themselves.

Step three takes the longest and matters most. Every later decision, about whom to keep, whom to ask and whom to drop, rests on what that column says.

One case the record should cover, a friend whose address a satisfied customer passed on, has its own rule, explained in emailing someone a customer recommended.

Frequently asked questions

When does Canada's anti-spam law take effect?

On July 1, 2014. From that day, commercial email needs consent, the sender's details and a working unsubscribe, and the sender must be able to show the consent.

What should the record hold for each address?

Where the address came from, the date, the basis for consent, and the evidence behind it, such as the form's wording, a scanned sheet or an order number.

How does the transition for existing customers work?

Where a business relationship exists on July 1 and already includes email, consent is implied for three years from that date, unless the person asks you to stop.

Should I email everyone asking them to confirm?

Only where the basis is weak. Silent recipients include customers the transition already covers, and after July 1 the law treats an emailed consent request like any other commercial message.

Can I keep addresses from business cards?

Often, for messages about the person's work, if they handed the card over without saying no. Record when and where each card was collected.

What about a list we bought?

Consent given to someone else rarely covers your messages. If you cannot show how each person agreed to hear from you, remove those addresses before July 1.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

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