1. Opt-Out Dos and Don'ts Best Practices
v.1.0 Nick Metcalfe
There are currently three channels of communication that are heavily regulated between the FTC and
FCC; email, mobile (SMS/MMS/Geo-location) and telephony (Fax and calls). There are no regulations
regarding Post Office Mail. To comply with these regulations we must have a system for capturing opt-in
and opt-out for each channel. Constituents can change these preferences, but the permission level
must be clear and distinct to avoid any confusion and/or regulatory scrutiny.
Challenge – Creating singular Marketing Permission Levels for UCLA and a Global preference center
for Constituent self management.
Opt-out in a nutshell
1. So, what permission level should I use?
• Consult with U-Comm, but make sure you have a unique name that cannot be confused with another department. E.g. UCLA Fund vs. UCLA Public
Outreach. Do not pick a name that has close proximity, such as UCLA Fund vs. UCLA Funds. This could lead to a complaint filing with the FTC.
• For marketing email, you also need to acquire a AFFIRMATIVE CONSENT from recipients. Either passive/active opt-in, or clear and conspicuous language.
• For transactional emails, they do not have to comply with CAN-SPAM
2. Should I offer an “all” opt-out option on my emails?
• No. If your email is offensive, you do not want to damage the relationship with other marketing permission levels.
• Best approach is to include the option to remove “all” emails from a preference center, but not from the unsub link.
3. For email, when do I actually need to remove someone from my list?
• Under current CAN-SPAM rules, you have 10 days, although there is discussion to reduce this to 3 days. Email unsub links must be live for 30 days.
• TRANSMISSION AFTER OBJECTION is the legal term in CAN-SPAM describing email continuation after 10 days, and is a violation.
• Best practices is to remove them from your list as soon as possible. Most Email tools have this suppression list capability.
4. For phone solicitations, the opt-out expires after 5 years, right?
• No. The original 2003 law that required this from consumers was updated in 2007. They never expire.
5. What about email opt-outs? Can I expire them after a few years?
• No. Again, there is no expiration period for this law.
6. What is the current benchmark metric for email opt-outs?
• In Education, the benchmark best in class rate is 0.04%. Our current rate is typically 2.5 times higher, around 0.1%
11/25/2014