The following tips will help keep your complaints to a minimum:

 

• Make sure that you have explicit permission to send email to your contacts. We recommend that you include a statement of what type of content you will send, as well as how frequently. 
  
• Make sure your sign-up form comes with an explicit permission statement. This statement should indicate the type of content in your emails as well as your sending frequency (for example, weekly, bi-weekly, monthly). 
  
• Make sure that the From Address and all subject lines clearly identify you and your organization. Many contacts will report an email as spam before opening if they do not recognize the sender. If you have not sent email to your customers within 6 months, we recommend using the confirmation process to invite them back to your list. 
  
• The confirmation process means that anyone who signs up using your sign-up form will be sent a confirmation-request email. They must click a link in that confirmation message to be officially added. This not only reminds your users that they signed up for your newsletter, but also provides evidence that your list is entirely permission-based in the event you receive complaints.