RISMedia’s ANTI-SPAM Policy
RISMedia is committed to being a good Internet citizen and adheres to best email practices and all laws in compliance with the CAN-SPAM Act and policies adopted by international Internet monitoring and tracking organizations.
As such, and to protect our good-standing reputation as a bulk emailer, and to protect the good reputations and delivery success of our RREIN, RREINAgent, Top 5 Members, Pop-a-Note and users of all RISMedia B2C platforms that require subscriber enrollment, RISMedia strictly forbids the practice of uploading purchased email lists (spam lists) to any of our network- or user-based subscriber-management interfaces.
It’s important to note that purchased email lists may contact what is known as “spam traps,” or “bad emails” that are known to and adopted by Internet tracking agencies to identify spam lists. When spam traps are detected, monitoring agencies place the sender on email “blacklists.” Email blacklists were originated as databases of IP addresses known (or believed) to be a source of email spam. The blacklists are maintained by numerous Internet monitoring organizations, and various Internet service providers consult these databases to block spam email. If a mail server is listed in one or more spam blacklists, the email will be rejected until the bad emails are purged from the database and the monitoring agency removes the sender from the blacklist.
With our historic, upstanding reputation as a bulk sender of leading real estate news and information on our own behalf, as well as co-branding on our network members’ behalves, the importance of adhering to this email policy can not be overstated. It is possible that one bad email uploaded anywhere in our subscriber management platforms can result in email suspension of the entire system for all members. It is incumbent upon our members and B2C platform users, to review and refine your subscriber lists so they are pristine – comprised of only valid emails of those who are known to you, are in your sphere of influence and/or whom you have had a previous business relationship with. The strategy of purchasing an email list in an effort to send emails to as many recipients as possible for maximum reach is not only flawed, but illegal. Email practices have evolved and consumers are cognizant of bad email practices and commonly take measures to prevent and report unwanted email. Sending to recipients who don’t know you or want your email will assuredly result in unsubscribes, abuse reports, poor open rate and generally a negative reflection on you, as well as your fellow network members. It’s best practice today to send information and/or marketing-based email to a refined list of recipients who know you and want to hear from you.
To ensure compliance with RISMedia’s Anti-Spam policy, the company has adopted the following subscriber management terms and conditions for all B2C platforms as of August 1, 2011:
RISMEDIA’S ANTI-SPAM POLICY
RISMedia has a no-tolerance spam policy. RISMedia’s customer support actively monitors large import lists and emails going to a large number of contacts. Any customer found to be using RISMedia’s email platforms for spam will be immediately cut-off from use of the product. If you know of or suspect any violators, please notify us immediately at risabuse@rismedia.com.
Every email contains a mandatory unsubscribe link – those individuals who try to remove this link will be warned that they are doing so. If the link is removed or de-activated in any way, RISMedia will terminate the customer’s account.
What is Spam?
Spam is unsolicited email also known as UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email). By sending email to only to those who have requested to receive it, you are following accepted permission-based email guidelines.
What constitutes a preexisting business relationship?
The recipient of your email has made a purchase, requested information, responded to a questionnaire or a survey, or had offline contact with you.
What constitutes consent?
The recipient of your email has been clearly and fully notified of the collection and use of his email address and has consented prior to such collection and use. This is often called informed consent.
Isn’t there a law against sending Spam?
The federal anti-spam law went into effect on January 1st, 2004 and preempts all state laws. While this new law will not stop spam, it does make most spam illegal and ultimately less attractive to spammers. The law is specific about requirements to send commercial email and empowers the federal government to enforce the law. The penalties can include a fine and/or imprisonment for up to 5 years.
How RISMedia protects you from sending spam
RISMedia offers a permission-based email-marketing tool that follows the strictest permission-based philosophies:
• Verification – RISMedia automatically sends all of your new contacts an email confirming their interest in receiving emails from you. Additionally, if your contact changes his or her interests or unsubscribes, RISMedia automatically sends an email confirmation.
• Unsubscribe – Every email generated from RISMedia contains an unsubscribe link, which allows your contacts to opt-out of future emails and automatically updates your contact lists to avoid the chance of sending unwanted emails to visitors who have unsubscribed.
• Identification – Your email header information is correct because it is pre-set for you by RISMedia. Your email’s “From” address is verified and already accurately identifies you as the sender.
• Contact Information – all of your emails are pre-filled with your contact information based on the data entered in the user interface.
RISMedia also offers members of its B2C platforms, including RREIN andTop 5, the ability to send newsletters from your own SMTP server. For more information on how to implement that option, contact Director of Member Relations, Peter DiSalvo at pdisalvo@rismedia.com.
How to protect yourself from Spam: Take the Spam Test
1. Are you importing a purchased list of ANY kind?
2. Are you sending to non-specific addresses such as:
o sales@domain.com, business@domain.com, webmaster@domain.com, info@domain.com, or other general addresses.
3. Are you sending to distribution lists or mailing lists which send indirectly to a variety of email addresses?
4. Are you mailing to anyone who has not explicitly agreed to join your mailing list?
5. Have you falsified your originating address or transmission path information?
6. Have you used a third party email address or domain name without their permission?
7. Does your email’s subject line contain false or misleading information?
8. Does your email fail to provide a working link to unsubscribe?
9. Are you failing to process any unsubscribe requests that come to you via a reply to your email within 10 days or the request?
If you have answered YES to ANY of the above questions you will likely be labeled a SPAMMER. For more information visit The Coalition Against Unsolicited Email (www.cauce.org) or contact Peter DiSalvo, Director of Member Relations, RREIN, at pdisalvo@rismedia.com.
By adhering to these terms, you ensure best practices are followed, which ultimately results in better adoption and open rates, greater interest and readership and ultimately, greater client communication and interaction – which is RISMedia’s goal – to be your trusted partner in providing quality information that helps increase your business.