Stiffer Rules Around Spam

Are you ready for the new Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) Bill C28 which will be enforced later this year? This law requires express consent for most commercial-related messages. It also requires that you inform consumers about how personal identifiable information such as an email address will be used.

And ignore the law at your peril, because the fines are steep, with a potential penalty of $1 million for individuals and $10 million per business per day. With C-28, the burden of proof is on the sender and marketers must clearly inform consumers about what exactly they are opting in to and you need to articulate your privacy policies.

Here are a few steps you can take now to get ready for when the law is enforced.

• Outsource your direct e-mail marketing efforts to a reputable e-mail sending service like Constant Contact
• Clean up your mailing lists.
• Get consent from people now.
• Avoid renting or buying lists.
• Adopt e-mail best practices based on permission-based marketing.
• Have an opt-out option on your e-mail marketing

A word of caution, picking up a business card from a display at an event, and then adding the person to your email list, does not constitute permission-based marketing. If the person handed you the card, maybe, but if they don’t remember you, never met you at the actual event, you run the risk of your email being considered spam and that could be a costly error on your part.

HAVING A BAD DAY

What a week. Especially on Monday. It seemed like Friday the 13th not Monday the 13th. Now I knew going into the week that it would be hectic, we had a lot on, but did not allow for how so many things could go wrong, and as a result delay everything.

First our Wednesday speaker emailed to say she was stuck in Tel Aviv and might not make it back in time. Decision time. Do we cancel now or run the risk of a no-show speaker? We cancelled which meant phone calls to all registered, refunds, etc…

One of the computers is out of commission but a quick call to our tech guy, and we are back in business. The next issue of the magazine arrives – great – it is one day early and now we can ship it out. No. The website at the courier service we use is down – all day.

You get the picture I am sure. I went to check my horoscope thinking it might give me a clue – I mean - perhaps in astrology-speak mercury was in retrograde or something, but it’s not that relevant. The next day, I decide early on to read my horoscope, hoping it would shed some light on the day ahead. Guess what – same wording.

That’s strange I thought and then I see it – at the bottom of the page. The Globe and Mail was apologizing because they’d printed Tuesday’s horoscopes on Monday. Good to know. Guess we weren’t the only ones having a bad day.

Oh The Places You will Go

It’s done. I shared my pearls of wisdom with the 2010 graduating class from Sheridan College on Wednesday. It was quite the gathering with over 300 students graduating from the ECE program, plus their family and friends.

I can’t tell you how many times I wrote and re-wrote that speech. I would write it, rehearse it in my head as I went to sleep and then when I woke in the morning, decide, no, it still needed some fine-tuning.

I also asked around to find out what Convocation speeches usually cover. The main feedback was that they are boring. Definitely didn’t want to go there.

In the end I used a combination of previous versions, and added as I went along at the actual event. I narrowed it down to four pieces of advice – any more than that and I thought I would lose their attention, and being menopausal I didn’t want to stretch my memory either!

What did I say?

1. Take risks – stretch yourself beyond your comfort zone. Even if it doesn’t work out, it’s a lesson learned, not a mistake.

2. Volunteer – you gain as much as you give, if not more

3. Your attitude determines your altitude. Life happens and while you can’t control everything, you can control how you react.

4. Believe in yourself. Surround yourself with positive people who will support you. Make sure to take time for yourself.

I ended by reading a few verses from Dr. Seuss’ “Oh, the Places You’ll Go.”

My thanks to those of you who sent in tips and advice to share with the students. I tried to incorporate them where I could.

And the response – I got a lot of positive feedback from teachers, parents and students, including one young man who has attended all the convocations so far this year and thought my speech was by far the best. So all in all – a worthwhile experience for everyone.