# EMAIL MARKETING — US VARIANT

> **Region:** United States (Canada has separate rules — CASL is closer to GDPR; treat Canada as EU-tier)
> **Primary law:** CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (federal)
> **State laws:** CCPA + CPRA (California), VCDPA (Virginia), CPA (Colorado), CTDPA (Connecticut), UCPA (Utah), MCDPA (Minnesota), and 10+ more by 2026
> **Consent model:** **OPT-OUT is sufficient** for marketing email (you do NOT need prior consent)
> **Penalty:** Up to USD 51,744 per email (FTC enforcement, 2024 cap)

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## CAN-SPAM Act 2003 — REQUIREMENTS

### What CAN-SPAM requires

| Requirement | What it means | Practical action |
|------------|---------------|------------------|
| **No false / misleading headers** | "From", "To", "Reply-To" must accurately identify sender | Use your brand domain (no spoofing) |
| **No deceptive subject lines** | Subject must reflect email content | Don't write "Your order shipped" if it's a sale email |
| **Identify as ad** | If commercial, must be identifiable as advertising | Most ESPs add "promotional" header automatically |
| **Physical address** | Must include a valid postal address (street, city, state, ZIP) | Office address, registered agent, or PO Box |
| **Opt-out mechanism** | Clear, conspicuous unsubscribe link | One-click unsubscribe in footer |
| **Honor opt-out in 10 days** | Process unsubscribe within 10 business days | ESP handles automatically; you must not re-add |
| **Monitor third parties** | If you hire someone to email on your behalf, you're liable for their compliance | DPA with all ESPs and email vendors |

### What CAN-SPAM does NOT require

- Prior consent (you can email cold, with caveats)
- Double opt-in
- Specific data retention period
- Right to erasure (CCPA covers this for California)

---

## CCPA / CPRA (California) — additional requirements

### Who's covered (CCPA)

A business that:
- Has gross annual revenue > USD 25M, OR
- Buys/sells/shares personal info of 100,000+ CA residents/households, OR
- Derives 50%+ revenue from selling/sharing CA residents' info

### What CCPA adds for email marketing

| Requirement | Practical action |
|------------|------------------|
| Right to know | Provide privacy policy listing categories of data collected |
| Right to delete | Offer "delete my data" mechanism (not just unsubscribe) |
| Right to opt-out of sale/share | "Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information" link in footer or website |
| Right to limit sensitive data | If collecting sensitive PII (health, finance), must offer opt-out |
| Privacy policy update | Post privacy policy with last-updated date |

### Other state laws (similar to CCPA)

- Virginia (VCDPA) — effective 2023
- Colorado (CPA) — effective 2023
- Connecticut (CTDPA) — effective 2023
- Utah (UCPA) — effective 2023
- Texas (TDPSA) — effective 2024
- Oregon, Montana, Iowa, Tennessee, Indiana — 2024-2026 rollout

**Practical rule:** If you serve any US state with privacy laws, the safe default is to apply CCPA-style controls everywhere (it's the strictest) — saves engineering complexity.

---

## ESP picker for US

| ESP | Best for | Pricing tier | Why |
|-----|---------|-------------|-----|
| **Klaviyo** | DTC e-commerce, Shopify | USD 35/mo (250 contacts) and up | Native Shopify, predictive segments, SMS combo |
| **Mailchimp** | Small biz, general purpose | Free up to 500 contacts; USD 13+/mo | Easy UI, templates, behavioral targeting |
| **ActiveCampaign** | B2B + CRM-heavy | USD 19+/mo | Strong automation, sales CRM included |
| **HubSpot Marketing Hub** | All-in-one (CRM + email) | Free starter; USD 800+/mo Pro | Full-funnel, CMS, ads tracking |
| **Customer.io** | API-first, SaaS dev teams | USD 100+/mo | Behavioral triggers, JSON config |

---

## US footer template (CAN-SPAM + CCPA compliant)

```
You're receiving this email because you signed up at [yoursite.com] or
purchased from us.

[Brand Name]
[Street Address]
[City, State, ZIP]

[Unsubscribe] | [Update preferences] | [Privacy policy] | [Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information]

(c) [Year] [Brand Name]. All rights reserved.
```

---

## US subject line conventions

| Style | Example | Open rate |
|-------|---------|----------|
| Curiosity | "Most founders get this wrong" | High |
| Personalization | "[First name], your weekly recap" | High |
| Benefit | "Cut your CAC by 40% in 30 days" | Medium-high |
| Number | "5 things our top customers do" | Medium-high |
| Urgency | "Last call: 24 hours left" | Medium (overuse fatigue) |
| Question | "Are you making this mistake?" | Medium |

**Spam triggers to AVOID in subject lines:**
- ALL CAPS, multiple exclamation marks (!!!)
- Words: "FREE", "100%", "GUARANTEE", "ACT NOW", "MAKE MONEY"
- Excessive emoji (1-2 OK; 5+ flagged)
- Misleading "Re:" or "Fwd:" prefixes (CAN-SPAM violation)

---

## Welcome series — US 3-email template

| # | Send | Subject (US examples) | Goal |
|---|------|----------------------|------|
| 1 | Immediately | "Welcome to [Brand] — your gift inside" | Deliver lead magnet, set expectations |
| 2 | +2 days | "[First name], 3 things to know about us" | Brand story + social proof |
| 3 | +4 days | "How [N customers] hit [outcome] with us" | Case study + soft CTA |

### Send time (US, by region)

- **East Coast (EST):** Tuesday-Thursday 8-10 AM, 6-8 PM
- **West Coast (PST):** Tuesday-Thursday 9-11 AM, 7-9 PM
- **National:** Use ESP's send-time-optimization (STO)
- **Avoid:** Mondays before 9 AM, Fridays after 3 PM, Sat/Sun (B2B), holiday weeks

---

## Nurture sequence — US 5-email template

| # | Send | Theme | Type |
|---|------|-------|------|
| 1 | +7 days | Pain point #1 deep-dive | Education |
| 2 | +10 days | Pain point #2 with framework | Education |
| 3 | +14 days | Customer success story | Social proof |
| 4 | +17 days | Soft offer (discount or trial) | Soft sell |
| 5 | +21 days | Hard offer + scarcity | Hard sell |

---

## Re-engagement — US 3-email template

| # | Send | Subject | Goal |
|---|------|---------|------|
| 1 | Day 1 | "We miss you, [First name]" | Soft reminder |
| 2 | +3 days | "A gift to bring you back" | Exclusive offer |
| 3 | +7 days | "Last email — should we say goodbye?" | Final ask, then suppress |

---

## US benchmarks (2025-2026)

| KPI | Poor | Average | Good | Excellent |
|-----|------|---------|------|-----------|
| Open rate | <18% | 18-25% | 25-35% | >35% |
| Click rate (CTR) | <1.5% | 1.5-3% | 3-5% | >5% |
| Click-to-open (CTOR) | <8% | 8-15% | 15-25% | >25% |
| Unsubscribe rate | >0.5% | 0.2-0.5% | 0.1-0.2% | <0.1% |
| Spam complaint | >0.1% | 0.05-0.1% | <0.05% | <0.01% |
| Bounce rate | >2% | 1-2% | 0.5-1% | <0.5% |
| Revenue per email (DTC) | <USD 0.05 | USD 0.05-0.25 | USD 0.25-1.00 | >USD 1.00 |
| Email ROI | <USD 20 per USD 1 | USD 20-30 | USD 30-42 | >USD 42 |

---

## US compliance checklist

### Before sending first email

- [ ] CAN-SPAM compliant footer (physical address + unsubscribe)
- [ ] Subject line accurate (no deceptive headers)
- [ ] Privacy policy live on website with last-updated date
- [ ] CCPA "Do Not Sell or Share" link if serving California
- [ ] Opt-in form has consent checkbox (not pre-checked) — best practice even if not required
- [ ] DPA signed with ESP if storing PII
- [ ] Sender domain authenticated (SPF + DKIM + DMARC)

### Monthly

- [ ] Suppress hard-bounces (auto via ESP)
- [ ] Process unsubscribes within 10 days (auto via ESP)
- [ ] Honor CCPA delete requests within 45 days
- [ ] Review spam complaint rate; pause campaigns if >0.1%
- [ ] Update privacy policy if data practices changed

---

## US-specific risk flags

- **Buying email lists:** CAN-SPAM doesn't ban it, but ISPs will suppress; CCPA fines apply if CA residents on list
- **Cold outreach to B2B:** Allowed under CAN-SPAM, but most ESPs ban; use dedicated cold-email tools (Lemlist, Apollo)
- **Adding to list without confirmation:** "Confirmed opt-in" not legally required US, but recommended for deliverability
- **Sending to purchased lists:** ISPs (Gmail, Outlook) will junk-folder; reputation damage
- **Multi-state expansion:** When you cross state lines, audit each state law (CA strictest, others rolling out)

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*US Variant | Global Skill 14 | Over Powers Agency | v1.0.0*
