Email Compliance
for BayEngage Users

Why Compliance Matters for Deliverability

Email compliance isn't just a legal concern — it's a deliverability signal. Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo use complaint rates, unsubscribe behavior, and sending patterns to assess your sender reputation. When your emails don't comply with regulations, two things happen:

• Legal exposure — CAN-SPAM violations carry fines up to $51,744 per email; GDPR fines can reach €20 million or 4% of global turnover.
• Inbox placement drops — High complaint rates (from frustrated recipients who can't easily unsubscribe) trigger spam filtering long before regulators notice.

The good news: compliance best practices and deliverability best practices are almost always the same. Easy unsubscribes reduce complaints. Consent-based lists engage better. Honest subject lines reduce spam reports.

CAN-SPAM (United States)

The CAN-SPAM Act governs commercial email sent to US recipients. It applies to any email whose primary purpose is commercial — including promotional campaigns sent via BayEngage.

Core Requirements

• No deceptive "From" lines — Your sender name and email address must accurately identify who's sending the email.
• No misleading subject lines — Subject lines must reflect the actual content of the message.
• Identify the email as an advertisement — Required unless you have prior express consent (which you should have for your marketing list).
• Include your physical mailing address — A valid postal address must appear in every commercial email. A P.O. Box is acceptable.
• Provide a clear unsubscribe mechanism — Every email must include a way for recipients to opt out of future messages.
• Honor unsubscribes within 10 business days — Once someone opts out, you have 10 business days to stop mailing them. BayEngage handles this automatically when properly configured.
• Don't charge for unsubscribing — The opt-out process must be free and require no more than a reply email or visiting a single web page.

What CAN-SPAM Does NOT Require

Unlike GDPR, CAN-SPAM does not require prior opt-in consent before emailing someone. It's an opt-out law — you can send to contacts who haven't explicitly subscribed, as long as you honor unsubscribes. However, this approach typically produces poor engagement and damages deliverability, so it's not recommended regardless of legality.

GDPR (European Union)

The General Data Protection Regulation applies any time you process personal data of EU residents — regardless of where your business is located. For email marketers using BayEngage, this means:

• If you send to EU residents, GDPR applies to you
• You must have a lawful basis for processing their data — for marketing email, this is almost always explicit consent
• Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous — pre-ticked boxes don't count

Key GDPR Requirements for Email

• Lawful basis — For marketing emails, use consent. Document when and how consent was collected for each contact.
• Right to be forgotten — Contacts can request deletion of their personal data. BayEngage allows contact deletion via Contacts → select contact → Delete.
• Data portability — Contacts can request their data in a portable format. Export contact records via BayEngage's Contacts → Export feature.
• Privacy policy link — Include a link to your privacy policy in your email footer.
• Clear consent records — You must be able to prove when and how a contact gave consent. This is typically done at the signup form level.

Double Opt-In as GDPR Best Practice

While GDPR doesn't strictly require double opt-in, it's the clearest way to demonstrate explicit consent. A double opt-in creates a timestamped confirmation email that proves the contact actively confirmed their subscription. This is your best defense in a GDPR audit.

CASL (Canada)

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation is widely considered the strictest email marketing law in North America. Unlike CAN-SPAM, CASL requires prior express consent before sending commercial electronic messages to Canadian recipients.

Two Types of Consent Under CASL

CASL Requirements

• Identify yourself — Name, mailing address, and either phone, email, or web address must be in every message.
• Unsubscribe mechanism — Must be functional for at least 60 days after the message is sent. BayEngage's unsubscribe links comply with this by default.
• Honor unsubscribes within 10 business days — Same as CAN-SPAM.
• Record consent — If challenged, you must prove you had consent. Keep records of when, where, and how consent was obtained.

List-Unsubscribe Headers

The List-Unsubscribe email header is a technical standard that lets email clients show a native "Unsubscribe" button at the top of the email — separate from the link in your body. Gmail, Outlook, and Apple Mail all support this.

Why This Matters

• Gmail requires it for bulk senders — Since February 2024, senders sending 5,000+ emails/day to Gmail must include List-Unsubscribe and process unsubscribes within 2 days.
• Reduces spam complaints — When subscribers can easily unsubscribe, they're less likely to click "Report Spam" instead. Fewer complaints = better reputation.
• One-click standard (RFC 8058) — Google requires the newer List-Unsubscribe-Post header for one-click unsubscribe. BayEngage handles this automatically.

BayEngage and List-Unsubscribe

BayEngage automatically inserts List-Unsubscribe headers into all outbound campaigns. You don't need to configure this manually. To verify it's working: send a test email to a Gmail address, click the three-dot menu, and check "Show original" — you should see List-Unsubscribe in the raw headers.

Configuring Compliance in BayEngage

BayEngage (TargetBay Email/SMS) includes built-in compliance features. Here's how to configure each one:

Physical Mailing Address (Required for CAN-SPAM)

1. Go to Settings → Sender Profiles
2. Edit or create each sender profile
3. Fill in your physical mailing address — this is auto-inserted into your email footer
4. Verify the address appears in a test email before sending campaigns

Unsubscribe Footer

1. In Settings → Email Templates, ensure your footer template includes the unsubscribe link placeholder
2. BayEngage's {{unsubscribe_link}} merge tag inserts a compliant unsubscribe link automatically
3. Make the link visible — don't hide it in grey 8px text
4. Consider adding both "Unsubscribe" and "Manage Preferences" links to reduce full unsubscribes

Global Suppression List

1. Go to Contacts → Suppression List
2. BayEngage automatically adds unsubscribers to the global suppression list
3. Unsubscribes from any campaign suppress the contact from all future sends — not just the specific list
4. You can manually add contacts to the suppression list for additional exclusions

Exporting Consent Records (GDPR)

1. Go to Contacts → Export
2. Export your full contact list with subscription date and source fields
3. The export includes opt-in date — essential for GDPR consent documentation
4. Store these exports securely; they're your evidence of consent

BayEngage Compliance Checklist

Use this checklist before sending any campaign. Each item has a legal basis and a deliverability benefit.

Account Setup (One-Time)

• ☐ Physical mailing address added to all Sender Profiles in BayEngage
• ☐ Unsubscribe link included in default footer template
• ☐ Global suppression list enabled and tested
• ☐ Privacy policy URL added to footer
• ☐ SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records published for your sending domain — SPF Builder | DMARC Generator

List Management

• ☐ All contacts have documented opt-in consent (source + date)
• ☐ Canadian contacts have express consent (not just implied)
• ☐ No purchased or scraped lists
• ☐ Double opt-in enabled for new subscribers where possible
• ☐ Consent records exportable for GDPR documentation

Per-Campaign

• ☐ "From" name accurately identifies your business
• ☐ Subject line accurately reflects email content (no misleading teasers)
• ☐ Unsubscribe link visible (not hidden) in footer
• ☐ Physical address visible in footer
• ☐ Not sending to suppressed/unsubscribed contacts

Ongoing

• ☐ Spam complaint rate monitored weekly (target: below 0.05%)
• ☐ Unsubscribes honored within 10 business days (BayEngage does this automatically)
• ☐ CASL implied consent expiry dates tracked for Canadian contacts
• ☐ Deletion requests processed promptly