If any web designers reading this are struggling to generate new leads and, ultimately, clients for their web design business, part of the reason is likely that your marketing is either non-existent or not performing as well as it could. For the former, we strongly urge you to start a marketing campaign, preferably online, given that almost all potential clients will be looking for web designers.
As for a marketing campaign that is not working, plenty can be done to reverse that, and specifically, you should either start using email marketing or improve upon the one you already have running. In both instances, the wisest move is to seek the help of a digital marketing agency with the resources and experience to make email marketing campaigns a huge success.
One caveat to using email marketing is that it must be done with due consideration and adherence to the laws and regulations that apply to it. Gone are the days when you could legitimately send out a flood of emails to random people, although taking a quick look at spam folders suggests not everyone got the memo.
Assuming you do not want to be seen as a spammer nor risk contravening Australian email marketing laws, you must know what the rules are and, crucially, what the laws are concerning commercial email as a legitimate means of marketing your web design business. Read on, and we will explain the necessities.
Email Marketing Laws For Australian Business
The primary legislation covering email is the 2003 Spam Act. This seeks to regulate commercial email and other messages that are sent by electronic means. The Spam Act comes under the remit of the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) and consists of several core components, which are:
- Rules relating to sending commercial electronic messages
- Rules concerning software that harvests email addresses and email address lists
- The penalties for breaching the Spam Act which include civil penalties and injunctions
- Enforceable undertakings aka voluntary commitments made by individuals, companies, and organisations
Main Rules Within The Spam Act
The Spam Act lists three main rules that anyone wishing to use commercial email for marketing purposes must follow. These relate to 1) Consent, 2) Identification, and 3) Unsubscribe Options. Here are more details on all three.
Consent
For you to send commercial emails on behalf of your web design business, you first need the permission of those to whom you are sending the emails. This can be done by offering a free download in return for an email address and permission. You must also be able to record when and how each consent was obtained.
Identification
Every commercial email you send must include details of the business that sends them. For your emails, you should include your registered business name, and contact information including your phone number and either your physical address or an email address that is monitored. Note the information must be valid for at least 30 days after an email is sent.
Unsubscribe Options
Anyone who has previously permitted you to send emails to them has the right to rescind permission and opt out of, or unsubscribe from receiving your commercial emails. To comply with this, you must include a link in every email to enable unsubscription automatically, or instructions on how to unsubscribe. You must honour all unsubscribe requests within 5 working days.