Federal laws and Indiana University’s policies regulate communications and data security. When you send emails in Marketing Cloud, make sure you understand these laws and policies to stay in compliance and avoid your emails being marked as spam.
This checklist applies to IU Marketing Cloud users and any external agencies working on IU’s behalf. Content is not intended as official legal advice.
Get approval to send
- Obtain written approval to send emails from (1) departmental leadership and (2) data stewards when sending to external constituents.
- Ensure recipients agree to receive your communications by establishing either:
- Express consent: Verbal or written agreement (e.g., submitted an online form to receive your newsletter).
- Implied consent: Agreement extending from an existing business relationship (e.g., Kelley School of Business can send emails to Kelley students). All other compliance regulations still apply.
- Obtain prior approval if you are considering sending a survey. You can learn about the process and request permission here.
Keep constituent data safe
- Use, share, and store constituent data securely based upon the type of data. As necessary, store data using a secure platform and share data using Secure Share (supported by IU). Don’t store sensitive data on your computer.
Be clear with your content
- Identify who you are in the “from” and “reply-to” email addresses and display names in your Brand Configuration. Include a physical address in the email. The email framework templates will already contain your campus's address in the footer.
- Use clear and accurate subject lines that convey email content without misleading.
Make unsubscribing easy and appropriate
- Determine if unsubscribe option is required based on message type:
- Commercial content: Non-essential or marketing content (e.g., newsletters, optional event invitations, etc.) should include unsubscribe. Most emails are commercial.
- Transactional content: Content necessary for the constituent’s relationship with IU (e.g. employee tax information notifications, bursar bill receipts, compliance messages, etc.) Typically, few emails are transactional.
- Make unsubscribing easy and honor opt-outs promptly for commercial content. This is quickly configured by using IU templates and data extensions with a publication list.