The true definition of spam is an email that has sent to someone who hasn't given direct permission to contact them on the topic of the e-mail.

Here are some guidelines to help you determine what does and doesn't constitute permission.

To send email through Campaign Fusion, you must have clearly obtained permission from each of your recipients on the list. This could be done through the following:

	An e-mail subscription form on your website to collect.
	An opt-in checkbox on a form. This checkbox must not be checked by default, but willingly by the person completing the form to indicate that they want to hear from you.
	If someone completes an offline form like a survey or enters a competition, they can be contacted if it was explained to them that they would be contacted by e-mail AND have checked a box indicating permission to do so.
	Identifying customers who have purchased from you within the last two years.
	Business card contact information if the person has given you the card with the understanding that you will be in touch by e-mail.For example, when collecting business cards in a fishbowl at a trade show, you must display a sign indicating your intent to contact by e-mail, if you plan to do so.

You can only email people who have clearly given you permission to e-mail them specifically about the subject you will be contacting them about.

By using Campaign Fusion, you are agreeing not to import or contact any email addresses that do not meet the criteria mentioned above. Here are some examples of situations THAT do not meet permission guidelines:

	You do not have explicit, provable permission to contact the recipient in relation to the topic of the e-mail you're sending.
	You bought, loaned, rented or in any way acquired your e-mail list from a third party, no matter what that party claims about quality or permission. You need to obtain permission directly.
	You haven't contacted the recipient via e-mail in the last two years. Permission doesn't age well and this person might have have a changed e-mail address or not remember giving permission in the first place.
	You copied and pasted from the web. Just because people publish their e-mail addresses doesn't mean they want to hear from you.

These people referenced above might have given their e-mail addresses, but what's missing is the permission to send them commercial messages. Blasting promotional emails to any of these people will be ineffective and will more than likely cause your e-mail to be marked as a spam by many of the recipients.

Every e-mail you send using Campaign Fusion must include the following:

	A single-click unsubscribe link that instantly removes unsubscribers from your list. Once they unsubscribe, they should not be emailed again.
	The name and physical address of the sender.

Campaign Fusion has an established procedure for approving and monitoring e-mail activity to ensure that we remain compliant with spam laws and that our customers are protected.

We make sure all lists are approved for each e-mail campaign sent, until the account can be verified and approved for unmonitored distribution.

Our software is directly integrated into the spam reporting systems for some of the biggest ISPs like Hotmail and AOL. If you don't have permission and someone marks your campaign as spam, it will be reported to us immediately. If a campaign sent through our system receives a complaint rate greater than 0.25% of all recipients, that account will be terminated.

Our team verifies all large lists imported into our software. We consistently monitor blacklists and abusive account activity and can pinpoint who is causing us delivery problems or attracting the most complaints.

If we do discover that you're e-mailing people without their permission, we will terminate your account with Campaign Fusion immediately. No refunds will be issued as the result of failure to comply with this policy.

In the end, it's really common sense. If your recipients don't recognize who you are or aren't interested in what you're sending, they will consider you a spammer. It's that simple.