Emailing leads and past customers: the rules for a small business

Who the law covers

Everyone who sends commercial email. The Federal Trade Commission's compliance guide, which we read, says it plainly: "The law makes no exception for business-to-business email." A one-person plumbing business emailing a seasonal offer to past customers is covered the same as a national retailer.

The stakes are in the guide too: "Each separate email in violation of the law is subject to penalties of up to $53,088." That figure is per email, which is why a careless message to a long list is the thing to avoid. The FTC's rules for phone calls are in can a business call back a number on the Do Not Call list?

The requirements, one by one

The FTC's guide lists them, and the law's own text, at 15 U.S.C. 7704, backs each one.

• Honest "from" details. No "false or misleading header information." The name and address the email comes from must be yours.
• An honest subject line. The law bars a subject that "would be likely to mislead a recipient" about what is inside. "Re: your appointment" on an offer is the classic mistake.
• Say it is an ad. The law asks for "clear and conspicuous identification that the message is an advertisement or solicitation." A plain line such as "This is a promotional email from Northside Plumbing" does it.
• Your postal address. A "valid physical postal address of the sender."
• A way to opt out, clearly shown, in every marketing email.
• Honor it. "You must honor a recipient's opt-out request within 10 business days."
• Keep it working. The opt-out "must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days" after you send.

(Northside Plumbing is a made-up name.) None of these is hard. The failures are nearly always the last three: the unsubscribe link that goes nowhere, or the request nobody acted on. The texting version of the same duty is in STOP, HELP and opt-outs.

What you may not ask of someone opting out

The rule at 16 CFR 316.5 is specific. A sender may not require that a recipient:

• "pay any fee,"
• "provide any information other than the recipient's electronic mail address and opt-out preferences,"
• "or take any other steps except sending a reply electronic mail message or visiting a single Internet Web page."

So no login to unsubscribe, no survey first, no "tell us why" as a required box. One click or one reply. If you send from your own mailbox, "reply STOP and I'll take you off the list" meets it, provided you then do. Keep the list of people who opted out, and check it before every send, the same way you would keep a do-not-call list. One place for every customer record makes that easier; see the lead inbox.

Marketing email or a reply about the job?

Not every email is a marketing email. The FTC's guide describes "transactional or relationship" messages, which are "otherwise exempt from most provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act." Think of a quote the customer asked for, an appointment confirmation, an invoice, or an answer to their question.

Two cautions from the guide. The law "views these categories narrowly," so an appointment reminder that is mostly a sales pitch is a sales email. And the honesty rule about headers still applies to everything you send.

A simple test: would the customer be surprised to get this? A reply to their enquiry, no. A newsletter six months later, yes; treat that one as marketing and include everything on the list above. How quickly that first reply should go out is covered in how fast a business should respond to a new lead.

If someone else sends for you

Hiring a marketing company does not move the duty. The FTC's guide says a business stays responsible when it hires someone else to send its email, and should not rely on that company to handle compliance for it.

Before a freelancer or agency emails your customers, ask to see the email with the address, the ad line and the opt-out in place, and ask who receives the opt-out requests. If the answer is "the agency," make sure they pass them to you, because the next email from your own mailbox has to honor them too. Tagging the links in those emails also shows you which ones bring enquiries: how to track where your leads come from.

How email differs from texts and calls

• Email: no permission needed first under this law; strict rules on content and opt-out.
• Texts: consent first, and registration with the carriers before software can send. See what is A2P 10DLC.
• Calls: the Do Not Call rules, with windows for people who contacted you or bought from you.

That is why many small businesses follow up by email first. It is also why a lead form should collect an email address as well as a phone number; ours asks for both, as you can see on the setup request form.

A checklist before you send

1. Is the "from" name your real business name?
2. Does the subject say what the email is?
3. Does it say it is a promotional email?
4. Is your postal address at the bottom?
5. Is there a plain way to opt out, by link or by reply?
6. Have you removed everyone who opted out before?
7. Will someone read the replies for the next 30 days?

If every answer is yes, send it. If you asked for a review in the same email, check that part too: how to ask customers for reviews without breaking the rules.

What NewFrontDesk does and does not send

NewFrontDesk does not send marketing email for you. It emails you when a new lead arrives, and on Pro and Premium it reminds you which leads are due a follow-up, with a script to adapt. The email to your customer is one you write and send from your own address, which keeps the choices above in your hands.

What works today is on the status board. To talk it through, call (346) 913-7215 or request setup.

Sources

• Federal Trade Commission: CAN-SPAM Act, a compliance guide for business (August 2023; penalty figure updated January 2024)
• 15 U.S.C. 7704(a): requirements for commercial email (Cornell Legal Information Institute copy)
• 16 CFR 316.5: no fee or extra steps for opting out (Cornell Legal Information Institute copy)

Sources read on October 9, 2026. State laws and your email provider's terms can add stricter rules, and penalty figures are adjusted from time to time. General information, not legal advice.