The carbon copy or CC email function can be extremely useful when you need multiple people to see a message. If you’re an email marketer, however, its convenience could come back to bite you. Improper use of this seemingly harmless feature has some serious consequences.

Privacy Breached

If you are familiar with the CCing process and how it works, you have probably noticed that it can easily lead to a privacy issue depending on the parties involved. When you send a carbon copy of a message to your subscribers, the email address of each recipient is available for every other recipient to see. This is a bad thing for two main reasons. First, you are exposing all of your subscribers to the potentially dangerous threat of spam, which could very well be sent by the some of the people you CCed. Secondly, you are essentially showing your subscribers that you do not care about protecting their personal data and privacy. If they can’t trust you to keep them safe, why should they deal with you at all?

Deliverability Disabled

Email deliverability in general is at the mercy of ISPs, but it is even more vulnerable when desktop and web-based mail clients are involved. No matter what client program you are using to communicate with your subscribers, the number of messages you are actually allowed to send is limited and dictated by your ISP. A single message CCed to dozens of people could put you over that limit, increasing the probability of having your email land in a spam filter and your sending privileges temporarily suspended. Make this a routine habit and you could have your account terminated permanently.

CAN-SPAM Violated

The CAN-SPAM Act President Bush signed into law in 2003 is the closest thing we have to email regulations. While numerous spammers have and continue to

escape its wrath, some have not been so lucky. Among other requirements, the CAN-SPAM Act calls for marketers to ensure that each message contains a crystal clear explanation of how to opt-out, and a valid physical mailing address recipients can use to contact them. With a good piece of software, making sure your message has these mandatory elements is something you do not have to worry about as they are included automatically. When you are conducting your email marketing through a conventional mail client, it is up to you to make sure they are included. Fail to add them and you could end up violating CAN-SPAM as a result of the complaints tallied by the people you CCed in your message.

When taking a long hard look at the pitfalls, it becomes clear to see that CCing your subscribers just isn’t worth the hassle. Luckily, all these potential issues can be avoided by investing in a quality email marketing software solution. With the backing of a trusted email service provider, you can keep your deliverability rates and reputation in good standings all without ever having to take a gamble with the often troublesome CC function.