Email rules for studios: CAN-SPAM, unsubscribes and staying out of spam

The FTC’s compliance guide sets out what every commercial email needs. It applies to any business, and there is no exception for small senders.

• Honest “From”, “To” and “Reply-To” details. They must identify your studio accurately.
• An honest subject line that reflects what’s in the email.
• Say it’s an ad when it is one, clearly and conspicuously.
• Your physical postal address: a street address, a USPS-registered P.O. box, or a registered private mailbox.
• A clear way to opt out, which must keep working for at least 30 days after you send.
• Honor opt-outs within 10 business days. You can’t charge a fee or ask for more than an email address to opt out, and you can’t sell or pass on the addresses of people who opted out.
• You’re responsible for anyone emailing for you. Hiring a marketer or using an email tool doesn’t move the responsibility.

The stakes are real: each email that breaks the law can draw a penalty of up to $53,088, the amount in the federal rules for 2026.

What’s exempt: transactional or relationship messages, such as confirming a registration, a change to an enrolled class, or billing for something a family already bought. These are exempt from most CAN-SPAM rules but still can’t have false routing information.

Breaking these won’t get you fined, but your email may not reach the inbox: Microsoft, for example, says non-compliant mail from high-volume senders may go to Junk or be rejected. The strictest rules apply to bulk senders; a small studio usually isn’t one, but following them anyway helps your email get delivered.

What this means for a studio

• Send from your own domain (like [email protected]), set up with SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
• Use an email tool that adds one-click unsubscribe and removes people straight away.
• Only email families who asked to hear from you, so few people mark you as spam.
• Take addresses that bounce off your list.

Texts follow different rules. Under the FCC’s rules for the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a marketing text sent with an autodialer needs the person’s prior express written consent, and an opt-out request made in any reasonable way must be honored within 10 business days. The consent has to be a signed written agreement, though an electronic signature can count.

Whether your texting app counts as an “autodialer” is a legal question, so the safe practice is: get written opt-in to marketing texts, keep a record of it, and stop as soon as someone replies STOP. StudioAnchor Reach sends email only.

• Every marketing email carries an unsubscribe link and the one-click unsubscribe headers Gmail and Yahoo require.
• People who unsubscribe are removed straight away and aren’t re-added by an import or an edit.
• Reach asks for your studio’s mailing address before it sends a campaign.
• Addresses that bounce, and people who report spam, are marked on their contact so you stop emailing them.
• Studio and Pro send from your own domain.
• The website sign-up form sends a confirmation email, so only people who confirm are added.

See how Reach works.