Outreach Compliance Checklist: Before, During and After You Send

You found a list of businesses, wrote a decent email, and now a small worry kicks in: is this allowed, and what happens if someone complains? The answer depends on where you and your recipients are, but most of the work is the same everywhere. Be honest about who you are, contact businesses for a relevant reason, and make stopping easy.

This checklist covers those basics. It is not legal advice. Rules differ by country (for example the CAN-SPAM Act in the US, GDPR and PECR in the UK and EU, CASL in Canada), and some are stricter about emailing individuals than businesses. Check the rules that apply to you and to the people you email.

1. Lead sourcing checklist

Compliance starts with the list, not the email.

• Every contact is a business, and the address is one the business published (website, Google Maps listing, public profile).
• You can say where each lead came from. Keep a source column.
• You have a clear reason this business might want your offer (category, location, something on their site).
• No bought lists of unknown origin.
• Personal addresses (a named person at a free webmail domain) are treated with extra care, especially for EU and UK recipients.
• Previously unsubscribed addresses are removed before import.
• The list has been run through email verification so you are not hammering dead inboxes.

If you build lists from Google Maps, the Google Maps scraper guide shows how to search by keyword and city and keep only the fields you need. Collecting less data is easier to justify.

2. Sender setup checklist

These are both deliverability and trust items. Mailbox providers expect them.

• SPF, DKIM and DMARC are set up for your sending domain. See SPF, DKIM and DMARC explained.
• The From name is a real person or your real business, not a disguise.
• The Reply-To address works and someone reads it.
• You are sending from an account you own and are allowed to use for outreach.
• Daily volume is modest and ramps up slowly on new accounts. There is no universal safe number; start low and watch results.
• You know your bounce rate and will pause if it climbs. Read email bounce rate for what to watch.

Sending from Gmail? How to send cold email from Gmail covers limits and setup.

3. Email content checklist

• Subject line matches what the email is about. No fake "Re:" or "Fwd:".
• You say who you are and which business you represent.
• Your physical business address (or a valid postal address) is in the footer. US rules require one.
• The email is clearly a commercial offer, not disguised as something else.
• Claims about results are ones you can back up.
• Merge tags are tested so nobody receives "Hi ," or a blank business name.
• A clear way to opt out is in every email, including follow-ups.

Ready-to-paste compliant first email

Subject: Quick question about {{params.name}}

Hi {{params.firstname}},

I found {{params.name}} while looking at {{params.category}} businesses in {{params.city}} and had a look at {{params.website}}.

I run a small studio that helps local businesses get more enquiries from their website. I noticed a couple of quick fixes on your site that could help, and I am happy to send them over, no charge.

Would that be useful?

Thanks, [Your name] [Your business name] [Street address, city, country]

Not interested? Use the unsubscribe link below and I will not email you again.

Ready-to-paste compliant follow-up

Subject: Re: Quick question about {{params.name}}

Hi {{params.firstname}},

Just following up once on my note about {{params.website}}. If now is not a good time, no problem at all.

If you would rather not hear from me, the unsubscribe link below removes you straight away.

[Your name] [Your business name] [Street address, city, country]

Using "Re:" is honest here only because it replies in the same thread as your first email. Do not use it on a first touch. For more variations, see the follow-up email templates.

4. Opt-out handling checklist

• Every email has a working unsubscribe link or clear reply-to-stop instruction.
• Unsubscribes are honored quickly. US law sets a 10 business day maximum; aim for immediate.
• Opted-out addresses are suppressed across all future campaigns, not just the current one.
• Replies like "stop", "remove me" or "not interested" are treated as opt-outs, even without the link.
• You never ask for extra information or payment to unsubscribe.

In GetClient, campaigns include a one-click unsubscribe link with a signed URL for each recipient, and unsubscribed addresses are skipped automatically. Manual "please remove me" replies still need you to act on them, so check your Inbox.

5. Sequence and volume checklist

• Follow-ups are limited. A rule of thumb many senders use is two to three follow-ups, then stop.
• Gaps between steps are days, not hours.
• Anyone who replies is removed from the automated sequence.
• Branches (for example, a different message if someone opened) do not increase pressure on people who have shown no interest. The If Opened branching playbook has examples.
• Sending is limited to working days in the recipient's time zone.

6. Records checklist

If someone asks why you emailed them, you want a calm, quick answer.

• Lead source and date collected are saved for each contact.
• A note of your reason for contacting each segment (your legitimate interest, for EU and UK contacts).
• A suppression list you never delete.
• A simple process for data requests: who handles them and how fast.
• Old leads that never replied are deleted after a set period you choose.

Pre-send quick check

Copy this into your notes and tick it before each launch:

1. List verified and unsubscribes removed
2. Domain authentication passing
3. Real name, business and postal address in footer
4. Honest subject line
5. Unsubscribe link in every step
6. Merge tags previewed on three real leads
7. Volume and send days set conservatively
8. Reply and opt-out handling assigned to someone

New accounts on GetClient get 100 free credits with no card needed, enough to test the full flow on a small list. See plans and credits.