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Ad Rates

Email Blast

An Email Blast is an e-mail marketing campaign designed and mailed specifically for you. An Email Blast is a perfect vehicle for advertisers to target a captive audience, as all Email Blast recipients have "opted in" to receive occasional special offers from our advertisers.


Creative Specs for Email Blast:


  • Graphics in an Email Blast can not exceed 40k.
  • All images and urls must be referenced absolutely.
  • All creative subjected to review by baltimoresun.com.
  • Email Blasts can not include flash animation, strobing effects or other forms of rich media.
  • Email Blasts must work in Internet Explorer 6.0, 7.0 and Firefox 3.0.
  • All Email Blasts must render properly in Yahoo! Mail, Gmail, Hotmail, and Microsoft Outlook.
  • Email Blasts can not be deceptive or misleading in any way.
  • All Email Blasts should include a subject line that incorporates the advertiser's name and the specific offer/promotion. See this list of words to avoid in an Email Blast subject line.
  • A text version of the Email Blast must be supplied for those users who can not receive HTML messages.
  • In accordance with the Can Spam Act the advertiser must provide a mailing address and an e-mail address where users can request that the advertiser no longer attempt to contact them via e-mail.**


    • ** Please note- baltimoresun.com must receive all opt-outs sent directly to the advertiser from users. This list should be provided prior to the next admail sent for that advertiser.

CAN-SPAM Requirements and Restrictions


  • The Federal CAN-SPAM law establishes requirements for commercial e-mail
    • Commercial e-mail is defined as e-mail with the primary purpose of promoting a commercial product or service
    • An Email Blast is a commercial e-mail
  • The CAN-SPAM law includes the following main provisions
    • It bans false or misleading header information (i.e., e-mail's "From," "To," and routing information must be accurate)
    • It prohibits deceptive subject lines
    • It requires that the e-mail provide recipients an opt-out method from future commercial e-mail
      • Must be a return e-mail address or another Internet-based method
      • Must be operational for 30 days after commercial e-mail is sent
      • Must honor opt-out requests received within ten business days
    • It requires that the e-mail provide "clear and conspicuous notice" that it is an advertisement
    • It requires that the sender's valid physical postal address be included
  • "Sender" of e-mail, under CAN-SPAM, can be multiple parties. CAN-SPAM defines "sender" as:
    • The entity who initiated the message AND
    • The entity whose product or service is being advertised or promoted in the message
  • The FTC has more information about CAN-SPAM Act requirements.

Clients will provide:


  • Subject Line
  • All copy for text version
  • All html for graphic version
  • All graphics and images
  • Client's physical mailing address and email address.

Design Tips:

  • Avoid dark background colors that require white or light text treatments.
  • Use Whitespace. Too much information is overwhelming.
  • Include advertiser's name
  • Highlight a specific offer
  • Emphasize benefits (value), not features (information)
  • Tie in with a timely product
  • Be credible, direct, honest and to the point
  • Benchmark performance over time
  • Don't look like spam
  • Don't over use caps
  • Don't make offers that are too good to be true
  • Don't use too many exclamation points
  • Don't use any of these words in the subject line.
  • Don't use dollar signs, asterisks or emoticons

For more information about advertising and creative specifications, please contact Michael O'Neil at 410-332-6939.