The General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR is a regulation prescribed by the law in the EU. The bill primarily focuses on the protection of both, data and privacy for all individuals within the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA). It also addresses and regulates the export of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.
Quite recently, due to the implementation of the GDPR, there has been a direct and evident impact on marketing practices. Specifically, email marketing. The GDPR which has been active since May 25th, 2018, has been the causation for a vast majority of marketers forcefully changing the process in regards to how they seek, obtain and save consent.
Ultimately, the purpose of this post is to inform you of how despite the implementation of the GDPR in the EU, how email marketing can still flourish under the new laws and regulatory conditions.
How will GDPR affect email marketing?
Under GDPR, email marketing will change in a few ways. Majority of these changes, however, deal with obtaining prior consent. As an email marketer, you will now need to collect freely given, specific, informed consent as well as achieve compliance.
In addition, you will now have to adapt to the following new practices which include:
- New consumer opt-in permission rules;
- Proof of consent storing systems; and
- A method through which consumers can ask their personal information removed.
How Does Email Marketing Work Under GDPR?
Although email marketing is a bit more difficult to perform under GDPR, it is still, by all means possible. To help accomplish your email marketing objectives, we have constructed a small GDPR checklist to help you run through a systematic process to achieve your goals while following GDPR guidelines. The list is as follows,
Take an audit of your current database.
- Do you know geographically where your contacts are?
- Do you capture an audit trail of consent?
Know your contacts and how you acquired them.
- Did you follow a double opt-in practice?
- Do you keep track of where and when your contact’ information is coming from?
- How did they end up in your database?
- Do you have enough information on permission and source to hold up in court if needed?
Review and disclose your data practices.
Do you,
- Ask for consent at the point of collecting the data?
- Have a privacy policy that details how you collect, store, transfer and process your data using clear, concise language?
- Communicate this data privacy policy to your recipients?
Look at your upcoming initiatives to ensure compliance now.
- All new initiatives should take into consideration compliance, so you don’t have to go back to adjust your processes retroactively.
Contact Us
As the law changes, businesses also have to adapt. At Sooner Marketing Solutions we try to stay ahead of the game and keep you posted on what’s going on in the world of marketing and business. If you have any questions or are interested in what we do not hesitate to contact us! We are happy to help!
