How the GDPR will transform the sending of newsletters

If you collect email contacts for the purpose of sending follow-up emails, or if you offer your site visitors a benefit in exchange for an email, these activities may be significantly affected by GDPR.

E-mail is still one of the most important ways for digital marketers to reach not only existing customers, but also new ones. However, the advent of GDPR will substantially change some of today's commonly used emailing practices, while leaving others untouched. We have prepared a short overview of the most common activities you may encounter in this area and how (and if) the General Data Protection Regulation will regulate them.

Collecting contacts and then consenting to receive newsletters
If you already have any database of existing clients, the May entry into force of GDPR will not affect the sending of emails to these customers. New consent will not be required, but the obligation to indicate the option to unsubscribe at the same time also remains.

The change concerns the content of these newsletters - according to the regulation, you will only be allowed to send customers offers that are related to the goods they have purchased. If you sell multiple items in different categories (for example, clothing and drugstores), you will need to sort the database and differentiate the newsletters.

Each new customer needs to know who you are, what data you collect about them, who else is processing it, why and for how long, and what rights that customer has before giving consent.

Remember that consent must be voluntary, making ordering services or goods conditional on consent to receive the newsletter will not be possible.

Something for something does not always equal voluntary consent

Even after GDPR is implemented, you will be able to offer new customers benefits if they consent to be included in your mailing database. However, it does modify some of these benefits.

E-books in exchange for email:If you offer an e-book download in exchange for email, this is not and will never be an automatic consent to receive newsletters. You can offer newsletters in the email with that e-book, or you can offer the e-book for a fee and send it free only to those who consent.

Consent-only content: Allowing an article to be read or a video to be watched only if the reader/viewer consents to the emailing is no longer optional. Again, you will be able to offer the newsletter in text or video, but the text or video must be accessible without it. Alternatively, you will be able to use a similar charging option as when offering an e-book.

Discount on first purchase: If you offer new customers a discount on their first purchase in exchange for an email, GDPR will not affect you - this will still be possible.

Suggestion, free quote for email: The GDPR distinguishes between agreeing to send an analysis or quote and agreeing to send newsletters. Customers must grant each separately. Just because you send a proposal or analysis to someone does not mean that you can send newsletters to that email.

Contest: As with the previous example, agreeing to be notified of a potential prize does not equal agreeing to receive follow-up emails. So you will need two consents here as well.

Do you offer specific goods on your e-shop? Do you run an unusual form of email collection or unusual marketing activity and are unsure how much GDPR will affect your activity? Feel free to contact us, we will be happy to advise you in these areas.