Are you no longer collecting email addresses on your website becuase of GDPR? Let us show you how you can still build your list and stay on the right side of the law!
Are you confused about collecting email addresses on your website?
Are you unsure about the rules for giving away content and getting marketing consent?
This article explains the rules about marketing consent when giving things away for contact detail collection. If you have any questions on this or would like advice from a GDPR legal specialist to advise you on your campaigns, please call me on 029 2000 2339 or email me on andrew@iolis-legal.com today
No free lunches!
The phrase “There is no such thing as a free lunch” is well understood to mean there is a price to pay for most things, especially in business. There was a time when your business could offer downloadable information on your websites and visitors had to enter their email address to access the download. This ‘gated content’ as it is called, would be announced as a ‘free’ lead magnet, article, whitepaper, or similar.
But they weren’t free.
To get the download, you paid the price of giving your email and then receiving marketing messages.
In 2018 along came GDPR which drastically altered the way this type of list building is done. Many organisations stopped providing download content in exchange for email addresses. They believed it wasn’t allowed under the new rules.
You must get consent
The issue is the need to obtain consent from the owner of the email address to market to them under the new rules. Consent needs to be ‘freely given’ i.e. it cannot be forced. It must be very clear what the consent is being given for i.e. the website visitor must be clearly and simply told what is going to be done with their email address.
Consent must also be given through an affirmative action; this means ticking a box or some other act and not using a pre-ticked box on the website form.
It is still possible to build an email list by collecting email addresses. But you cannot use the word ‘free’ anymore. You have to be clear about the nature of the transaction.
People are becoming more aware of their rights and how consent should be obtained.
3 ways to build your email list whilst complying with GDPR
- FREE - You can’t use this or ‘freebie’. You have to provide a valuable piece of information in exchange for their email address and them receiving marketing messages from you. They must actively consent to this (by ticking a box, for example) and they must be able to opt out from these easily in future. Make sure you link to a good privacy notice.
- Taster - offer a piece of content for the visitor to watch and then ASK them to subscribe to receive more details (along with marketing messages and other valuable information such as your newsletter). Be very clear what you will do with their data. This will help the prospect to build trust in you.
- Provide the article or whitepaper truly for free without collecting email addresses. If you produce good quality, regular content visitors will come back time and time again. You can use strong calls to action in your content to convert them into a client, or drive them to another page on your website to buy from you.
Let me know if you any questions, or if you found this useful. If you need help with any aspect of GDPR and data protection, call us today on 029 2000 2339 for a FREE no obligation chat or email us on contact@iolis-legal.comto set up a call.
Andrew Brenton
Data Protection Legal Specialist
029 2000 2339