DATA PROTECTION FOR
EMAIL MARKETERS
The law & the consequences of breach
Group discussion
Soft opt-in
Hard opt-in; single and double
Opt-out
B2B, public domain and viral marketing
The Law
What count's as a marketing email
Selling products & services
Soliciting donations or actions
Promoting our cause
Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA)
UK Law
Relates equally to all communication channels
Who you are
What you are going to do with their personal data
How you’re going to get in touch (email!)
Act on requests to cease sending
Privacy & Electronic Communications Regulations
EU Directive
Relates to email (and SMS) and is effectively an anti-
spam law
Cannot send marketing emails without first getting the
recipient’s permission
Consequences of breach
£5,000 fine
Open to civil litigation
Reputational impact
Less effective campaigns
Soft opt-in, the exception
Can send marketing emails to contacts where contact
details were obtained in the course of a sale or a
negotiation of sale, though an opt-out option is still
required
Doesn’t apply to charities
Hard opt-in, the one we actually need to do
Give a nice clear statement stating:
Charity name
What you’re going to do with their contact details
An un-ticked box for them to tick
We'd love to stay in touch with you about our work and how you can get involved
I’d like to receive updates by email
I’d like to receive updates by SMS
We will never share your information with 3rd parties
Really clear sign-up to a newsletter or similar is OK
too
Sign-up here to hear from us about our exciting work and how you can help
Email address
Sign up
Double opt-in
Ask recipient to confirm opt-in on receipt of email -
Daft
Opt-out
Required by DP
Must respond within 28 days
Preferences
B2B No opt-in required
Opt-out must be offered and honoured
People in the public domain Contacting people in the public domain (MPs etc) at their publically available email
address is fine
Going viral (share with friends) ICO take a “dim” view
Structure campaign so that the “friend” is pushed to a sign-up form with an opt-in
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