Owning a business means looking for all types of ways to market your company. One increasingly popular way is to send emails right to people’s inboxes. These days you have to be careful before you hit the send button. There are regulations in place which need to be followed. These regulations are in place to protect people’s personal information and privacy, ignoring them can lead to fines and other punishments. One such regulation is the GDPR. The new rules still allow businesses to send email with GDPR, as long as they follow specific guidelines.

What is GDPR?

GDPR, also known as the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, launched in May 2018. It’s among the most extensive data privacy acts to be enforced in the last 20 years. The goal of GDPR is to protect personal information of anyone in the European Union. If your company deals with EU website visitors or sends emails to anyone in the EU then you must follow GDPR regulations, even if your business is physically located in the United States.

How do I comply with the GDPR?

Complying with the GDPR is not hard if you keep people’s personal information in mind since the GDPR is focused on personal security.

Consent

If your company collects email addresses or other information to send emails, then you must first get consent before obtaining that information. Also, don’t ask for information you don’t need or don’t intend to use. This is another way to be sure you’re complying with the GDPR. This way, there are no questions about what you intend to do with that personal information if you choose not to send emails with it.

Transparency

If you intend to use someone’s email to market to them, be clear about your intentions. Also, if you offer an incentive  in exchange for someone’s email address, you must be very clear about how their information is going to be used. They shouldn’t feel pressured into handing over their information.

Opt Out 

Not everyone is going to be on board with receiving marketing emails from you. That’s why you need to give them the choice to opt out of future emails and provide a link to your GDPR compliant privacy policy. By law, you shouldn’t send any emails to people in the European Union unless you comply with the GDPR. Doing so is a violation that could get you in trouble.

What happens if I violate the GDPR email regulations?

If you violate the rules of the GDPR you can face thousands of dollars worth of fines. You also run the risk of tarnishing your business’ image. People want to do business with companies they can trust. If people can’t trust you not to send them email they don’t want, how can they trust the services or products you’re providing?

Following the rules of sending emails with GDPR is not difficult. You can keep everyone happy and still send cold emails without getting into trouble.

Using email lists with GDPR

One way to effectively send emails under the GDPR is to use email lists. Working with a company, such as Mailing List Connection, can develop a targeted email list which can be much more effective. You can also be assured that you’re not breaking any rules associated with the GDPR because you’re dealing with marketing professionals who are familiar with the rules.

Having an email list can assure you that people who are interested in your product are receiving your emails. For example, if you’re trying to market a 55+ community, you don’t want to send cold emails to the college crowd by accident.

The experienced team at Mailing List Connection compiles direct mail mailing lists by taking geography, demographics, and other factors into consideration when making their lists. This can greatly improve your success rate in comparison to sending untargetetd emails to people who aren’t interested in what your company offers.

If you’re going to spend your time developing emails and using them as a marketing tool, isn’t it better to take the route that is most effective and successful?

Other benefits of email lists

Email lists also help to portray your business as one that has done its homework. You know who may be interested so you’re in tune to your customer base. When you use an email list, you can also make it personal so people feel as though they already have a connection with your business before spending any money. This will make them want to learn more about your business and patronize it.

You may think an email is just an email, but it can tell a potential customer a lot about your business. Let every piece of information and email you sent out shed a positive light on your business. Let the team at Mailing List Connection develop mailing lists that get you results.

Call Mailing List Connection now at 469-549-4000 to learn more about our targeted mailing lists. We abide by all state and federal laws to help your business reach the customers it needs. Learn to send emails with GDPR safely, with our help.