Email and the Law

Complying with online selling

With the complexities of your email marketing systems, the last thing you need to think about during the Christmas rush is compliance with what you feel is the minutiae of legislation. This point of view finds little sympathy with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). They have written to more than 50 leading retailers mentioning … READ MORE »

A saga on age

Email marketing is all about discrimination. We define people by classifications such as their profession, where they live and, at least for the time being, their age. Targeting emails is an essential of our craft. Anything that limits our ability to do so is to be regretted. So should we beware of the Equality Act … READ MORE »

Understanding data protection laws

One of the most significant restrictions on bulk email marketing is legislation. One of the most significant problems is that the words that are used are open to interpretation. The Data Protection Act (DPA) tells us that we must not keep personal data any longer than is necessary for the purposes for which it was … READ MORE »

Never too late for good news

Precise information gives email marketing an edge, one that other forms of marketing can only dream of. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations’ (PECR) limitation on the use of tracking cookies, the enforcement of which started on 26 May this year, was a threat which promised to hit our return on investment. When people say … READ MORE »

The future of cookies

You might not have heard of the Government Digital Service (GDS), a new quango within the Cabinet Office that will probably have a significant effect on email marketing and online sales. Its first public act has been to publish a long awaited update to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) guide to the new cookie law … READ MORE »

Cookie Legislation

Email marketing software depends to a certain extent on cookies, devices such as clear gifs which are included in marketing emails or dropped on web users' laptops, tablets, mobiles etc to access or store information on those devices. The information returned is a major factor in ensuring that marketing emails are tailored for individual subscribers. … READ MORE »

The mathematics of email marketing

It is a basic of email marketing that your email list is the most valuable asset you have. Everything you do should go some way to cementing the relationship between you and your subscribers. Upset them and they will go. Trust is an essential. One way of ensuring that customers will click the unsubscribe button … READ MORE »

Judgement

One of the best ideas is to pinch other people’s. Copyright law means that some work still remains to be done but in general the difficult bit is already completed. All you have to do is pick the right email to copy. What makes a good email is all but impossible to define as there … READ MORE »

Data controller

The role of Data Controller is to ensure compliance with the requirements of The Data Protection Act 1998 (The DPA). The DPA defines data controller as a person who (either alone or jointly or in common with other persons) determines the purposes for which and the manner in which any personal data are, or are … READ MORE »

The Data Protection Act – an introduction

DPA: three initials to strike fear into the heart on anyone with a business which includes processing personal information, including email marketing. But in practice it is little more than a set of rules which would be sensible to comply with anyway. It strikes what many feel is a reasonable balance between the interests of … READ MORE »

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