How To Revive Your Email Contact List After GDPR

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a regulation imposed by the EU to tighten up on data protection. Websites must notify site users of any policy changes regarding the use of their data.

As part of their email marketing campaign, businesses and organisations sent out emails to their users asking them to review their policy and confirm they wish to opt-in and to continue receiving emails.

At first, the emails we were receiving were fine and easily manageable. Then all of a sudden inboxes began to burst at the seems with GDPR emails. These were from every website that users had originally signed up to receive marketing material. It was crazy.

So what happened?

Many people didn’t opt back in. The email marketing lists shrank quite a bit. Some suggested that they could have reduced by more than 60% in a lot of cases.

The problem with GDPR is that each time you change your policy then you must ask all consumers on your email marketing list to opt-in again. This is going to be quite tiresome over time, with many deciding not to.

How Do You Bounce Back After GDPR?

>59% of marketers say email is their biggest source of ROI. HubSpot

So, the damage has been done but don’t despair, put a productive plan in place to rebuild your email marketing list. The following actions will help you do just that:

1. Review the Damage

Before diving in, it’s a good idea to take a step back and take a look at what the data is telling you. How much has your email marketing list been affected? Is there a specific demographic or audience that has been hit worse than others?

This will help you with deciding who you should be targeting your next marketing activities.

2. Lightbox

A lightbox, also known as an interstitial, is a great way to entice your users back on board to your email marketing list. Remember to make sure that you use non-intrusive light boxes otherwise this could have a negative effect on your SEO efforts.

3. Incentives

People like to receive things as an incentive to signup. Offer them a discount or a useful white paper in return for their information. 

Remember to make sure you are pushing the fact that they will get something good in return for their information.

4. Social Media

Most likely your business or organisation will have a social media presence of some sort, so take advantage of this. 

If you are not active on social media, then this is a great opportunity to start a social media campaign to build your audience and brand recognition.

It’s a great way to encourage your hard-earned followers to sign up to your email list.

5. Events and Webinars

You can host a live broadcast or ask people to register for attendance to a free webinar in return for their valuable information.

Do Not Do Any of the Following!

• Don’t email consumers who have previously unsubscribed from the email marketing list. Otherwise, you will get in trouble and may be fined.

• Don’t purchase email lists from third-parties. These lists will also require opt-ins from the people on the list. This may be difficult to prove that it’s real too.

• Don’t cold call. Some companies carry out cold calling about one thing but then ask over the phone if they agree to opt-in. This is a violation of privacy and you should never do it.

Building an email list after GDPR is a difficult task to overcome. By working through the points made above you will be on the right path to rebuilding your email marketing list. So what are you waiting for? Make the start today as they say there’s no time like the present.