Does GDPR signify the end of email marketing?

It is deadline week for GDPR, and as businesses scramble to attract people to their mailing list, many digital marketing experts are wondering what impact the new regulations will have on the industry.

With reports of less than 20% of contacts ‘opting in’, does GDPR signify the end of email marketing?

What Impact Will GDPR Have On Email Marketing?

No doubt you will have been sent several emails over the past few weeks. Each one asking you to opt-in to receiving marketing material. Here’s ours, if you’d like to stay in touch…

Opt-in is a crucial aspect of GDPR. Without that confirmation, a business can no longer contact you. It is great news for the user whose inbox is continually filled with marketing messages. But what impact will this have on a business?

Some companies have seen GDPR as an opportunity to start afresh. They aren’t sending opt-in emails. Instead, they are relying on the data they have acquired from other sources, such as social media or recent online sales to cultivate a new database.

There is an advantage to this approach. With a clean slate, it is more likely that the data you gather is optimised. Meaning that the user has asked to receive your marketing material. They have opted-in and they want to hear from you.

But what happens if you send an opt-in email and you get a poor response? Does this mean that you should stop sending email marketing messages? Absolutely not!

On average, an email marketing campaign will see a 15-25% open rate. So if you send your opt-in campaign, the reality is that you may only see a return of a few percent. This will likely be a fraction of your pre-existing list. But with 100% of your new data proactively engaging, you are in a stronger position to send personalised, high-quality content.

The Future Of Email Marketing

Over time, your database will mature and grow. If you follow the rules outlined in GDPR, as well as providing users with a reason to opt-in, you’ll probably be in a better position than you currently are.

Don’t forget, customers can still sign up to your mailing list post-GDPR. Just make sure you give them a good enough reason to.