Cold email marketing is the best strategy for automating outreach to thousands of leads. But as you can already tell, this level of sending volume is prone to spam and malicious attacks. That’s why regulations like the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) were made.
If you’re doing any form of email marketing, you need to comply with the limits and requirements of GDPR when it comes to consent and the use of automation tools. So, what do you need to know if you want to do email marketing campaigns under GDPR? Let’s get started.
Legal Requirements Under GDPR for Cold Email Marketing
Sending cold emails is legal if you meet certain legal conditions that follow privacy principles. In practice, this means obtaining the person’s consent or relying on LEGITIMATE INTEREST.
In other words, you can email prospects who submitted their contact data through forms. For cold emails (where there’s no prior consent), the sender must be sure that their recipient could be interested in their offer but must send emails responsibly. Here’s how you do just that:
Target Prospects Who Get the Most Value From Your Offer
The most important thing to note about GDPR and other email regulation laws is that doing B2C (business-to-consumer) cold emails will get you into legal trouble. If you plan to use cold emails, it’s best to stick to B2B prospects (decision-makers, CEOs, business owners, etc).
When you reach out to these prospects, you should have a specific, justifiable reason why each prospect would benefit from your offer. To find these prospects, you use lead finder tools like Instantly B2B Lead Finder and use our advanced filters to pinpoint leads that fit your criteria.
Limit Data Collection and Storage
Only collect and save personal data that’s necessary for outreach. This data could include names, company information, and data related to a prospect’s business or industry. Don’t store personal data about a prospect’s private life.
Think about it: If a random company sells you coaching services and tries to personalize their email by name-dropping your children's and dogs’ names, you’d probably report them immediately. That’s just unprofessional, incredibly creepy, and straight-up illegal.
Consent Rules: Opt-In and Opt-Out Policies
Consent is a key concept in GDPR and electronic marketing laws. An “opt-in” policy means a person actively agreed (gave consent) to receive emails, whereas “opt-out” means taking action to unsubscribe or object to a marketing activity.
However, prior consent isn’t possible for cold emails. The good news is that GDPR allows sending if there’s a legitimate interest. If the recipient ignores your message or opts out, you shouldn’t send follow-ups to that person, as continuing without consent violates their rights.
Include an Easy Opt-Out Option
Every cold email must indicate to recipients how to refuse further messages. This usually means adding a convenient “unsubscribe” link or explicit instructions to opt out.
When prospects opt out, respect their decision. Remove them immediately from your lists and blacklist their email from any future campaigns. Honoring their decision to opt out is a GDPR and a U.S. CAN-SPAM requirement.
Introduce Yourself and Avoid Deception
Ensure your email’s sender information and subject line are truthful and not misleading. The same goes for the alternate emails you use to send cold emails. So, ensure you’re correctly forwarding these emails to your main domain.
Use your real name or company name in the sender field, write a subject that reflects the content of your email, and clearly state why you’re reaching out. Being honest and upfront builds trust and keeps you on the right side of privacy and anti-spam regulations.
The Difference Between U.S and EU Email Laws
Email laws differ where you and your prospects are. If you are in the U.S. and sending emails to people in the EU, you should follow GDPR as it applies to all EU residents. That means CAN-SPAM regulations won’t be the primary regulation to follow.
Under CAN-SPAM, companies are not required to get opt-in consent before sending marketing emails. They can send unsolicited messages if they comply with specific rules, including an unsubscribe option and truthful headers. In other words, CAN-SPAM is an opt-out law—you can email first and stop only if the person opts out.
Under GDPR (and ePrivacy laws in the EU), the expectation is typically opt-in for marketing, and unsolicited emails without consent are restricted to minimal circumstances. If you use legitimate interest instead of consent, ensure your email is relevant, not excessive, and that the individual’s privacy rights aren’t violated.
Always err on caution: if in doubt, get explicit permission. And in all cases, honor opt-out requests. This isn’t just good manners; it’s a legal requirement.
Potential Penalties for GDPR Non-Compliance
Non-compliance with GDPR can lead to severe penalties and consequences. GDPR lets Data Protection Authorities issue hefty fines for violations. There are two tiers of administrative fines you need to look out for:
- Serious Infringements: Fines can reach up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s worldwide annual turnover (whichever is higher).
- Less severe infringements: Up to €10 million or 2% of global turnover.
These upper limits mean that even large corporations can face multi-million euro penalties if they ignore the law. The exact fine in a given case depends on factors like:
- The nature and gravity of the offense
- How long the offense continued
- How many people were affected
- Whether it was intentional or due to negligence
- Steps taken to mitigate the damage
Regulators will also consider whether the company has prior violations. EU authorities have repeatedly fined companies for spam or illegal marketing under GDPR or respective electronic communications laws.
Beyond financial fines, the reputational damage from a GDPR violation can devastate your domain and lead to a global blocklist. Remember, GDPR won’t be discreet about their penalties. The public will know.
A publicized enforcement action can erode customer trust and damage your brand image. Being seen as a company that disregards privacy may drive away prospects or clients, undermining your marketing efforts.
How to Find GDPR-Compliant Email Automation Tools
Given the complexity of compliance, it’s crucial to use email marketing and sales tools that help enforce GDPR requirements. Relying on manual sending or essential email clients for cold outreach isn’t worth the risk.
You might forget to include an unsubscribe link or lose track of who opted out or how consent was obtained. So, when choosing an email marketing or sales outreach platform, look for the following GDPR-friendly features:
Consent Management
Ensure the email automation tool lets you manage segment prospects who subscribed and opted out of your email lists. Tools like Instantly.ai have features you can use to block leads from getting added to any of your campaigns.
Unsubscribe Support
Find a tool to insert an unsubscribe link in all your drip campaigns. With Instantly, it’s as simple as clicking a button. You can even customize the text overlay for your opt-out link.
This is what the unsubscribe link looks like. You can customize this email or include any last-ditch efforts to win back leads. But remember, if they opt out, you should respect their decision and block them from any campaign.
Data Security and Encryption
GDPR requires protecting personal data, so use tools that offer strong security measures. These can include data encryption at rest and in transit, secure storage of email lists, and privacy controls.
Reputable email automation services typically have security certifications and features to keep data safe (e.g., SSL encryption, two-factor authentication for logins, etc.), aligning with GDPR’s integrity and confidentiality requirements.
Lead Data Management
The customer relationship management (CRM) tool you’re using should be able to update or delete contacts upon request. It’s even better if the tool can automate the process so you can cross out any potential human errors. You don’t want to get flagged or reported for sending a follow-up email after a prospect opts out of your email list.
Templates and Compliance Checks
Many email tools provide templates that already include {{custom fields}} for the necessary compliance elements (like a placeholder for your company address and an unsubscribe link in the footer). Using these email templates ensures you don’t forget to include GDPR requirements.
Some tools also have compliance checklists or prompts. For example, you could get a warning if your email is missing a subject line or if you attempt to send to an EU list without an opt-in inserted in your emails.
Key Takeaways
Cold emails aren’t meant to spam your audience. To avoid issues with GDPR, every email from any campaign should provide value to the people who need your services most.
That will ensure that even though you're sending to prospects who haven't opted in, you're sending emails to people with a legitimate interest. To recap, here are the legal requirements under GDPR you need to comply with for email marketing campaigns:
- Only target prospects who have a genuine interest in your offer
- Limit data collection and storage to the essentials for outreach
- Have a convenient unsubscribe option in your emails
- Introduce yourself, and don’t deceive your prospects
Instantly is the tool for you if you’re looking for an email automation tool that complies with every GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulation. Try Instantly for free and scale cold outreach safely today!
