Are you not sure if you may send emails to a certain recipient list? Here you will find some exemplary cases that might help you.
| Case | Feedback |
|---|---|
| I purchased contacts through an address broker. | In no case! Purchased lists are strictly prohibited in CleverReach. |
| We have a booth at a trade show. The organizer handed me a list of contacts because they showed interest in our products. | No. You don’t have the contacts’ explicit permission. If the organizer of the trade show collected the data correctly (e.g. with a double opt in process) then only he is permitted to send emails to those contacts. |
| At a trade show people registered at our booth through a double opt in form or on paper. | You may use this contact data. Thank the contacts after the trade show for visiting your booth and invite them to opt in to your regular newsletter. |
| We are members of a buying association. We are allowed to send other members emails with information on our products. | No. Even if this is mentioned in the membership agreement the risk of receiving complaints is too high. How would you like it if you suddenly started receiving emails from someone you have no connection to? |
| The email addresses are from people that gave us their data in social or business networks such as LinkedIn, Xing, Facebook etc. | These people may only be contacted through the respective network in which they have given you their data. Simply providing you with data does not constitute permission for email distribution via CleverReach. Exceptions are those contacts that register for your emails via an integrated double opt in form. |
| I received a list with email addresses from a partner. He assured me that the data was collected according to the rules via a double opt in form. | No! Data that was collected by a third party is not allowed. The third party has permission to contact the recipients via email – you do not! If this third party collected the data in your name then you may contact the recipients via email – and the third party may not. |
| We are a PR agency and have purchased a list with email addresses of journalists. Now we would like to send our customers’ press releases to this list. | No! Purchased lists are strictly prohibited in CleverReach. |
| Customers gave us their business cards at our trade show booth. Now we want to send them our newsletter. | No! These customers might only have given you their business card to be contacted personally. Simply leaving a business card does not equal an entry into a newsletter distribution list, unless the contact explicitly gave his permission in writing (e.g. fair report) |
| We run a restaurant and placed registration cards on our tables. This gives customers the opportunity to sign up for our newsletter. | OK! But don’t wait three months before sending them an email. By then your customers might have forgotten that they registered. |
| We are an agency and should send emails for our customer. The customer provided us with a list of email addresses. | If you are certain that your customer collected the data according to the rules you may use the list in CleverReach. If you are not certain ask your customer to explain how the data was collected. You will need to provide this information when the CleverReach team evaluates your data at the latest. |
| I want to send emails to all customers of my online shop. | Did the customers actively check a box to receive the newsletter? If so you may send them emails. Alternative: You may contact customers of your online shop via email if they have been made aware of the following when signing up: “We reserve the right to use of your data for promotional purposes to advertise similar products and services. You can recall this permission at any time, without cost other than basic rates for transmitting your request” You are only allowed to promote your own similar products or services. |
| I am a group member. I want to send emails to other members of my group since we share the same interests. | No! The other members must explicitly state that they want to receive emails from you. You may not assume interest. |
| We exported the email list from our CRM. All data has been administered by our sales team for years. | You may use the data if you have an explicit and verifiable permission from the recipients. Sellers like to collect data on trade shows, seminars and other events. Examine closely if a contact actually wants to receive emails from you. |
| I have customers I’ve been in contact with for years. May I send these contacts my newsletter? | You need the explicit permission of every single customer and you must be able to verify it electronically or in writing. Having contact with someone in the context of a business relationship does not mean this contact also wants to receive your newsletter. |
| I conducted an online raffle. Am I allowed to send the participants my newsletter? | Not necessarily. Participation in a raffle may not automatically be tied to entry onto a newsletter list. If the contact voluntarily signs up at registration (e.g. by checking a box) and this is confirmed via double opt in you may of course use the data. |