How to collect consent from new and existing contacts?

Permission-based marketing always requires you to collect consent from your contacts. However, if your contacts are from the EU, starting May 25th, your lists are subject to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation has an impact on how you collect and process contact information.

In this article, we explain what tools you can use to collect and keep a record of consent given by your contacts. For more information on GDPR compliance, please go to How do I get my account ready for GDPR?

This content is provided for educational purposes only. It’s not, and doesn’t replace, legal advice. GDPR is fact-specific and the way it applies to your organization may differ from what’s discussed in this article. Please do not treat it as a substitute of a professional legal opinion. Always consult your lawyer or other professionals responsible for data protection within your organization. GetResponse can’t be held liable for any indirect, special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of any use of or reliance on any content or materials included here. Note that all the custom field values shown here are used as examples and shouldn’t be used as templates.

Collecting consent from new contacts

For new contacts who are subject to GDPR regulations, make sure that you collect explicit consent to be included in your lists and receive your mailings. There are a few tools you can use:

  • add a Consent field to your landing pages, forms, and webinar registration pages. These fields can help you collect and store consent from your contacts. They can also include links to your privacy policies and other external pages you want your contacts to review before opting in.
  • enable double opt-in for your lists. Go to Contacts and select Settings from the Actions menu (three vertical dots). Under Subscription, switch on the option to Require additional confirmation.

Collecting consent from existing contacts

If your existing lists are GDPR-compliant, you may not have to contact your contacts to collect consent again. If you suspect that your lists don’t comply with GDPR requirements, you’ll need to get in touch with these contacts and ask them to reconfirm their consent.

What you’ll need:

  • a Consent field containing a consent clause
  • a new list for contacts reconfirming consent
  • a landing page or form for that list. Be sure they include the consent field your contacts can check to confirm consent.

Send a message to your contacts asking them to confirm consent. In it, include a link to your form or landing page. Once your contacts click it, they’ll be asked to sign up to your new GDPR-compliant list and consent to your data processing policies.

You can review your contacts’ consent status by going to their Contact profile card or by using Search contacts.