Tag: mailing list

GDPR Compliance Update

Earlier this week, I wrote an article called Authors with Newsletters Must Get Subscribers to Opt-in Again Per EU Regulations. Since then, new information has come to light that may impact authors.

Please note that while many companies are reconfirming their lists, this may not be necessary. A podcast mentioned in the comments of the above-listed article, which can also be found here, featured a UK-based attorney who recommends not reconfirming your list. The attorney suggests asking for reconfirmation suggests you do not already have permission, and if you don’t have permission to contact them, you should not be emailing them to begin with. Please note that many newsletter companies are offering templates to revalidate subscribers, so they are expecting at least some subscribers to require additional validation. Use your own best judgment on what to do. We here at Indies Unlimited are not attorneys and do not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, speak with a lawyer. We have free and low-cost legal services listed on our Legal Resource Page here.

We will keep you posted if further information arises.

Authors with Newsletters Must Get Subscribers to Opt-in Again Per EU Regulations

GDPRpaper-2056025_1920 (002)UPDATE: Please note that while many companies are reconfirming their lists, this may not be necessary. A podcast mentioned in the comments below which can also be found here featured a UK-based attorney who recommends not reconfirming your list. The attorney suggests asking for reconfirmation suggests you do not already have permission, and if you don’t have permission to contact them, you should not be emailing them to begin with. Please note that many newsletter companies are offering templates to revalidate subscribers, so they are expecting at least some subscribers to require additional validation. Use your own best judgment on what to do. We here at Indies Unlimited are not attorneys and do not offer legal advice. If you need legal advice, speak with a lawyer. We have free and low-cost legal services listed on our Legal Resource Page here.

###

New regulations passed by the European Union on data privacy are impacting everyone with a newsletter that has EU subscribers. The new regulations require those with EU citizens as subscribers to provide those subscribers with certain rights when it comes to data privacy. The new regulations aren’t hard for newsletter owners to implement, but they do require newsletters to be proactive. So, here we’ll break down everything you need to know about the new privacy regulations and how it affects newsletters.

What is it? Continue reading “Authors with Newsletters Must Get Subscribers to Opt-in Again Per EU Regulations”

InstaFreebie Offers Authors a Chance to Build Mailing Lists, Find Fans

new-2016-instafreebie-branding-tealIn part one of this article, I discussed InstaFreebie, the site that lets you give away a book for free in exchange for the person’s email address, in order to grow your mailing list. I also mentioned I ended up with almost 2,000 new names on my mailing list because of InstaFreebie promos I participated in.

I was very excited to get the new names, but a little hesitant, because people signed up for the list with the express purpose of getting a free book. We’ve all signed up for lists we’re not interested in to get something free (well, at least I have). Given that, I was concerned I’d have a 50 percent unsubscribe rate, or some ridiculous number, because people didn’t want to be bothered with additional emails. It didn’t help that a few of the email addresses indicated the person was giving me a junk address — stuff like [email protected].

I decided to test out my new subscribers to see what happened. Continue reading “InstaFreebie Offers Authors a Chance to Build Mailing Lists, Find Fans”

InstaFreebie Offers Authors a Chance to Build Mailing Lists, Find Fans

new-2016-instafreebie-branding-tealBack in August, I started hearing authors talk about a site called InstaFreebie, where you could give away a free copy of your book in exchange for recipients signing up for your mailing list. Both Jim Devitt and Shawn Inmon have discussed the importance of mailing lists. Authors on different online groups said they’d scored upwards of a thousand names added to their lists using InstaFreebie.

Obviously, this sounded very cool to me. I thought I’d give it a try. What do you need to participate in InstaFreebie? Simple. A book you’re willing to give away for FREE. The book cannot be in KDP Select because it violates Amazon’s terms of service. (I will note, some authors give away a KDP book sampler — the 10 percent you’re allowed to post elsewhere — to drive sales to the actual book on the Amazon store. I don’t know how successful this is.)

Once you’ve picked a book you want to give away, you need three things: Continue reading “InstaFreebie Offers Authors a Chance to Build Mailing Lists, Find Fans”