The Being Knitterly newsletter and GDPR

The Being Knitterly newsletter and GDPR

The words: Being Knitterly newseltter and GDPR in white on a bright green square on a background covered in mini-balls of wool

GDPR and newsletters

The new General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) comes into effect on 25 May 2018. Its aim is to protect everyone’s personal data from misuse. Have you have ever received mailshots or emails from a company after buying something from them? That’s a very simple example of misuse of your personal data. And you may have been asked to tick boxes in order not to receive information. Under GDPR you can only consent to receive information by opting in (ticking a box). If you don’t tick, then you don’t receive the marketing materials. It’s nice and simple!

Changes for existing newsletter subscribers

Firstly, I’d like to thank you for reading the Being Knitterly newsletter. I hope you enjoy my monthly updates, as well as finding out about my new patterns and workshops. I really appreciate your support – whether you read my newsletter; visit my website; tell others about what I do; buy patterns and kits or attend my short courses and workshops.

When you subscribed to the Being Knitterly newsletter you gave me your name and email address so that I could send my newsletter to you. If you signed up through my newsletter page, or a link on Facebook, you will have entered your details directly on a MailChimp form. If you signed up at an event, you will have written your name and email address down. I added you to my MailChimp list later. If you signed up through a pop-up window on this website, your details were stored by Sumo (the pop-up window is a Sumo app). Later that week I transferred your details to my MailChimp list.

After 25 May 2018, I can only send newsletters to subscribers who have confirmed that they would like to receive emails from me by ticking a GDPR compliant opt-in box. At this point, existing subscribers who have not done so will be unsubscribed (and should receive an email to let them know). If you want to stay subscribed, and I really hope you do, then don’t panic. All you have to do is update your preferences. To make this easy for you, I’ve sent you an email with an “Update preferences” button. Clicking this will take you to a MailChimp form with your existing details already filled in. You can tick the relevant boxes to receive the Being Knitterly newsletter and/or blog posts. Then you tick the box under marketing permissions to confirm that you would like to continue receiving these emails.

If you do not wish to receive my newsletters then you can unsubscribe via a link in the same email. Although I don’t want to lose you, I’d prefer you to unsubscribe yourself, because I shall know that it was your choice.

Changes for new subscribers

Whether you subscribe through my newsletter tab, Facebook link, or pop-up window, you will be directed to a MailChimp form that is GDPR compliant. If I meet you at an event I’ll send you an email with a link to the MailChimp form. That way everyone will fill in the same form (and will have ticked the GDPR compliant opt-in box). You will receive a second email asking you to confirm that you do want to subscribe. This is a two-step confirmation or double-opt-in. This ensures that the email address works and belongs to someone who wants to subscribe.

You can see my new sign-up form below. I’ve added some information so you know for what you are signing up: you can choose from Being Knitterly newsletters and/or blog posts. And under marketing permissions is an opt-in tick box for Email; even if you tick one of the boxes for newsletter or blog posts, I cannot send you anything unless you tick this box!

Screen-shot of the Being Knitterly newsletter signup form

Things I don’t do

Just to reassure you, I do not do these things:

  • Sign up customers to the Being Knitterly newsletter (I send them a link so they can choose to subscribe).
  • Sign up anyone without their permission (even if you’ve forgotten, I have a record of when and how everyone subscribed).
  • Email subscribers about things that are not related to knitting, crochet, textiles, and yarny things.
  • Pass your data on to anyone else, except MailChimp in order to deliver our newsletters, or where legally obliged to do so (and I can’t think of any reason that this would happen).

In summary

I hope this helps you to understand how GDPR affects you as a newsletter subscriber and what I’m doing to make sure that the Being Knitterly newsletter is GDPR compliant. GDPR covers far more than just data provided by newsletter subscribers. However, you will have heard more about this than any other aspect because consent is the legal basis for having this data and sending newsletters, and consent can only be obtained by communicating directly with subscribers.

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