No, I don’t have a GDPR policy, and the more I read about it, the more confused, and the more angry I get.
I know this is meant to be for the betterment of humankind, and the greatest thing since diced beets, but right now it feels like a European invasion of MY privacy.
I’ve spent the greater part of the last two days reviewing “privacy policies”.
They’re all over the map.
None address the lone freelancer businessperson/blogger who occasionally sends out a marketing email.
Can I ever send out another email to a prospect without being slapped with a fine? Click To Tweet
Those advice columns that DO come close to worthy suggestions for voice actors like me and you are conflicting, arcane, full of recommendations that contain confusing directions, and then state that it may or may not even satisfy the new rules!
I got so frustrated that I canceled my email marketing program (Robly) after downloading all my contacts. That saved me $295, but hardly answers the question: “Can I ever send out another email to a prospect without being slapped with a fine”?
My success with email marketing newsletters is about as good as my jump shot from outside the circle, so this may be a blessing in disguise. In fact my record of jobs gleaned from such marketing emails to EUROPEAN prospects is even worse — if that’s possible. So again, maybe GDPR is doing me a favor.
But apparently, even this WordPress blog you’re reading now demands that I state a privacy policy for all to see, and provide an opt-in from every person who subscribes to the site.
So here’s my policy:
IF YOU LIVE IN A EUROPEAN COUNTRY, DON’T SUBSCRIBE TO MY BLOG. DON’T FILL OUT ANY FORMS THAT POP-UP, AND DON’T GIVE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS TO ME IN ANY SUBSCRIPTION DIALOG BOX THAT YOU SEE ON THIS BLOG.
If I get fined for this lame policy, then please at least have the decency to tell the authorities that you gave me permission.
I’ve only and always tried to pay it forward here, and have never burdened my subscribers with any unwanted emails.
I can’t help but think that tucked away in some basement office in Brussels, or Stuttgart, or Prague there sits a whole passel of Europeans chuckling that they’ve really stuck it to the old U.S. of A.
‘Not chuckling with them.
CourVO