A Guide to Sending Unsolicited Commercial Email

Posted by Garry Davis on 3 February, 2011 in eMarketing | Links | Marketing - (1 Comments)

This is a guest post from Gary Davis, Deputy Commissioner at the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, in response to a lively discussion on best practice in sending unsolicited email over on the Enterprise Ireland Internet Marketing Forum. If you’re interested in joining the debate, you can join the forum here.

The legal provisions in relation to marketing are set out in the Data Protection Acts 1988 & 2003 and Statutory Instrument 535 of 2003 (as amended by SI 526 of 2008). The requirements that arise are explained on our website in two guidance documents as follows: Direct Marketing – A General Guide For Data Controllers and A Consumer Guide to Dealing with Unsolicited Direct Marketing

I also delivered a presentation at an IIA event in October 2009 on “Email Do’s And Don’ts” (I didn’t pick the title).  I have attached it underneath. My final conclusion page is perhaps most helpful:


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Creating staff internet usage policies

Posted by Eoin O'Siochru on 23 March, 2010 in eMarketing - (Be the first to comment)

Staff internet usage has always been a tricky issue to manage. Most companies now make much use of the web or email in doing business. Many staff members need constant access to both in order to carry out their daily tasks. However, no company wants their staff wasting time or viewing inappropriate material online.

Hence the requirement in companies of all shapes and sizes for a fair, balanced and easily understood internet usage policy. (more…)

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Low-cost marketing: email newsletters

Posted by Eoin O'Siochru on 26 January, 2010 in eMarketing - (Be the first to comment)

When used correctly, an email newsletter can be a powerful tool. SMEs can use these regular bulletins to promote products and services to customers and potential clients quickly and at a relatively low cost.

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest advantages offered by email newsletters is the relatively small expense required to get one up and running. (more…)

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Productivity spotlight: email (part two)

Posted by Eoin O'Siochru on 18 March, 2009 in eMarketing - (Be the first to comment)

The desire to monitor staff email is perfectly understandable: it can help protect your company’s electronic assets against internal sabotage, prevent key data falling into the hands of competitors, and reassure bosses that their staff are focused on the task at hand.

However, the legal issues surrounding this practice are complex. Most importantly, it is essential to balance the desire to monitor email against the data privacy rights of your staff. (more…)

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Productivity spotlight: email (part one)

Posted by Eoin O'Siochru on 3 March, 2009 in eMarketing - (Be the first to comment)
The ubiquity of email makes it a critical component of today’s business communications. But ubiquity doesn’t always translate into the adoption of best practices, and many companies do not have a coherent set of email policies in place.According to 2008 research from Basex Inc, information overload cost the American economy more than USD650 billion in lost productivity and took up 28 percent of workers’ time, making it one of the “main problems of the year 2008″. (more…)

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