When the GDPR Monkey Wrench Hits the Fan

I know I’m mixing metaphors in this title, but I’ll bet you know what I mean. Read the important note below, and then I’ll explain. 🙂

**Important Note to Current Subscribers**  You’ll be receiving some emails from us this week asking you to resubscribe to Next Step. We hope you’ll choose to stay in touch! If you don’t confirm by May 24th, you’ll stop receiving emails from us. You can always reconnect, though, by clicking on the link in them.

In the last two weeks, monkeys, wrenches and all kinds of stuff :/ hit the fan!

It all started with a Proverbs 31 team call for the writers and speakers when Lysa and our tech director shared the upcoming impact of GDPR for bloggers. I’m so incredibly thankful they did because I was completely unaware before our meeting.

What’s GDPR you ask? Here’s a simple definitition: “The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. It addresses the export of personal data outside the EU.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Data_Protection_Regulation)

You may have already heard all about GDPR, and many of you have already sprung into action to make your email list compliant. If you haven’t, here are a few notes in a nutshell about what you need to do (Disclaimer–This is an over-simplified and non-legal version. There’s more, but this is a start.) :

• Add a privacy policy on your website.
• Re-obtain permissions from your EU audience with GDPR compliant information.
• Separate your lead-magnet from automatic addition to your email list.

Is your head spinning just with those few instructions? Mine was too! Crisis rarely hits when it’s convenient, and it didn’t this time either. During a week with lots of deadlines–both work and personal– I sprang into action since the new law goes into effect May 25th.

My Most Simplistic Advice

• Research and create or buy a GDPR compliant Privacy Policy to add to your site.
• Connect with a well-versed and experienced Web Developer to help you. (Most of the steps were completely beyond me technically. I am forever indebted to my marvelous Web Developer!)

The most important step for me has been to hand it over to the Lord. It’s discouraging to think that if we walk through the requirements with integrity, we could lose 1/2 or more of our hard-earned email list, but that’s the reality. Over and over again, I’ve reminded myself that God Himself is in charge. He built our audience the first time, and He can surely rebuild it. He’s faithful, friends!

Melanie and I will be praying for you as you walk through updating your site.

Also, my friend Cheri Gregory wrote a great post to help those outside the speaker/writer circle understand why they’ll be getting re-subscribe emails this week. Let’s share it up on social media to build support: https://cherigregory.com/thank-you-script/

(Note: It would be great to share words of encouragement and support for everyone here. However, I won’t be able to answer any questions about GDPR. I wanted to give you a heads-up if you’ve missed all the furor, but I’m completely unqualified to give advice.)

~Amy