Prolific Works and GDPR

Q: What is GDPR?

A: General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is EU legislation that expands the rights of individuals whose data you use for marketing purposes, as well as the definition of consent. As an email marketer, it’s important for you to remember that, under GDPR, consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous.

For a brief overview of GDPR and what it means for readers, please see this informational blog post written by our partners at MailerLite. We also recommend that you read the GDPR document in full and consult with your legal counsel for a more complete understanding of what this legislation entails.

Q: How will this change Prolific Works?

A: Beginning May 25, 2018, we will no longer feature mandatory opt-in giveaways on our social media, blog, newsletter, or promote them through our recommendation engine. In addition, Group Giveaways that include mandatory opt-in giveaways will not be eligible for newsletter features after this date. And we highly encourage Prolific Works authors to change their giveaways to optional opt-in before May 25th.

Because the rights of an individual will be expanded, readers will have the right to ask you to delete all of their information, or request a copy of information that you have access to. If you receive any such requests, please contact our team at support@prolificworks.com. As always, our customer support team is ready and willing to work with readers on your behalf!

We're prepared to serve as a partner to you as GDPR comes into effect. We’ve read the document ourselves, and our inbox is always open to any questions or concerns you may have. We know GDPR is causing big changes for everyone involved, so we're trying to support our authors as best we can in regards to this new legislation!

Q: Can I still use mandatory opt-in after May 25, 2018?

A: Yes, authors will still be able to set their giveaways to mandatory opt-in on the Prolific Works site. However, after May 25 we will no longer feature those giveaways on our social media, blog, newsletter, or promote them through our recommendation engine. Based on our understanding of the GDPR legislation, we strongly recommend that authors use optional opt-in. The new regulations require that a service is "freely given", and we believe that requiring a reader to give you information in exchange for a good or service such as an ebook would be in violation of this policy. Prolific Works' own mailing list has been optional opt-in since August 2017, and we believe that consent-based marketing leads to more satisfied and engaged subscribers.

Q: Should I re-verify my mailing list?

A: Our partners at MailerLite recommend re-verifying your mailing list, especially those who were gained through a mandatory opt-in. Even before GDPR, it has always been email marketing best practice to ensure that your subscribers are interested in being contacted by you. MailerLite even provides a template to help you re-validate your list.

That being said, as long as you have proof of consent, you do not necessarily have to re-validate your subscribers. The information on your Prolific Works Subscribers page will provide you with proof of consent.

If you have any other questions that were not answered here, feel free to contact us at support@prolificworks.com.