Email marketing

Also called Mailing list, Newsletter, PECR

The channel you own, and the one with the clearest legal rules.

What it means

Email marketing sends commercial messages to a list you hold. Unlike social media or advertising, the list is yours and no platform can remove your access to it.

In the UK it is governed by PECR alongside UK GDPR, and the rules for marketing to individuals are strict.

Why it matters

It routinely produces the best return of any channel for businesses with an existing customer base, because you are writing to people who already know you.

It is also the channel where the compliance rules are most specific and most enforced. The ICO has fined organisations for unsolicited marketing email repeatedly.

What it looks like in practice

Consent is the general rule for marketing to individuals. The "soft opt-in" allows marketing about similar products to people who bought from you and were given a chance to object — it does not cover people who merely enquired.

Every message needs a clear sender identity and a working unsubscribe that is honoured promptly.

Corporate subscribers are treated differently from individuals, but a named individual at a company is still a person with data protection rights.

What to watch out for

Bought lists. There is essentially no lawful way to send marketing email to a purchased consumer list in the UK.

Adding everyone who ever emailed you. An enquiry is not consent to marketing.

Poor list hygiene, which damages deliverability — sending to dead addresses is how you end up in spam folders for everyone.

Where to get proper advice

The ICO's direct marketing guidance is the authority and is written clearly. Read it once before setting up a list.