In this article, we are going to explore GDPR Compliance for your online business. The GDPR came into effect on May 25th, 2018 the truth is this is a big deal.
I know that a lot of folks are making into not a big deal and are essentially ignoring it, but truth be told, it is now a huge liability to be in business online now because of this GDPR regulation from the EU.
If you want to learn more about it go here to check it out.
When I first heard of the regulation I thought no big deal it doesn’t’ really affect me, and I don’t really have anything to worry about as that was the jist of what the majority of “experts” in the industry were tooting.
About a month ago I started to dig a bit deeper into this, as an 8723 on the Kolbe Scale*, 8 being fact finder and 7 in follow through this type of thing is my jam. I went wide and dug deep into discovering all I could get my hands on regarding this new regulation. And the deeper I went the more freaked out I became because it was clear the majority of the folks who aren’t worried about it or don’t think it affects them are just plain wrong.
The deeper I dug and the more I learned the more I realized this is a big deal and this is a big liability for any of us doing business online with the potential of being visited by EU visitors on our website.
I started to do my own due diligence and own grunt work digging deeper and deeper into what I need to do to cover my butt, I had pages and pages of notes and bookmarks, and data that I was sifting through, and then I realized my clients might need help with this, that you might need help with this and the idea was born to create a guide to help you.
The guide is going to be sold for $47, I want to make it super accessible and give you actionable items you can do to get your butt covered in the most cost-effective way. Truthfully, I want to get this into the hands of as many folks as I can. This is how freaking important and critical this really is.
(whether you realize it or not yet, btw- continue reading and I think the full picture will start to come into focus).
I want to offer you this guide for an investment of $47. In my opinion, this is totally a no-brainer price, I have spent 1000’s of hours researching and learning about this stuff so that I could be ready for the GDPR and now I want to help you do the same with this guide too!
This guide will walk you through specifically what I am doing and what you can do to cover your butt in all the areas you are affected by the GDPR such as email, website, and 3rd parties, this guide will be geared towards folks with a wordpress website and will cover plugins as well as recommendations of what I am doing and what you need to do to cover your butt regarding your WordPress website specifically(although the majority of it is cross platform applicable), your email list and 3rd party processing as well as addressing your privacy and cookie policies which is a big deal under the GDPR.
Obviously, I am not a lawyer and nothing in this blog or guide should be taken as legal advice. I make no guarantees or warranties that by following the steps in the guide you will be compliant with GDPR. I advise that you consult with your own attorney to ensure you are GDPR compliant.
With all of that said, this guide will help you do all the heavy lifting and you can benefit from the 1000’s of hours I have invested in covering my butt with this guide.
Get Your GDPR guide here for ONLY $47
Let’s get into the meat of it and how this begins to come into focus as to actually be a big deal in case you don’t currently think that now 🙂
Okay, so here’s the thing, many folks are thinking that they can just ignore it because they think well, I am not in the EU and I don’t specifically target these folks, but the regulations are very clear here. If you have someone from the EU come to your website and you process their private data you are affected by this. Sure, you could try to use geo blockers and not market purposefully to these folks but what if someone was abroad when then visited your website? And nothing is 100% perfect for tracking.
Oh, and you know those facebook pixels you are putting on your website, or when you are uploading your data to Facebook to run ads to your audience, yep, you need their permission to do that under the EU.
Even if you are outside of the EU, you are still subject to the laws and penalties under the EU, if you have customers or clients in the EU and/or if you have email addresses, and/or if you have a website and someone inadvertently visits your website it opens up the liability to you.
Now, here’s the thing there is no “GDPR Police” that are going to come knocking down your door on May 26th if you’re not fully GDPR-compliant. And it is my understanding that if you are in process that the fines can be more lenient if you are diligently working on getting there but still no “police” are coming knocking on your door.
But, you can get into trouble for not being GDPR compliant if someone complains to the EU’s Information Commission Office (ICO) about you.
Is it seriously worth taking the risk?
Not to mention what if there is a data breach with a third party or something?
BTW – the fines for noncompliance are pretty darn hefty to the tune of 20,000,000 Euros or 4% of global annual revenue – whichever is MORE! For real, that is a lot of zeros!!! And no joke!
Of course, as a solopreneur, the chances of getting taken to the cleaners like Facebook would aren’t as great, and if you are actively taking steps to become compliant than you likely have a leg to stand on.
The thing is you probably don’t even realize how much data your website is actually collecting on the folks who visit your website. And as I said, ignorance is not bliss here.
Here are some examples of data your website might be collecting that you are not aware of or haven’t really thought about which now come into focus with the GDPR.
- Comments on your blog posts
- Filling out a contact form
- Registering on your website, to access the purchases they just made. (this is why I just switched all of my stuff over while my current provider is working on becoming GDPR compliant)
- Tracking galore, as in Facebook, like I already mentioned, or affiliate links (a lot of those install javascripts on your website for tracking, like skimlinks), google analytics and more. These are typically stored as cookies (which is another can of worms you need to deal with)
- Social sharing icons, yep, these little buggers process data from the end user
- WordFence as well as other security plugins that track users IP addresses
- The list goes on and on…
And we did not even touch on the fact that you need to make a bunch of other changes to your website like privacy policies, and cookie policies, and btw, you need to have a way to not only track this but provide proof too and allow end users to revoke access to their data and/or export it.
Next, you are going to want to look at your email list.
Do you have permission to email your list? Was this permission explicit or implied? There are a ton of rules regarding this regulation and there are some gray areas too.
Basically, it comes down to if you have any EU subscribers on your list you need to re-engage them and ask if they want to be on your list.
First, you would need to be able to isolate them, you can do that with providers such as ActiveCampaign*, ConvertKit*, MailerLite* Aweber
Once you isolate them then you are going to need to re-engage them if you don’t already have explicit consent to email them.
This actually breaks down into several areas, you see under the GDPR each type of email you send folks requires you get permission for that type of email. And it needs to be done with a checkbox of sorts and cannot be pre-selected.
There are other things you need to consider, and there are several workarounds that you may need to do as the big email autoresponder giants work on getting their butts into compliance.
I’ll go into further details and I’ll show you exactly how I set up mine in ActiveCampaign* and if you want, I’ll even share my automation with you so you can import into your ActiveCampaign* account too if you want, or you can just take a peek at it and implement it in your autoresponder of choice 🙂
Get Your GDPR guide here for ONLY $47
If you cannot isolate the EU folks or if you want to take an opportunity to re-connect and re-engage with your email list you can do that too.
Even though I can isolate the EU folks (well nothing is 100% but pretty darn close), I chose not to as I chose to use this as an opportunity to re-connect and re-engage with my audience. As I am sure you must have received some emails from me regarding this already.
I am also using this is a way to be more transparent and a way to share more behind the scenes of what I am doing in my biz. That is the whole idea of the guide that I am creating. 🙂 The GUIDE is NOW ready.
Get Your GDPR guide here for ONLY $47
I’m totally cool with the fact that my list might shrink, that’s okay, I really want to connect with the folks who actually want to hear from me. 🙂
There are a few more things that you need to do moving forward according to the GDPR and I will address those in my guide.
Oh and I almost forgot to mention that some of the 3rd party services you use require you to have an agreement in place in order to be GDPR compliant, otherwise you’re technically not even covered even if the 3rd party is compliant. (I’ll talk more about this in my guide and walk you through the steps and looking at the 3rd parties who you may need to look at in order to be compliant and cover your butt)
Another thing to consider is if you actually need to register in order to be compliant. (I share more about this in the guide, which you can now order 🙂
Get Your GDPR guide here for ONLY $47
Bottomline, if you are an online business owner and there is the possibility that you could have an EU visitor visit your website or do business with you, the GDPR affects you and you need to take it seriously.
I hope that this article has helped you to understand the implications of the GDPR and has given you actionable steps that you can take in order to become compliant. I also hope that you take me up on my offer to order the GDPR guide here for ONLY $47 so I can help walk you through some of these finer details and so you can benefit from the 1000’s of hours I have already and continue to invest into covering my butt in the most comprehensive and cost-effective way I know is possible as of right now.
Also, could I ask you a favor, there is a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of confused online biz owners, I would love for you to share this with them if it helped you at all.
Get Your GDPR guide here for ONLY $47
I hope to see you on the other side.
Good luck with your compliance.
Remember, it’s now or never, Rock Your Limits baby!
You got this, and I believe in you.
Much love, xox,
Kim
P.S. Any questions let me know.
P.P.S.
Get Your GDPR guide here for ONLY $47
P.P.P.S. Please share this with any biz owner you think could benefit, thank you!
P.P.P.P. S. Would you like to a peek inside the guide before you buy? Then download the 40 question GDPR Checklist below for FREE!
P.S. Would you like to a peek inside the guide before you buy? Then download the 40 question GDPR Checklist below for FREE!
Legal Disclaimer
This is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. If you have any specific legal problems, issues, or questions, please do not act on this legal information alone. Seek a complete review of your situation with a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction, as different factual situations and different legal jurisdictions may lead to different results.
I am not a lawyer. Nothing in this checklist and/or guide and/or any product service or information found on this website or offered by RYL’s should be taken as legal advice. I make no guarantees or warranties that by following the steps I outline in this document you will be compliant with GDPR. I advise that you consult with your own attorney to ensure you are GDPR compliant. (please see terms and conditions for further info regarding this if any questions.)
hey, I’m Kim + I am ridiculously passionate about helping you to work smarter and not harder + to realize how freaking amazing you actually are, exactly as you are and how easy business really can be when you are in alignment + simplify + add systems to organize your business + plan your business growth. I’ve been geeking out about online business, online marketing + systems + personal development + all that stuff since I created my first business back in 2006 + sold it.
This whole business owner thing is not for the faint of heart, there is a reason why most businesses fail!
While the road to burnout doesn’t look the same for everyone on it there are some similarities you typically experience on this path!
- You’re always in the weeds of your business
- You don’t have efficient systems and processes (or maybe none at all)
- You aren’t delegating effectively
- You can’t take time off
- You’re trying to do too many things at once + wearing all the hats
It’s exhausting just thinking about it! But there’s a way off the hamster wheel!
If you’re overwhelmed, overworked, stressed out, and worried that if you take time off the bottom will fall out from beneath you and your business will fall apart.
Then, you are in the right place my friend, been there, done that, got the tee-shirt and I’d love to support you in ending the cycle!
