One of the strictest regimes anywhere, and it applies to the cold email a brand sends a creator.
It goes far beyond newsletters
Three received ideas to correct.
The individual email is covered: a message written by hand, to one person, falls within scope as soon as it has a commercial purpose.
A private message on a social network may be too, depending on the medium and the content.
And offering a free partnership changes nothing: what counts is the commercial nature of the message, not the amount at stake.
Consent is the central concept
Two forms, and you have to know which one you are invoking.
Express consent: the person said yes, on a known date, to receiving this type of message. It does not expire by itself but must be provable.
Implied consent: it flows from a relationship or a precise situation, it is limited in time, and it is narrower than most teams imagine.
The case that interests a brand looking for creators: a professional address publicly displayed, with no statement to the contrary, for a message directly connected to that person's activity. The exact contours of that possibility are checked with a lawyer, once, and then serve for all your prospecting.
What every message must allow
Three elements, in every send, without exception.
Clear identification of the sender: company name, valid contact details, physical address.
A simple way to unsubscribe, working, visible, without forcing the person to create an account.
And actual handling of the request, within a short time, with a record of the stop.
The practical version of recruiting
Four habits, and they make your prospecting defensible.
Write to published professional addresses, never to personal addresses guessed or reconstructed.
Send one message per person, directly connected to their activity, and say in one sentence where you found their address.
One follow-up only, never two.
And treat any negative reply as an immediate unsubscribe, including a simple no thank you.
What makes a mailing acceptable
| Element | What is needed | Otherwise |
|---|---|---|
| Consent | An obtained and dated agreement | A non-compliant send |
| Identification | The sender's name and address | An anonymous message |
| Unsubscribe | A clear, working link | A complaint |
What is kept to prove a consent
The date, the source, the exact wording shown to the person, and the proof of their action. An imported file with no history proves nothing.
What also applies to a video sent by email
A commercial message remains a commercial message, whatever its format. The same rules apply to a send containing a video, to be confirmed with a lawyer.
Why companies there take it seriously
Three reasons, and they explain reactions that surprise foreign teams.
The penalties provided for are high, and the subject is known to every legal department.
Responsibility can go back to the company commissioning the prospecting, even when an agency carries it out.
And the local professional culture sees unsolicited cold email as a lack of seriousness, regardless of the rule.
One consequence for a creator prospecting: these constraints are also good news. A precise message, addressed to the right person, with the source of the address and a clear way to say no, stands out immediately and gets a reply rate out of all proportion to a mass send.
