Why does marketing require consent?

Sending marketing communications to someone who has not requested them is not just bad practice — in Norway, it is regulated. As a general rule, the Marketing Control Act requires prior consent for electronic marketing to consumers, and the GDPR requires you to be able to document the legal basis for processing.

Document more than just yes

Consent is of little value if you cannot show when it was given, what it covered, and how it was obtained. This is what will be requested if someone files a complaint. Journeys can keep track of this, but only if you record it systematically from the outset.

Make unsubscribing easy

Making it difficult to unsubscribe does not result in more recipients — it results in more people marking the email as spam. This harms the deliverability of all your emails, including those sent to people who actually want them.

It's also good marketing

A list of a thousand people who have asked to receive the content delivers better results than a list of ten thousand who have not. The consent requirement drives precisely that kind of quality.