Wording a privacy policy could seem like a daunting task for a small business, but it doesn’t have to be.

Who Knows My Name?

If you think of a website newsletter subscription as a simple collection of names and emails for future marketing, there may be some questions you should ask yourself. How would you like it if you gave your name and email to a company you thought you could trust, only to start getting hammered with ads, emails and calls from unsolicited companies? Do you even know how many companies already have your contact info? And what are they doing with it?

Personalize Your Policy

Any website that gathers personal information about potential customers needs to have this page included. Email, credit card, cookies, login, age, and gender are some of the main types of information websites take in and store. It is not a federal law, but it IS a law in the state of California that requires businesses to post their privacy policy. Here are some tips for writing a simple document.

• Privacy Policy wording should be simple and understandable.
• Write your own policy. There are laws about copying from another website.
• It also needs to be visible from the home page, preferably from the navigation bar or quick links at the bottom.
• Give an opt out or retraction option. A form could be created, or simply include a link to your contact page, where they can request the removal or correction of their personal information.
• List your intended actions in regards to their information. Are you going to restrict the use to a free newsletter, or do you intent to periodically send them updates, specials or notices as well.
• If you share the contact with affiliate companies, your customer is likely to want to know this.
• After completing the privacy page, it is a good idea to run it by a lawyer to make sure you have covered yourself.
• Keep the information secure. An SSL certificate is a good start to blocking hackers. Most of our customers are now using this extra security.

360WD has a writing package that can help get you started.