Get ready, email marketers! Gmail and Yahoo are gearing up to implement new policies and reinforce their deliverability sender guidelines on February 1, 2024. These updates will primarily impact bulk senders, specifically those sending over 5,000 messages per day.

 

 

Why the shift?

 

Both platforms prioritize protecting users from spam overload and ensuring inboxes are safer, are filled with relevant, engaging content, and are a less cluttered place, while senders maintain healthy deliverability to ensure messages reach their subscribers’ inboxes. 

 

The key takeaways for deliverability best practices will remain the same but serve as guidelines for more stringent enforcement beyond February. Failure to adhere to these guidelines can result in spam-flagging and damage to your sender’s reputation. 

 

By complying with these updates, you’ll create a better email experience, avoid spam filters, build trust with recipients, and ensure your message reaches the right people and lands in the right inbox. Investing in deliverability compliance is not just a good deed – it’s a smart business decision. 

 

 

Are there consequences for ignoring the new rules? 

 

Non-compliance may lead to blocked emails for weeks, impacting your marketing outreach and IP reputation, resulting in lost revenue, wasted resources on unseen emails, and missed business opportunities due to conversions going unnoticed in the spam folder. 

What are the new requirements? 

1. Authentication is mandatory: 

 

Email authentication technology acts as a gatekeeper, allowing receiving servers to verify messages from your company. It can either block messages from impostors or quarantine those messages, notifying the domain owner. 

Keep in mind that solely verifying email senders for corporate emails does not necessarily mean the domain itself has been authenticated and will pass anti-spam filters.  

 

Set up email authentication methods for your domain to reap several benefits: 

 

• Protect recipients from malicious spoofing and phishing messages. 

 

• Help protect you and your organization from impersonation. 

 

• Reduce the likelihood that messages are rejected or marked as spam by Gmail and Yahoo servers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. Ease of opt-out and unsubscribe management: 

 

Allowing easy opt-out of your messages improves open rates, click-through rates, sending efficiency and helps prevent spam complaints. Gmail and Yahoo stipulate that senders who output 5,000+ messages per day must support one-click unsubscribe in their marketing emails.​ 

 

• Make it easy for recipients to opt out with a clear, one-click unsubscribe option. 

 

• One-click List Unsubscribe-Post or List Unsubscribe must be available in the message header. 

 

• Auto-unsubscribe recipients with multiple bounced messages. 

 

• Honor unsubscribes requests within two days. 

 

• Set up one-click unsubscribe with the recommended headers. 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Control spam rates:​ 

 

Spam complaints affect the sender’s reputation and can cause issues with messages reaching a recipient’s inbox. Senders with frequent spam reports can get their future messages automatically flagged as spam by receiving servers. Keep spam rates ideally under 0.1% and never exceed 0.3%. 

 

Best practices for keeping spam rates low: 

 

• Only send emails to people who want to get messages from you. 

 

• Gather opt-ins in a clear and concise manner. 

 

• Double opt-in new email addresses before subscribing them. 

 

• Periodically send messages to confirm that recipients want to remain subscribed. 

 

• Provide relevant, personalized content to engage subscribers. 

 

• Practice good list hygiene. 

 

• Provide easy opt-out options.  

 

• Let go of subscribers who have been unengaged for the last six months. Win-back odds for unengaged subscribers are low, while the odds of receiving a complaint increases every time you send to a lapsed subscriber. 

 

 

 

Takeaway 

Don’t panic, be prepared! February 1, 2024, marks a change in the email landscape as Gmail and Yahoo toughen their guidelines for bulk senders. While the new regulations may seem daunting, with the right tools and knowledge, you can turn them into an opportunity. See them as a chance to optimize your email marketing, reach the right inboxes, and maximize conversion rates. Say goodbye to spam folders and hello to engaged subscribers! 

 

Embrace the changes – it’s easy: 

 

1.  Email Authentication: Prove you’re a legit sender with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC. 

 

2.  One-Click Unsubscribe: Make opting out a breeze. 

 

3.  Spam Control: Stay below 0.3% and attract customers, not flags. 

 

 

Need help? Let our deliverability champions help you navigate the new landscape and ensure your emails land in the right folder. Contact us today and boost your email marketing success in 2024!