Inbox protection rules and privacy around data have been a growing spectre for email marketers as the challenge of deliverability increases with each new layer of security. In 2023, Google and Yahoo announced changes to their bulk email senders rules on February 1st, 2024. Whether you’re sending your own campaigns or an agency sending on behalf of clients, it’s essential to understand the rules and what measures you can implement to mitigate them.
First, you have to know whether these rules will apply to you. Google classifies ‘bulk email senders’ as sending more than 5,000 messages to Gmail addresses in one day. If you’re not sending at that rate, then you’re unlikely to be affected by the new rules. However, there are best practices you should follow regardless of whether you’re sending ten emails or five thousand.
Let’s remember that these rules aim to stop unwanted emails from landing in clients’ inboxes. Junk mail has flooded our mailboxes in exponentially growing volumes over the years, prompting consumers to demand better protection because they’re tired of it. Equally, the new measures will help to limit the rate of spoofing, phishing, and other cyber threats that pose an increasing threat.
In this post, I’ll walk you through the key 2024 inbox protection updates and how you can make sure you’re playing by the rules to increase your delivery rate.
The first item on the list is to get familiar with DMARC, SPF, and DKIM! If you’ve sidestepped the technical stuff til now, you really can’t afford to any longer. DMARC, SPF and DKIM are email authentication protocols. Email servers use them to verify that your emails come from a legitimate source, not from a hacker or another malicious actor impersonating your domain.
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework) determines whether an email comes from an authorised IP address.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)—Think of this as a digital signature added to your email, confirming that it’s legit.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) lets email servers know how to handle suspicious emails that don’t pass these checks.
So, ensure your email domain is authenticated correctly with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Set these up for your domain, or if you’re an agency, set them up for your clients. You MUST do this, or email servers will flag your emails as spam or block them entirely.
Spam rates are a big deal now. If email providers classify you as a bulk sender, you must keep your reported spam rate below 0.10% and ensure it never reaches 0.30% or higher. This goes to perceived value and it means it’s absolutely critical to know your audience and use segmentation and tagging correctly to send targeted messages. Customers hate receiving mail with content they deem completely irrelevant to them. Send them enough irrelevant mail, and they’ll mark it as spam. Some people have a higher tolerance than others. So, even one ‘non-valuable’ message can be enough to start you on that spiral. Enough people do that, and you’ll see your delivery rates plummet like the proverbial stone!
Never underestimate the power of the perception of control! The ‘unsubscribe’ button should be prominent and should be a one-click function. This is a non-negotiable for Google. Customers hate having to fumble around to find the unsubscribe button. They hate even more having to jump through a million hoops to enable it. Forcing people to stay subscribed just gives you a lot of deadwood data. If people don’t want to hear from you, move on and make way for your authentic audience. It kills your reporting figures anyway, so make it easy for them and retain your reputation both for your brand and for your domain.
Ultimately, there is a lot of panic about the new regulations coming in, but the reality is this: We all just have to tighten up what we’re doing and be better at our jobs! Lazy marketing tactics will not be tolerated. Segment and correctly tag your data lists to ensure you send targeted messages to the right demographic. Properly setting up your email authentication protocols protects both you and your customers. So, embrace the rules, keep your campaigns safe, your clients happy, and your subscribers’ trust intact. It’s all about staying informed, staying secure, and staying proactive! And if you need any help with any of this, please get in touch with Email-Postman.
Email-Postman – email marketing that delivers!
Shaun Reynolds has been specialising in email marketing since 2005 and, in February 2019, launched Email-Postman. Since then, we’ve helped over 100 clients across a range of industries build successful email marketing campaigns. To get help with your email marketing, you can arrange a free call-back today by clicking here!