Google and Yahoo’s changes go into effect on February 1st.
By now I’m sure you have read about the change Google and Yahoo are making to the deliverability to the newsletters and bulk sending.
In order to educate myself on what this meant for me and my email lists, I attended several workshops and did research. If you haven’t already verified how this affects you, consider this your gentle nudge.
What is Domain Authentication?
In layperson’s terms, you need to verify where your emails are coming from.
I use ConvertKit and here’s their explanation to help clarify what is a verified sending domain:
“A verified sending domain allows you to set up authentication records (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) with your web host. This tells mailbox providers like Gmail and Microsoft that you are a real business, and you have given ConvertKit [your email service provider – MailChimp, Mailerlite, etc.] permission to send using your domain on your behalf.”
Here’s a few of the things I’ve learned because of this update:
- Clean your email list. Did you know that if your emails don’t get opened in 90 days, the next one you sent to that person may end up in their spam folder?
- Deliverability to an email is the responsibility of the sender (you and I), not the email service provider. It’s easy to blame them, but there are few things that prevent our emails from reaching their destination. For example, too many links and spammy phrases.
- Google deactivated millions of abandoned email address on December 1st. These were emails that had no user activity for 2+ years. They will appear as “hard bounces” on your delivery report. (Another good reason to scrub your list periodically.)
- Google is requiring a one-click unsubscribe (this is, typically, in the footer of your newsletter by the email service provider). Having a pop up that asks for a reason for leaving or which list they’d like to unsubscribe from does not qualify. It has to be a one-click unsubscribe link.
- If you send bulk emails from @gmail, @yahoo, @hotmail, @anything that’s not your domain, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft will no longer accept them. Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft could block the emails.
- Solution: Get a domain, set up a mailbox for it (ie: Google Workspace), and authenticate it.
- Avoid using lots of links (especially to unsecure websites), emojis, and large images. Get out of the habit (if you have it) of over using the phrases such as Buy Now, FREE!, Get Yours Now and other impulse-action verbiage. According to the algorithms, they are spammy (even through many email marketers told you to do this).
Help your friends & colleagues stay out of Google jail.
If you signed up for newsletters to support your friend’s blog, get a free download from a guru, or for whatever other reason, either open the emails they send or unsubscribe. Your actions (and most certainly your inactions) make a difference in their email deliverability. If you ignore (don’t open) future emails, those unviewed emails could actually hurt their “reputation” for email interactions (communications). This eventually could reflect poorly on them and cause their emails to be dumped into Spam folders.
I know you love them. I know you want to support them. Either open their emails or unsubscribe from their lists. Most people will understand why you’re bowing out of their list.
Depending on who’s reporting the numbers, did you know that on average that people get 40-100 emails per day? PER DAY! What does your inbox look like?
This is a good day to go through your email inboxes and clean them up, unsubscribe to the newsletters you rarely open, and open the newsletters of the individuals you support.
The changes Google, Yahoo and Microsoft are making are a positive action. This will help to reduce phishing and unwanted spam emails that didn’t land in your Spam folder (when’s the last time you got a car warrantee offer in your inbox?).
Take the time to research and take proactive steps to ensure your email newsletter list remains in good shape.
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