Email Deliverability Has Changed!

Well… Google and Yahoo are at it again. There have been changes made to their email deliverability rules and we all need to straighten up and fly right if we don’t want our messaging to land in the spam folder. Luckily, it’s not super complicated, and once you know what to do, it should be pretty easy to pivot.

The New Rules

Let’s just get into it. As of last month, both Google and Yahoo have added new rules for anyone sending over 5,000 emails in a single day, which is definitely us, and if you’re reading this, probably you too. The new rules are:

• You have to implement a one-click list-unsubscribe and honor that unsubscribe action within two days.
• You have to authenticate all of your emails using security protocols like DKIM, SPF, and DMARC.
• And you have to maintain a spam complaint rate of 0.3% or lower.

All of these additions are to benefit the standard email user, so we can’t even be mad. It just makes their inbox more secure, makes it easier to unsubscribe, and makes sure that the emails they’re receiving are relevant to their?interests. So what do you need to do?

Don’t Hate, Authenticate

Here are the protocols you need to implement right now in order not make sure your emails go through from an authentication standpoint:

• Sender Policy Framework (SPF) allows you to specify the IP addresses or domains that can send emails on your behalf.
• Implementing DomainKeys Identified Email (DKIM) allows you to add a digital signature to your emails, enabling email providers to verify that an email came from you and not a spam clone.
• Domain-Based Messaging Authentication, Reporting and Conformance (DMARC) aligns your SPF and DKIM policies and defines how mailbox providers should handle an email that fails authentication.?

This keeps your recipients safe from nasty, predatory emails.

If You Love Them, Let Them Goooooo…

This one is pretty straightforward. Unsubscribing needs to be as easy as subscribing. Making it hard for people to opt out will do much more harm than good for your readers and your reputation.?

Make the unsubscribe link visible and have a robust preference center so your recipients can pick and choose which messaging they receive, but most importantly, you need to implement list-unsubscribe, which is going to be an option in your sending tool (let us know if you’d like an in-depth look at this feature in the future). Make sure the unsubscribe is in effect within two days, or you could see penalties.?

Watch Your Spam Rate!

Keeping your list current, ensuring your prospects know what to expect, and having an easily accessible preference center is going to be your best bet for staying out of trouble. We’d go more in depth about this, but you see, we already have . Read our piece on staying out of the spam folder, and you should have nothing to worry about!

These changes can be easily made...

...by anyone who knows what they’re doing, and your processes can be updated to be consistent going forward. We know these kinds of changes can be annoying, but remember that it’s all in service of email recipient safety and comfort. It’s for the best.

If you have any questions or you want someone to show you how to implement these changes, reach out to us here at SalesLabX. This is what we do! We’ll make sure you’re compliant and sending the most beautiful emails possible.