On February 1st Gmail, Yahoo and other email providers are changing how they filter emails. These changes will mean less spam in your inbox – which is great! BUT if you use email marketing to stay in touch with subscribers, there are a few things you have to have in place to ensure your emails are delivered to your subscribers.

New requirements for email marketing

1. Authenticate your email: You’ll need to log in to the account where your domain is registered and set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Your domain account should have a knowledge base to guide you on this, and if they offer good support on chat or phone, get them to help you with it. Messing with your domain settings is NOT recommended unless you know what you’re doing.
2. Easy unsubscribe: It should be easy and obvious how to leave your list. In the best case scenario, it should take one click. This was already part of the GDPR rules so you should have this in place already, but if you don’t, it’s time to set it up.
3. Ensure you’re sending emails that people WANT: Gmail and Yahoo are bringing the spam rate threshold waaay down. If you get reported as spam by a subscriber OR if you use spammy language or big images in your emails you risk getting labeled as spam, filtered out and your domain reputation will suffer. And you should NEVER add anyone to your list who has not expressly opted in.  

Have you checked your email deliverability?

Here is a handy tool to help you gauge the deliverability of your emails: MAIL TESTER. Use the email address they provide to sign up for your own list. It will immediately give you a free report on what you need to update to become more deliverable. (I got 9.9 out of 10 🤓)

Google’s official recommendations

Here’s the full down-low from Google about how to increase your deliverability. Email Sender Guidelines from Google.

Do you use email marketing to get clients?

It takes work to build your list, so you should make sure that the people who have subscribed actually get your emails and email marketing is supporting your client acquisition process.

The correct technical set up is an essential foundation if you’re using email marketing in your client acquisition process. The content is the next step. To really make email work for you, sending valuable content that people really want to read is key. Yes, you can email people when you have something to sell but building that trust and credibility on an on-going basis will help your conversion rates go up.

If you want support for your business growth (without being a slave to social media) book your free strategy call with me here.