Updated Email Marketing Guidelines

Here are updated guidelines for email marketing with the new changes coming to Gmail and Yahoo in February 2024.

What are the changes and why are they happening?

In a significant move set to take effect in February 2024, Gmail and Yahoo will introduce new requirements for bulk email senders, emphasising a strict focus on email authentication, streamlined unsubscribing processes, and a stringent approach to unwanted/spam emails. These measures aim to enhance email security, simplify user experiences, and minimise spam across the platform. So, what was once considered best practice for email are now essential for email marketing moving forward.

What does this mean for Firefish users?

This change is not a Firefish change and will have no direct impact on your CRM. As this change is not a Firefish change we cannot take any actions for you but can give you guidance on what to do to avoid any future problems.

This change is being actioned by Gmail and Yahoo and will have a direct impact on all users of the Gmail and Yahoo email platforms or anyone trying to send an email to a Gmail or Yahoo inbox. To avoid being affected by this in anyway we recommend taking the following action.

What action is required?

Email Authentication

Gmail and Yahoo are raising the bar on email security standards, a main part of this will now require bulk senders to authenticate their emails. The reasoning behind this is to show that your emails are coming from a reliable source, minimising any dangerous/spam emails that will be received.

Does this affect me if I don’t use Yahoo or Google?

The answer to this is yes! If you are using Yahoo and Google, you need to authenticate your email in line with the changes on these platforms. However, if you are using another provider such as office 365 you will still potentially be sending emails to Google and Yahoo mailboxes, so if your email is not authenticated, they may be classed as spam and not received into the mailbox. Regardless of your email provider now is the time to authenticate your email.

Google , Yahoo and Microsoft (office 365) have put together some best practice material for you and help you with this process.

Accessible email unsubscription

Allowing users to easily unsubscribe from emails has always been a best practice of email marketing, however with the new changes coming into place this is should now be a standard requirement across all emails. According to the new guidance unsubscribing needs to be simple and not take more than one clicks to do so. It is of the upmost importance that you unsubscribe people within 48 hours. With Firefish there is no need to worry as unsubscribes from bulk emails will be actioned immediately, and you will not be able to contact them moving forward.

Don’t send spam/unwanted emails!

Nobody appreciates spam cluttering their inbox, and Gmail and Yahoo are taking additional steps to combat this. Going beyond existing spam-filtering tools, they will now enforce a clear spam rate threshold that bulk senders must adhere to.

Some steps you can follow to help reduce spam emails are:

1. Authenticate your email
2. Whitelist your main sender addresses
3. Use a tool like https://coschedule.com/email-subject-line-tester to test your email subject lines and make them as relevant as possible
4. Keep your email lists up to date
5. Do not spam inboxes with unnecessary amounts of emails.