Cutting Down on Spam.
Making Email Safer for All.

Deliverability requirements of bulk email marketing campaigns ensures inboxes don’t get flooded with unwanted and unrequested emails, otherwise known as spam. Tightening up on these requirements ushers better practices across marketing campaigns, even from the most unwilling marketers. Google and Yahoo have announced new requirements for sending emails that will be effective in Q1 2024 and some providers have already begun rolling out their own requirements in anticipation of this. Read on to learn more about how this may impact your marketing efforts, through one of the most cost effective marketing campaign options available, email newsletters.

Good News Is That Best Practices in Email Marketing Are Key

Before explaining the changes to email marketing campaigns, it is important to have this takeaway: so long as you abide by best practices, you should not be more than mildly impacted. The changes needed and the recommended steps are little more than common sense. All these efforts put into place are an attempt to cut down on spam, phishing, and unsavory marketing practices. In short, if you are doing the right thing there will be little to worry about.

Now for the rundown and changes that will be included in the email marketing update. These focus on authentication, spam-rate control, and simplifying the “unsubscribe” process.

Bulk Email Changes in 2024

Larger Email Lists Require DMARC

This first change only applies to senders with large email lists. This means senders with more than 5K emails sent daily. In short it will change a recommendation to a requirement that a security protocol, called a DMARC, be established and managed. This extra measure protects your brand and your audience from phishing and spoofing attacks. This ensures that your account is legitimate and the only one that is sending the emails. This change points toward a potential future where this becomes a requirement for smaller email lists.

Best Practices: Ensure your DMARC record is active and set up correctly.

Sending Domain Authentication

Previously elective authentication and verification of the domain name associated with the email addresses used to send bulk emails will now be mandatory. Where this will impact the most is when senders are from a free email domain such as [email protected] or [email protected]. This is due to the fact that it is impossible to authenticate a domain you don’t own.

Best Practice: Create a domain specific email address either through your register or other paid service. Use this email address to send bulk emails.

Single Click Unsubscribes

Subscribers should be able to easily remove themselves from email lists they no longer want to be on. To avoid lengthy processes designed to stop recipients from unsubscribing the new requirements will be unsubscription to happen in a single click. It will additionally require processing of unsubscribes within 2 days.

Best Practice: Ensure your unsubscribe is clearly visible on each email, and immediately takes users to a screen with no more than one question and a clearly called out “unsubscribe” button.

Lower Spam Rate Threshold

Reducing the spam rate threshold for bulk senders tightens up on the unsolicited signing up of recipients. Google is going to mandate less than 0.3%, but Yahoo has yet to release their mandate.

Best Practices: Only use high-quality, solicited email addresses and periodically review for individuals that have not opened emails.

Conclusion

The balance between business and consumer must consider security. The restrictions and rules being rolled out in early 2024 shows that businesses should be aware of consumer needs, and reduce the impacts on them. Increasing security, and decreasing spam is obviously the goal, these are not likely the last time businesses can expect there to be changes. Maintaining best practices, and doing the right thing in business will ensure that impacts on your business are minimized or avoided all together.

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Keep your eyes posted to our blog for more information about updates that may impact your business, marketing, and processes.

Read more on this topic from Constant Contact or Mailchimp.