As the digital marketing world braces for the significant email compliance changes set by Gmail and Yahoo in February 2024, it’s crucial for businesses to be prepared. These changes are not just for the big players but also for anyone who uses email as a marketing tool. Let’s break down what you need to do to be fully prepared.

Step-by-Step Guide to 2024 Email Compliance

  • Email Authentication: Begin by setting up email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This is vital to establish the credibility of your sending domain.

  • One-Click Unsubscribe: Incorporate straightforward unsubscribe options in your emails. Swiftly honor these requests to align with the new guidelines and respect user preferences.

  • Manage Your Spam Rate: Keep an eye on your spam complaint rate; it should be below 0.3%. Creating engaging, relevant email content is key to staying below this threshold.

  • Monitor Sender Reputation: Regularly use tools like Google Postmaster to monitor your organization’s reputation and promptly address any issues.

  • Align Strategies Across Teams: Ensure that your sales and marketing teams are coordinated in their email efforts, considering the overall impact of your domain’s email output.

  • Personalize Your Messaging: Abandon mass, generic email strategies. Tailor your communications to match the specific interests and needs of each recipient.

  • Be Careful with AI Tools: AI can be helpful, but ensure it does not lead to increased spam flags.

  • Use Separate Domains for Different Campaigns: Consider having different domains for various campaigns to effectively manage sender reputations.

  • Regularly Check Your Email Health: Keep tabs on your spam, IP, and domain ratings using tools like Google Postmaster.

FAQ

Q: I don’t use Google Workspaces, am I affected?

Yes. Whether you send from Outreach to Gmail addresses, or to email addresses using Google Workspace email services, you are responsible and will be impacted.

Q: Is my email limit 5000 per day?

Yes, while being defined as a bulk sender impacts all domains, it’s important to be clear that this includes every email sent by your system, including billing notifications, password resets, etc.”

Q: What happens if I fail to comply?

You may be blocked from sending emails from your domain.

Q: If I’m on the receiving end of the spam, how do I report it?

From Google: “Send a message to abuse@ or postmaster@, using the domain where the abuse is happening. For example, if you suspect a user at solarmora.com is abusing the service, send a message to abuse@solarmora.com or to postmaster@solarmora.com. Google monitors these addresses for every domain registered with Google Workspace.”

Q: I don’t send 5K messages, am I impacted?

YES. You’ll still need to follow some basic hygiene and the spam and abuse rates of .3% still apply to you. The following apply regardless of the amount you send.

  • Set up SPF or DKIM email authentication for your domain.
  • Ensure that sending domains or IPs have valid forward and reverse DNS records, also referred to as PTR records. Learn more.
  • Keep spam rates reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.3%. Learn more.
  • Format messages according to the Internet Message Format standard (RFC 5322).
  • Don’t impersonate Gmail “From:” headers. Gmail will begin using a DMARC quarantine enforcement policy, and impersonating Gmail “From:” headers might impact your email delivery.
  • If you regularly forward email, including using mailing lists or inbound gateways, add ARC headers to outgoing email. ARC headers indicate the message was forwarded and identify you as the forwarder. Mailing list senders should also add a “List-id:” header, which specifies the mailing list, to outgoing messages.

Additionally, if you send 5K+ emails a day, you ALSO need to:

  • For direct mail, the domain in the sender’s “From” header must be aligned with either the SPF domain or the DKIM domain. This is required to pass DMARC alignment.
  • Marketing messages and subscribed messages must support one-click unsubscribe, and include a clearly visible unsubscribe link in the message body. Learn more.

Adapting to these upcoming changes requires thoughtful preparation and a shift towards more personalized, compliance-focused email marketing. By following these steps, your business can continue to engage effectively with its audience while meeting the new email standards set for 2024.