Email is an extremely effective way of keeping in touch with a consumer base. Whether it is to send out promotions, business updates, or utilized for any number of customer connections, there is still the risk that it will be left unseen and end up in the dreaded spam folder. However, mass emails can save time and money.
In an effort to eliminate unnecessary spam and to help create email efficiency, internet giants Yahoo and Google are partnering to establish new procedures and guidelines for companies and individuals who wish to utilize mass emailing.
Now in effect as of February 1, here’s what you need to know to keep your email marketing campaigns going.
Email Marketing Changes
As a part of their new protocols, both Google and Yahoo are requiring mass emails to meet certain standards. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide a safer and better user experience for those receiving the email. The new standards apply to those organizations that send 5,000 or more emails per day, but for those who may have much smaller email lists, they are good practices to put in place.
Companies that follow these protocols will be able to stay in the inbox and not the spam box.
Email Authentication
One of the priorities in changing email marketing is to ensure they are coming from an actual entity and not a bot that generates content. To do this, you must be able to prove that your organization is sending the email by implementing these three protocols:
- Sender Policy Framework. Better known as SPF, this protocol provides the specific IP addresses that have permission to send emails on your or your organization’s behalf. By authenticating the IP address, your organization can also cut down on spam attacks.
- DomainKeys Identified Mail. This key identifies the domain specifically by using a cryptographic signature.
- Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance. This is the protocol that aligns the other two in order to determine if the email is spam or if it should proceed to an inbox. Email messages that fail the SPF and the DKIM are filtered to spam, rejected, or quarantined.
The process of setting this up can be overwhelming, but by working with your email marketing team, you can easily create the necessary steps to keep your emails reaching your users.
Allow for an Opt-Out
For many consumers, they may change their mind about which emails they would like to receive and, unfortunately, yours may be one of them. For entities that send large amounts of email that are focused on marketing, they are required to have a way for users to easily unsubscribe from the email lists. This means that a one-click unsubscribe option must be made available within the content of the email for users to easily locate.
Those who receive unsubscribe requests are required to fulfill that request within two days.
Keep Spam Rate Low
When a user marks your email as spam, it is tracked by the email provider. Google and Yahoo require that an individual or organization keep a spam complaint rate of less than .3%, which would be three reports for every 1000 emails sent. If you are worried, however, keep in mind that the industry standard is .1%.
Ultimately, these processes are in place to ensure that users receive the email marketing they want and easily move on from what they don’t. With the right digital marketing team, you can effectively promote your business or organization while meeting the new guidelines.
If you are ready to stay out of the digital doghouse, contact Arca Interactive and let our team help you continue to innovate, inspire, and ignite your brand.
