If you are a bulk email sender, you need to be aware of the new policies that Google and Yahoo are implementing from February 2024. These policies are designed to make email more secure, less spammy and more user-friendly for recipients. In this blog post, we will explain what these policies are, why they matter and how you can prepare for them with the help of Constant Contact.
What is Constant Contact?
Constant Contact is an online marketing platform that helps you create effective email and digital marketing campaigns to meet your business goals. With Constant Contact, you can:
- Easily design and send professional-looking emails that match your brand
- Reach more customers with SMS marketing, social media marketing and Google Ads
- Automate your marketing with advanced tools like AI-powered content creation and subject line recommendations
- Track your results with real-time reports and analytics
- Grow your audience with sign-up forms, landing pages and list management features
- Integrate your favorite apps like Google Contacts, Office 365, HubSpot, Gmail, Wix and Squarespace
- Get expert support and advice from their award-winning customer service team
What are the new policies?
According to Google and Yahoo, bulk email senders are those who send more than 5,000 messages to Gmail or Yahoo addresses in one day. The new policies cover three main areas:
- Email authentication: You will need to set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for each domain that sends mail. These are security protocols that verify the sender’s identity and the integrity of the message. They also prevent your domain from being spoofed by attackers.
- One-click unsubscribing: You will need to provide a clear and easy way for recipients to unsubscribe from your mailing list in every message you send. This means using a standard “List-Unsubscribe” header or a prominent unsubscribe link.
- Honoring unsubscribes promptly: You will need to process unsubscribe requests within two days and stop sending any further messages to those who opted out.
Why do these policies matter?
The new policies are meant to benefit both senders and recipients of bulk email. For senders, following these policies can help you improve your email deliverability, reputation and engagement. For recipients, these policies can help them reduce spam, protect their privacy and control their inbox.
How can you prepare for these policies with Constant Contact?
The new policies will be gradually enforced from February 2024, with increasing rejection rates for non-compliant email traffic. To avoid any negative impact on your email campaigns, you should start preparing as soon as possible. Here are some steps you can take with Constant Contact:
- Use their Email Authentication feature to automatically set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for your custom domain. This will ensure that your emails are authenticated and trusted by Google and Yahoo.
- Use their Unsubscribe Management feature to automatically add a standard header or link to your emails that allows your recipients to easily opt out of your communications. This will also update your contact list and prevent you from sending unwanted emails.
- Use their Spam Checker feature to analyze your emails before sending them and get tips on how to improve your content, subject line and design. This will help you reduce your spam complaint rates and increase your open rates.
By following these steps with Constant Contact, you can ensure that your emails reach your subscribers’ inbox and comply with the new policies from Google and Yahoo.
