Staying one step ahead: Expert advice for bulk senders

In the ever-evolving landscape of email and retention marketing, getting the right message to your clients is more important than ever. However, in order to protect people’s inboxes, Gmail and Yahoo, two of the most prominent email service providers, are gearing up to roll out significant changes aimed at combating spam from bulk senders. These updates, designed to protect customers from spam, phishing, and junk, are also likely to catch brands in the mix unless proper steps are made to ensure sender deliverability.

Orita’s best-in-class partners have helped to put together a couple of tips to ensure that come June 1, brands are prepared for the upcoming changes.

So…what's happening?

Sammy Tran, Founder and CEO of BMO Media, a leader in the retention marketing space, shares some details surrounding the new state of email:

The new Gmail & Yahoo requirements taking effect on June 1st is going to change the email industry. You might have seen notifications in your ESP about getting a dedicated sending domain, DMARC install, etc. However there is one item on the checklist that we can’t fully control: spam rates.

Five years ago, we were able to batch and blast our list with little to no repercussions. Now, Gmail is going to be hammering down on spam rates. If you ever reach as little as 0.3% spam as a bulk sender (5k+ email volume per day), you’re going to run into deliverability issues and potentially be blocked by Gmail.”

Ok…but why?

Both Gmail and Yahoo have long employed sophisticated algorithms to filter out spam, but as spammers become more sophisticated, so must the defenses. These upcoming changes reflect a proactive approach to maintain the integrity and usability of their email platforms. Both Gmail and Yahoo are approaching this problem with slightly different tactics.

“Every campaign presents an invaluable opportunity to assess and optimize your deliverability. Take a proactive approach by carefully examining your campaign deliverability tab and assessing performance across different email carriers.”

Maya Juchtman
Director of Retention Marketing, Roswell

How will this impact my brand?

“Segment windows of 180+ days are a thing of the past. iOS15 updates have caused email open events to be inflated and not a measurable KPI. We are recommending to tighten segments to 30 days for open, and up to 60-120 day windows for lower funnel metrics such as click, active on site, viewed product, or added to cart.” - Sammy Tran, BMO

For users of Gmail and Yahoo, these changes are expected to result in cleaner, more manageable inboxes. However, it's essential for legitimate senders, particularly those who send emails in bulk for marketing or informational purposes, to adapt to these changes. Ensuring that emails are targeted, relevant, and compliant with best practices for email marketing and deliverability will be crucial to maintaining a positive sender reputation and avoiding being flagged as spam.

So what do I do now?

“Every campaign presents an invaluable opportunity to assess and optimize your deliverability. Take a proactive approach by carefully examining your campaign deliverability tab and assessing performance across different email carriers.” -Maya Juchtman, Director of Retention Marketing at Roswell

Orita partners with experts in the email marketing space to help brands tap into their full potential. Below are some of the top recommendations for maintaining high deliverability in the midst of these upcoming changes:

Maintain a Clean Email List

• Clean your list regularly by removing inactive subscribers and bots. We have partnered with Orita for all our brands to ensure this happens on a weekly basis.

• Use segmentation to target active subscribers effectively.

Improve Email Content

• Personalize content using first-party data you collect, such as the first name, items they have purchased, and other properties you collected.

• Craft relevant subject lines to boost open rates.

• Create engaging and valuable content for your audience. We have seen brands improve click-through rates with problem-solution-based emails.

Monitor Email Performance

• Track key metrics like open rates, click-through rates in your ESP

• Monitor spam complaint rates with Google Postmaster as no ESP tool will be able to show this number

Perform A/B testing to optimize email performance

• Segment based on engagement to target subscribers appropriately

Gabrielle, Klaviyo Champion, and the Marketing Lead at ebusiness pros, provides some tailored advice on how to create email content that will improve open rates and bolster engagement.

“An often neglected piece of deliverability is the sender name that says who the email is from when it lands in your inbox. You’d be amazed how many times I see a marketing email sent by a brand with a “from name” that gives zero context and runs the risk of getting flagged as spam by the recipient.”

Bottom line, tie it back to your brand. Especially at the beginning, when someone’s just signed up for your marketing emails and they’re receiving your Welcome Series flow.

Make it obvious who’s sending the email and that they’re trustworthy. People are constantly distracted, and if they’re just getting to know your brand, it’s easy to forget signing up for emails in the first place - especially if their inbox is already full of notifications.”

As email remains a cornerstone of communication in both personal and professional settings, it's imperative for email service providers - and the brands that use them - to stay vigilant against spam. Gmail and Yahoo's upcoming changes to bulk sender spam rates demonstrate their commitment to providing users with a cleaner, safer, and more efficient email experience.

And, finally, Orita is here to help. If you’re concerned about how to stay ahead in the increasingly challenging world of email, Orita is here to help combat deliverability challenges and ensure that every email lands exactly where it’s supposed to be. You do the marketing, let machines do the rest.