I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
Bulking Up Email Protections
Are you aware of the new guidelines Google and Yahoo (AOL) will be implementing in February as a way to help reduce spam and malicious emails?
Don't feel bad if you're not. I just learned about this last week and it totally blindsided me.
If you currently send out bulk email, i.e., to a email list, or plan to in the future, then you're going to want to pay attention.
To be honest, the majority of the changes impact bulk senders who distributed 5,000 emails per day. But, this isn't just 5,000 emails at a time. It's cumulative. So, if you do have a robust list, you might meet the threshold.
Additionally, as far as I understand it, you'll no longer be able to send any amount of bulk messages from a free Gmail account. So, if you're still using Gmail as your business email address, you're going to need to switch to one connected to your URL.
I've been using free business email accounts through Zohomail, which is based on Gmail, for over a decade. However, you should also check with your domain manager or website host to see if a free email account is included with your services.
For a lot of us who have smaller lists, there's definitely less to worry about, but there's still work to do to prepare.
In terms of the more technical requirements, which all involve adding one or more records to your domain/cPanel, here's what I needed to do:
- Set up and verify my email domain (easilysaidndone.com) with SPF and DKIM authentication.
- Set up a DMARC record.
- Set up and verify my email domain on Google Postmasters Tools for Gmail. This allows Google to track the spam complaints associated with the domain to ensure compliance with their standards.
Other requirements you're probably already in compliance with—or your email platform is or will handle:
- Don’t impersonate the Gmail From: headers.
- Include a one-click unsubscribe header in your email template.
- Include a clearly visible unsubscribe link in the body of emails.
- Yahoo also expects unsubscribed accounts to be removed within two days.
I know this can be a lot to absorb, especially if it's the first time you're hearing about it. But, don't panic!
If you're not particularly tech savvy, get help from your email distribution platform, domain management provider, web manager or admin, or an IT help service (or good friend).
I am tech-savvy and I still needed some help!
If you'd like more info on these changes, here's the FAQ/Help from Google. I also found this article from GMass helpful even though I'm not a customer of theirs.
You may also want to search your email platform's help/support forum for specific instructions to get your account ready and in compliance ahead of the switchover.
Of course, if there's some other way you think I might be of help to you, please get in touch.
Until next time,
PS – If you missed it, last week I asked Are You Trying Too Hard?
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Easily Said & Done
I help entrepreneurs leapfrog over the typical potholes that derail most small businesses with inspiration, motivation, education, and support across a wide range of business topics drawn from over a decade of running my own business, teaching entrepreneurship for the City of New York, and coaching and consulting privately with dozens of women and minority small business owners. Honestly, why go it alone when help is an email away?
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