3 important email marketing news that your brand for good must know about

Email is not a spring chicken (it is, in fact, a fabulous Gen Xer!), but it still works wonders if you know what you’re doing.

At the same time, the innovation with and around this channel never stops, and there are 3 important email marketing news that you, as a sender, have to know about and must strategically prepare for.

(Plus one more nice-to-know news.)

1. Sending emails to Outlook users? Get your account ready

More than a year after Google and Yahoo published their email domain authentication requirements, Microsoft is following in their footsteps.

In other words, if you’re sending emails to Outlook users, you’d better be sure that your email account is set up correctly, authenticated, and verified with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. 

Don’t have those in the background? Your emails will end up in the spam/junk folder (boo!).

This new requirement from Microsoft will kick into gear on May 5th and is especially relevant for larger senders (5k+ emails/day). Even if you don’t send as many emails, honestly, you can’t afford not having it.

If you don’t have those records set up, your Email Service Provider will have an article with a step-by-step process for it.

Why is this good news for you as a sender?

Not that you send those, but your subscribers are getting bombarded with spam emails all the freaking time. Authenticating your email domain sends a signal to inbox providers that your emails are legit, and ensures that what you send will actually get delivered to your subscribers.

2. Google can now automatically share your marketing emails’ content in their Search, Shopping, and Maps

This is particularly important if you sell any physical products, and want your customers to find and buy your goods through Google. 

There’s plenty of information Google extracts from emails now:

• Upcoming or ongoing sales and promotions

• Links to your socials and highlighted content there

• Brand images, videos, voice, and even values (hooray!)

Why is this good news for you as a sender?

Because you’re getting more visibility without needing to do much. Win-win for everyone!

But if that’s not your jam and you don’t want Google to use your email marketing content, you can opt out of this feature through your Merchant Center account settings.

3. Speaking of Google, Gmail users got a new subscription management center

This is not something I’ve personally seen in my inboxes yet (yes, I have 5 of them, act surprised), but the tech giant is rolling out a new feature where people can see and manage all of their email subscriptions in one place.

As a user, it makes sense, and it’s a good feature to have. As a sender… that makes things a little tricky.

It means that in addition to the one-click unsubscribe button next to your sender’s name (which is a Google feature) and the one at the bottom of every email you send (which you must include via your ESP), there’s one more place for subscribers to opt out of emails.

So how do you minimize potential damage?

(My clients aren’t worried, because regardless of new features, this is how we roll -)

• Send emails that your subscribers actually want to read

• Show up consistently (whether it’s twice a week or once a month) and deliver on what you promised

• Make sure your subscribers are familiar with your brand (“from” name, logo, the whole shebang) and like your brand

• Segment strategically and send relevant emails to your subscribers and where they’re at in their journey

• Empower your subscribers to choose and design their own inbox experience with your brand

I look at this feature like the argument about AI -

Senders who keep on yapping about themselves, deliver zero value, and just create copious amounts of generic noise will see a drop in subscribers. But senders who treat this channel wisely and with intent will continue to convert subscribers successfully. 

It’s that simple.

+1: Another Email Service Provider committed to being a force for good!

Brevo is now a B Corp-certified Email Service Provider. If I’m not mistaken, they’re the first one to officially get it.

I will have a much more in-depth experience with their products soon.

As always, no ESP is perfect - but there are ones that are right for you. It seriously depends on what you need it to do for you, what you want to achieve with it, and how you’ll use it. 

If you need help figuring out which ESP is the right one for you, setting up your email account properly, avoiding mass unsubscribes, and sending emails that actually convert more of your subscribers - check out my offers here.