29th February 2024

7 New Year's Resolutions Every Email Marketer Should Make

As the new year rolls in, and Google’s restrictions come into effect, it’s time for email marketers to up their game. From navigating authentication protocols to crafting compelling subject lines, these 7 New Year’s resolutions provide a ready-made to-do list that will help you develop an email strategy that is designed to deliver in 2024. Make this your most prosperous year yet, these recommendations might just be what you’re missing.

1. Set up DMARC authentication and mark that off your list

Start the year right and set up DMARC authentication for your sending domain. This is a simple trick to step in line with the new Google regulations. You can do this yourself in your DNS provider, by adding the TXT and/or CNAME records which can usually be provided by your email sending tool.

Rob Manley, Technical Director at Flourish, said: “The importance of authenticating your domains for sending customer emails is paramount, because without doing so, you are at risk of damaging your sender reputation. Unauthenticated email domains will cause your emails to be automatically sorted into Junk folders, meaning that all your hard work and beautiful brand messaging will not be seen by your audience. We work with partners like Validity to help optimise email sender reputation for clients across a range of industries, and the impact shows in terms of open-rates, click-through rates and actions taken – whether that’s sales or achieving other expected goals.”

(Check out our other blog on improving deliverability best practice.)

2. Get your “From” header in order

It’s time to align your “From” header with your domain. Gone are the days when start-up Gmail or Googlemail addresses can slip through the cracks as you’re spreading fresh marketing mail. Impersonating Gmail ‘From’ headers just won’t pass. Google, along with other email clients, are cracking down on spam level sent under the guise of useful marketing emails. This helps protect recipients from spam and enforce GDPR rules. It’s worth getting your own domain before February 2024, or else end up stuck in the spam folder…

Shared domains and unaligned addresses won’t fly in 2024. On the bright side, this is a great opportunity to upgrade your brand’s reputation. The name is the game to land your marketing every time.

3. Make your emails accessible

In the evolving landscape of email marketing, accessibility is no longer an afterthought—it’s a necessity. Creating emails that cater to all receivers is not just in keeping with Google’s new requirements, it also emphasises the importance of including those with disabilities. Email marketers should commit to accessible emails, for 2024, and for all the years after.

Considerations such as alt text for images, proper font sizes and colour contrasts, and using semantic HTML are a great way to begin. This broadens your market, inclusive of all the customers you’re now accessible to.

While you’re at it, why not think about the way emails will appear in dark mode? With the increasing popularity of dark mode across various platforms, email marketers need to adapt their strategies to accommodate this user preference. Dark mode alters the colour scheme of emails, impacting the visual appeal and readability.

Test your emails across variations of accessibility measures, and light and dark mode, to maintain readability and brand consistency. Watch your email interactions accelerate.

4. Testing and timing before sending emails

Testing your emails before sending and timing your outbox to monitor spam complaints are the key to unlocking inbox impact in 2024. A rigorous practice of A/B testing emails before you hit send should be a firm resolution for the new year. By investing time in pre-send testing, you not only uphold your deliverability but also guarantee a seamless experience for subscribers.

Quality email marketing means maximum profit, and not ending up flagged or in spam. As part of Google’s new requirements, you want to keep your spam rates lower than 0.30%. Google’s Postmaster Tools is here to help you do this or you can get in touch with experts at Flourish for comprehensive email marketing assistance.

5. Writing a Killer Subject Line

Of course, a captivating subject line is at the crux of email opens, and the success of email marketing. It’s a delicate balance—you want to be attention-grabbing without appearing spammy. Crafting a killer subject line should be top priority for 2024 if you haven’t already mastered this.

Consider personalisation, relevance, and urgency in your subject lines. Avoid deceptive tactics or clickbait, as they not only harm your sender reputation but may soon be penalised under the new regulations. Test different subject line variations to understand what resonates best with your audience, and always prioritise transparency and authenticity.

6. Make Unsubscribing Easier and Clearer

Simplify the unsubscribe process for your subscribers. Google mandates that marketing emails include a one-step method to unsubscribe and an unsubscribe link within the message body. A visible and straightforward unsubscribe process not only complies with regulations but also improves your deliverability, sender reputation, and customer engagement.

7. List maintenance

Finally, master your list maintenance, and consider your New Years’ resolutions list complete. This is a really simple way to make your email marketing more effective. A list with loads of disengaged or lapsed email addresses distorts reporting and testing perspectives. A high percentage of emails blocked or marked as spam not only hinders the journey to engaged customers, it hurts your sender reputation too. Plus, storing volumes of dormant addresses incurs unnecessary costs.

There are three big ways we can address this. Segment campaign audiences and removing non-engaged addresses. Eliminating obvious spam and bouncing addresses. Finally, use specific IP addresses or send domains for reactivation campaigns to safeguard your main domain’s reputation. And for extra care you could adopt a double opt-in approach and proactively unsubscribe non-engaged users for a cleaner and more effective email list. Deliverability, cost efficiency, and improved reputation – a fresh new sending list for a fresh new year!

As 2024 rolls in, in rolls many new opportunities open to email marketers. This year will be what you make of it, and these 7 resolutions are ones you won’t regret. Adapting to Google and Yahoo’s sender requirements is not just about compliance; it’s an opportunity to enhance the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of email marketing campaigns. Embrace the new Google requirements and unlock the true potential of email marketing. Oh… And Happy New Year from Flourish, stay in touch.

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