This October, Gmail introduced new policies for “bulk senders” — anyone who sends more than 5,000 emails to Gmail addresses in one day. While the headlines surfacing about the new guidelines may seem like major changes will be needed, as a BlueLena client, you’re already following at least two of the three new policies.
- You’re authenticating your email address. This is one of the first practices we do when we migrate your data to our ESP.
- You’re using a one-click unsubscribe. Every email you send has a one-click unsubscribe in the footer, a best practice we follow and a system rule in ActiveCampaign.
The third new policy surrounds spam rates: “Avoid a spam rate of 0.30% or higher, especially for any sustained period of time.” We can anticipate that Google will share a concrete number for that “sustained period of time” before the new policies are enforced in February 2024, but it would beneficial to keep an eye on spam rates starting now.
You can avoid a high spam by keeping your lists clean — like running a re-engagement campaign for subscribers who haven’t opened an email in 90 days, then removing any subscribers who are still unengaged after the campaign; sending only content that your subscribers have signed up for — e.g. do not send marketing emails to subscribers who have opted out of marketing emails; and providing simple opt outs and unsubscribe options within your emails.
At BlueLena, we follow best practices to avoid your emails ending up in spam, and going forward, we’ll be tracking spam rates even more closely. We’ll keep you updated on further details about Gmail’s new spam guidelines, and in the meantime, feel free to send us any questions you may have about the new rules.
About BlueLena
BlueLena is a strategy consulting and audience management platform founded in 2020 to support the sustainability of independent local media. By combining cutting-edge technology with expert-driven services, BlueLena helps over 250 news organizations across North America develop and manage subscription, membership, and donation models. Its unique shared-resource management approach provides publishers, regardless of size, with access to enterprise-level tools and personalized support, enabling them to focus on high-quality journalism while building loyal, revenue-generating audiences.
BlueLena is majority employee-owned, and backed by investors including Automattic(the parent company of WordPress), the Local Media Association, and Old Town Media.