New Google Email Rules…What to do?
Google made the following announcement that will change the way things are done these days:
This announcement has many people scrambling to figure out how to circumvent these new rules and avoid issues like Google banning their emails altogether. Now more than ever, there’s a need to rethink how we manage email lists.
The Old Way of Developing an Email List
Gone are the days of building an email list of strangers where quantity is prime and quality is unimportant. These old email lists have a 0-10% open rate and a 0-1$ sales conversions. People can have tens of thousands of people on their email lists. These are the very people who may lose their accounts if they do not carefully curate their email lists.
Many marketers create an email list using opt-in pages that aren’t linked to any content. Instead, they are related to a gift, assessment, or graphic that a person just opts in to receive.
They are then put on an email list and are pretty unaware of where the email is coming from. They wonder how they arrived on this email list. People give their email and do not realize they are opting into a list. They think they are just putting in their email to get the gift. However, it turns out they are opting into an email list that might send them unwanted emails every day!
The old email follow-up method doesn’t focus on the value brought to the person on their list.. On the contrary, instead of engaging, relevant, value-laden content, it is just one offer after another. The emails are “ask, ask, ask” and very little valued content that will help the reader.
If people continue to make offer after offer and provide very little value, people will not open those emails. In this day and age, they may be reported as spam. Reports of spam are a serious violation of the new Google rules beginning in 2024.
Google will be looking at your Email Sender’s Reputation
It is important to develop a positive email sender reputation.
I know that Yahoo is also changing its email policies, as well as Google. Email services such as these will keep score and track unopened emails and spam reports. I, for one, want to make sure that the people I am sending emails to are not going to be reporting spam.
How will I do this? I will make sure that those who subscribe to my email list know what they are signing up for. It will be very clear what my subscribers can expect. My email subscribers will
- be getting updates
- free gifts
- training
- offers
- receive as much value as I can put in each email.
- they should expect one to two emails a week
- know that I only keep people on my email list who engage with my emails. All others will be removed.
- See how very easy and obvious it is for them to unsubscribe from my email list. I do not want people to feel hostage to being on my email list.
Be upfront about what subscribers can expect.
I know it is very important for people to know upfront what they can expect from me regarding subscribing. They need to have a very clear picture so that I know that those who subscribe will not report me as spam.
If I do these things, I am at least doing my best to avoid having subscribers who are going to report me as spam. Otherwise, they may get disgruntled and report it as spam. I need to keep my email reputation score as good as possible, and this is what I am learning is one of the best ways to go about it.
I can’t lie and say that this does not add a level of stress that I think the old timers never had to deal with when the email service providers did not punish spam emails.
To monitor my email reputation, I will have a weekly process that I engage in, by which I monitor the spam reports, unopened emails, and lack of engagement with my content. I will monitor this because I will remove people who are not engaging with my emails.
I know doing these things will help my overall email sender reputation.
The concept of “true fans”.
I will build an email list but the thought of losing the entire account to too many spam reports terrifies me. So, I must follow a plan that will ensure that I will not be adding unwanted subscribers to my email list.
My mentor introduced me to the concept of having “true fans” on my email list. I played sports, and now I avidly watch sports, so I love this analogy.
In sports, a “true fan” intentionally makes time to watch their team play. They buy team merchandise because they believe in their team. And no matter what, they cheer for their team even when they are losing or making mistakes. They are loyal, engaged, and interested in what is going on with their team- the good, the bad, the ugly. True fans don’t disappear when their team is not doing well; they stick with them no matter what.
Now, when I consider the idea of having a “true fan” of me, my blog, and the value I bring to them. It makes me feel excited for the future! It makes me feel like I can conquer all even though it will many times be an uphill battle.
True Fans Deserve Real Value
The only way to truly gain “true fans” is to give, give, give. If you send emails every day with very little content value and just littered with offers, you will lose the interest of those on your list. I am not sure how I will do this, but I plan to send emails with lots of value, and when it seems appropriate and relevant I will make offers that will help my readers.
There are plenty of potential subscribers to go around. There is no limitation so I am just going to work hard and hopefully get the types of subscribers I need for a good list. I just need to figure out what to write in my emails to provide them the value they deserve. So often, there are emails I receive and it’s just one offer after an offer, and I try to get off the list but am unable to.
This is why I want to make sure it is especially easy for my subscribers to have access to an unsubscribe button. I have myself “unsubscribed” only to find that it doesn’t matter, I STILL get those emails!! So hopefully, people will respect me enough to unsubscribe rather than just report me as spam.
True fans are people who intentionally opt into your newsletter/email list and they should know exactly what they are getting into.
Know, Like, Trust
Most people in the marketing business understand what it means to have your potential customers know, like, and trust you. But I am realizing that it is hard for that to happen without putting myself out there in an authentic way.
I am hoping that over time with this blog people will begin to see I am trying. Perfection is not going to happen, but I am trying to bring value by being authentic about my journey and sharing what I am learning.
I have to push through the self-doubt about writing good quality content, and just share what I know. It is not always easy to do when you are concerned about failing.
Today I hope I provided something of value that you can take away with you. I would love to hear about how you plan to build a quality email list. How you are making sure that you don’t get spam reported? Or any questions you might have, love a comment below, I love feedback!
Stephanie this was a very informative post, but the thing I liked the most was your statement about “bringing value by being authentic”. I think that really stands out in your post. Keep up the good work!
Hi Ken,
I appreciate your comment, Ken! Authenticity is of utmost importance to me. I do not want to suffer from imposter syndrome, and the main reason people experience this is because they are not true to themselves. I write, speak, and think in a way that reflects my true self. At times, I feel pressured to adapt a writing style that seems more casual and free-flowing, but it does not always align with my authentic self. Therefore, I have learned to accept that some people may not resonate with my style, but I cannot pretend to be someone else to please others. Thanks again for your input!
Best regards,
Steph
Hi Stephanie,
Excellent post!
This is a very detailed and informative article about the new email rules.
To answer your question on what I would do to avoid spam report, I will refrain from using method such as solo ads to build my email list.
Hi Atif,
Thank you for your comment. I hesitated to put my newsletter up because I don’t have the emails yet. I am working on that this week, so keep your eyes out for an email in the next few days. I am sorry that you have had to wait.
I am glad this blog post has provided some value for you. It is hard knowing what will meet that goal as that is my most important objective. I want people to feel this blog offers something to them. It’s slow and coming, but it will get there.
I hope to hear from you again,
Steph
Stephanie, thank you so much for this. Very valuable information regarding the email changes that have come in this February. You’ve captured them all beginning to end with all the correct advice. I’ll be bookmarking this page to reference it in the future to check I’m doing things properly. Also I subscribed to your newsletter and I received the first email with the free gifts. Thank you very much. However, I didn’t receive the second email. I did check in my junk email and it wasn’t there. I’ll give it another day and I’ll let you know in the group if I got it or not. I’m looking forward to your next post and learning more. Thank you so much, thanks, Atif
Hi Atif,
Thank you for your comment. I hesitated to put my newsletter up because I don’t have the emails yet. I am working on that this week, so keep your eyes out for an email in the next few days. I am sorry that you have had to wait.
I am glad this blog post has provided some value for you. It is hard knowing what will meet that goal as that is my most important objective. I want people to feel this blog offers something to them. It’s slow and coming, but it will get there.
I hope to hear from you again,
Steph
Stephanie, I’m so glad to see a post about this! I have heard about this new announcement and I heard it was going to happen. This is an explanation of how the online world can change and how we need to be prepared to change accordingly … i.e. evolve or “die,” right? I believe there will be so many in the online/digital marketing world that will not make it if they aren’t aware of these new and important changes. Thank you so much for creating such a detailed explanation of this!
Also… on a complete side note… the picture above (in the “true fans” section) is a picture of two Atlanta United MLS fans. Being from Atlanta (and also an Atlanta United soccer fan) I thoroughly appreciate you giving our crazy fans a shout out! 🙂
Hi Lauren,
Yes, shout out to Atlanta United MLS fans! I wanted a pic of hardcore fans, and this picture stood out; I am glad it brought a smile to your face! I am glad that the post was helpful to you. I know many are going to risk it and hope things turn out right. It will be interesting to see what tricks larger companies who have thousands upon thousands of emails on their list do with this.
I know I am trying to be very diligent about opening up emails from people I want to follow and ignore those I do not know how I got on their list in the first place. When I have tried to unsubscribe in the past, it hasn’t worked, so hopefully, with the new rules, they will just get removed eventually.
When I offer those lead magnets, I want to be clear that they are signing up for an email list. If they want to unsubscribe after receiving their free gift, that is up to them. But that’s what my hope would be: that people unsubscribe rather than not open or report it as spam.
Having two children, I have never been much for sitting and reading emails for long periods, so the emails that are shorter, more succinct, and to the point are the ones that I am more apt to read, which means that that is the way I plan to write my emails.
Thanks again for your comment!
Steph
I have to admit it is keeping me up at night trying to think of how to show up on this vast online world and offer something better or different to people than can’t already find elsewhere. These new email rules are great from the standpoint of a receiver, but as a fledgling entrepreneur with no reputation and very little experience yet under my belt – that voice in my head tries to convince me I have nothing to offer and my emails are going to flop. And without a healthy and responsive email list, I can’t say I have any business.
So, I just keep telling myself that I know more than some, and its just those some I need to speak to. And if I keep practicing and putting what I know out there, the rest will work out.
Thanks for your post, I found it reaffirming of the things I need to remember when developing my own content.
AK
Hi Acasha,
Thank you for your comment, it is good to here from other beginner affiliates. I think we have an advantage with the new email rules. We have an opportunity to only capture people who are true fans and interested what we have to offer (although it doens’t feel like much now of course). Those who have hundreds, if not, thousands of people on their email lists are going to have to comb through those lists and do a lot of work to make it so they don’t have too many spam reports etc.
But, I hear what you are saying about feeling like our little experiences is not much to give. I’m just trying to think of all the trainings I have received and all the information I am implementing and then trying to write about them here on this blog. I was sharing in another forum about how completely blown away I feel from reading bloggers who have been doing this for some time. They seemed so well versed and so educated I suffer by comparison.
But, here’s the thing. I feel intimidated by them, and that doesn’t lead me to want to follow them or engage with them. I like to follow blogs that are more down to earth and feel less perfect and professional. I am looking for blogs that are from people who are not stars yet, but are moving in that direction, that feels more comfortable and inspiring to me. So I have to believe that others feel the same. They may be looking to someone who is more like me, just far enough ahead of them to provide value, but not so far that it feels unattainable.
I hope this helps, keep on keeping on, Steph
Hi Stephanie,
Great post! Thanks for sharing. It is so important as you mentioned to provide value and make sure your informing your subscribers of what they can expect.
Being at the beginning of these new rules, it does make me nervous to not mess things up early on. I guess the positive side of this is it also keeps me from being careless with those on my email list.
Thanks again for the post!
Denny
I noticed you said it can be difficult to write a post when you are concerned about failing.
Something I’m learning about failure in online business is that it really only happens if you give up. If you are working on the skills, you’re not going to fail. Instead, you will only ever improve. I hope that eases your mind a bit 🙂
I really enjoy your blog. It’s so comfortable on the eyes and I enjoy your writing style and pics.
Keep up the good work! You are well on your way 🙂