Future-Proof Your Emails: New Email Rules Ahead – Act Now!

Hey there

Wish you a very happy new year! Hope this email finds you thriving and your business soaring to new heights! ✨

Today, I’ve got something urgent to share with you. Google and Yahoo recently announced new email sender requirements that are going into effect in February 2024.

I understand that there’s a lot to digest when it comes to these changes - and I’m here to help. I will be sharing a checklist and a tentative schedule below that you can follow to effectively navigate this.

Some of these new requirements will automatically be taken care of for you by Klaviyo.

Who will be impacted by these new requirements?

Everyone – especially bulk senders, or brands that send more than 5,000 emails per day. If these new requirements aren’t met, you'll start experiencing deliverability issues with emails sent to Google and Yahoo email addresses.

However, these are 6 main requirements that Google/Yahoo are asking senders to meet:

1. Dedicated sending domain (or branded sending domain)

2. Align your “From:” header with your domain

3. Setup SPF & DKIM

4. Set up DMARC authentication for your sending domain

5. Make unsubscribing easier and clearer

6. Keep spam rates low

1. Branded sending domains

Also known as dedicated sending domains - give you better control over your sender reputation. They also improve your branding in the "from" address in the inbox by removing the sent “via klaviyomail.com” disclaimer. Branded sending domains are a great deliverability best practice, and are a requirement for bulk senders who regularly email Google and Yahoo recipients starting in February-2024.

If you need help - follow Klaviyo’s guide on setting up a branded sending domain.

2. Branded from address:

This applies to all senders, not just bulk senders.

Don’t use Gmail or Yahoo email addresses in your friendly "from" address. If you are using @gmail.com or @yahoo in the “from” address of your emails, switch the "from" address over to a website domain you own.

Your friendly “from” address (sometimes referred to by Google as your friendly “from” header) is what your subscribers see in their inbox as your brand’s email address.

The domain in your friendly “from” address must align with the root domain in your branded sending domain.

So, if your branded sending domain is called send.kvyodc.com, the root domain would be kvyodc.com. Therefore, using [email protected] as your “from” address would be in alignment with the root domain.

Avoid using your sending subdomain in your “from” address because you cannot configure an inbox for responses on this subdomain. In this example, you would avoid sending emails from [email protected]. Other subdomains that are not being used for sending are totally fine to use as your “from” address, like [email protected].

3. Setup your SPF & DKIM Authentication

This requirement enhances the security and deliverability of your emails. Its focus is on authentication for your domain.

The great news for Klaviyo users is that these technical setups are already integrated into Klaviyo's solution, meaning they are already automatically taken care of.

4. Configure your DMARC policy

‍DMARC authentication is a protocol policy that servers use to make sure emails are coming from a legitimate sender.

DMARC authentication is set up in your DNS provider (like GoDaddy or Cloudflare). If you do not already have a DMARC policy in place, configure a DMARC policy* on your root domain that contains the following:

• v=DMARC1

• p=none

• Set an rua tag with a valid email address to receive DMARC reports. For example, "rua=mailto:[email protected]"

If you already have a DMARC policy in place, you do not need to make any changes to your p tag value. Just make sure you have an rua tag set up with a valid email address included in your policy.

👉 Note that Klaviyo cannot set up DMARC policies on your behalf

5. Make it easy to unsubscribe:

One of the new sender requirements is that every email must include a one-click unsubscribe link. The good news? Klaviyo is taking care of this for you. To help every user meet this new requirement, Klaviyo will automatically add a one-click unsubscribe link to the header of every email.

6. Maintain Low Spam Rates (All Senders)

‍The new requirement mandates senders to keep their spam rates below 0.3%. While low spam rates have always been a best practice, requiring this low threshold gives brands the tools and guidelines to maintain a quality sender reputation, ultimately boosting brand trust and image.

You can check this metric in deliverability section for your brand.

Tentative schedule that you can follow:

1. Jan-2024 Week 1

   1. Setup dedicated sending domain, from address, DMARC

   2. Keep the engaging / transactional flows ON - Welcome flow, Checkout abandoned flow, Browse Abandoned Flow, Thank You Flow

   3. Switch OFF the other flows - Back in Stock, Cross-sell Flow, Winback Flow, Sunset Flow, Birthday Flow

   4. Don’t send any campaigns in this week if you have set-up dedicated sending domain now.

2. Jan-2024 Week 2:

   1. Send a campaign to 7-days engaged subscribers

   2. Send another campaign 2-3 days later to 10-days engaged subscribers

3. Jan-2024 Week 3:

   1. Send a campaign to 14-days engaged subscribers

   2. Send another campaign 2-3 days later to 21-days engaged subscribers

4. Jan-2024 Week 4:

   1. Send a campaign to 30-days engaged subscribers

   2. Send another campaign 2-3 days later to 45-days engaged subscribers

5. Feb-2024 Week 1:

   1. Send a campaign to 60-days engaged subscribers

   2. Send another campaign 2-3 days later to 90-days engaged subscribers

After this, you can resume your other flows and normal campaign sends.

I sincerely hope this helps. Here's to your email success! 🎉

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