Understanding the user perspective helps create better email experiences, reducing complaints and improving engagement.

"Put yourself in the user's shoes or just be a user. And we are all consumers as well. Like would you love to click on that email? Would you love to actually receive these emails and if not, why not?"

Takeaway:

• Think like your recipients to create more relevant emails.
• Send content that adds value and interest to the user.
• Enhancing user satisfaction improves engagement and results.

Analyze your email practices, monitor signals from mailbox providers, and adjust your strategy to reduce spam complaints.

"If you constantly hover around that threshold, you're probably doing something wrong and you already know that you're doing something, right? So you should start doing something right."

Takeaway:

• Review and adjust your email strategies if spam rates are high.
• Pay attention to signals like deferrals or throttling from providers.
• Make changes to improve content relevance and reduce complaints.

The new policies focus on ensuring users receive emails they want and can easily get rid of those they don't, enhancing overall satisfaction.

"We really come at this from the customer experience perspective, right? We want to make sure that our users have the best possible experience. They get the emails they actually want and we help them get rid of the emails they do not want."

Takeaway:

• Send relevant content that users have requested.
• Provide easy opt-out options to respect user preferences.
• Improving user experience fosters better engagement and email success.

Email authentication and compliance can be complex, and consulting with experts ensures that implementations are correct and effective.

"What I would love is for companies like you or other tool providers really to step up and say, hey, we can solve this in code... We can make this really as simple as, you know, literally just click a button... and we do the heavy lifting in the background."

Takeaway:

• Work with email service providers that simplify authentication processes.
• Use platforms that manage technical requirements for compliance.
• Allow experts to handle complexities, letting you focus on marketing.

Bulk senders must ensure compliance with authentication and unsubscription requirements, regardless of the volume they send.

"It's not like when you're sending 4999 that you don't have to follow any of these requirements. No, if you're sending a lot of the same emails to a lot of people, you're a bulk sender period and you will have to meet these requirements."

Takeaway:

• If you send the same message to many people, you're considered a bulk sender.
• Authentication and unsubscription requirements apply to all bulk senders.
• Avoid attempting to bypass policies by manipulating send volumes.

Maintaining a spam complaint rate below 0.3% is essential to avoid deliverability issues and comply with mailbox providers' policies.

"We chose 0.3% because... if your traffic sustains a spam rate above 0.3% you're probably already in a world of hurt anyway..."

Takeaway:

• Keep spam complaint rates below 0.3% to meet providers' thresholds.
• Regularly monitor complaint rates to identify issues early.
• High spam rates can lead to deferrals, bounces, and reputation damage.

Email marketers should educate themselves on authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and consult experts if necessary to ensure compliance with new requirements.

"If you do not understand or do not know how to properly authenticate your email or what DMARC really is or how DMARC really works, go find an expert, right? There are so many resources out there..."

Takeaway:

• Learn about SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to properly authenticate your emails.
• Seek expert advice if you're unsure about implementing authentication protocols.
• Use available resources to stay compliant with new email policies.

Providing a one-click unsubscribe link in your emails not only helps users easily opt out but also significantly reduces spam complaints, benefiting your sender reputation.

"We have seen by implementing this unsubscribe affordances in the UI... we have seen the spam rates go down and being reduced by 30 to 40%. So I think this is a win-win situation, right? Better user experience also better for senders."

Takeaway:

• Include a one-click unsubscribe to reduce spam complaints by up to 40%.
• Enhance user experience by simplifying the opt-out process.
• Protect your sender reputation by minimizing unnecessary spam reports.

Honoring unsubscribe requests promptly is crucial for maintaining user trust and complying with evolving email policies. Users expect quick action when they opt out, and delaying this process can harm your sender reputation.

"So, you know, let's say two days, that's probably reasonable, right. That's also something the user could reasonably expect as the technology has improved."

Takeaway:

• Process unsubscribe requests within two days to align with user expectations and Yahoo's requirements.
• Implement systems that allow immediate unsubscribes to enhance user experience.
• Quickly honoring unsubscribes helps reduce spam complaints and protects sender reputation.

Implementing email authentication protocols like SPF and DKIM, providing easy unsubscribe options, and monitoring spam rates are essential practices for email marketers to improve deliverability and user experience.

"When we really break them down these three things, which are you need to authenticate your email, you need to make sure that provide an easy unsubscribed option to users. And of course, you need to stay under a certain spam rate threshold. Like these are things we wanted senders or senders should be doing for a long time already."

Takeaway:

• Authenticate emails using SPF and DKIM to establish trust with mailbox providers.
• Include one-click unsubscribe options to respect user preferences and reduce spam complaints.
• Monitor spam complaint rates to maintain a good sender reputation.