You’re always hearing how important it is to be consistent and stay in contact with your list, so why are we telling you to stop? If you don’t perform regular maintenance to your email list, you’ll want to take a few extra steps before you send your next campaign.
Starting on December 1, 2023, Google initiated its first phase for changing how email is delivered. As the owner of a Gmail account, this is a good thing, but as a marketer, it can make it a little more difficult for your messages to land in the inboxes of the people who want to hear from you. So before we go any further, let’s understand what’s happening with this policy change and how it affects you.
Why is this Change Necessary?
In today’s digital world, online safety is a top priority and the need for robust internet security is one we all understand.
These abandoned and neglected accounts often use outdated passwords, don’t use two-factor authentication, and don’t undergo regular security checks when they’re compared with those that are used regularly. In fact, Google has found that inactive accounts are at least 10 times less likely to use 2-step verification compared to their active counterparts. These vulnerabilities mean those forgotten email accounts can be easy targets for identity theft or malicious activities like distributing spam.
The main focus for Companies like Google is to protect their users from various online threats and safeguard accounts from spam, phishing attempts & clandestine account hijacking. To achieve this goal, they invest in various state-of-the-art technologies and tools and yet, when the human factor is still a part of the equation, the threat remains. This is why new policy guidelines are being created.
What Are the Changes?
Earlier this year, Google announced that starting in December, “if a Google Account has not been used or signed into for at least 2 years, [they] may delete the account and its contents – including content within Google Workspace (Gmail, Docs, Drive, Meet, Calendar) and Google Photos.”
So What Does This Mean For Businesses and Marketers?
If you’re not regularly cleaning and scrubbing your list to remove inactive users, once these accounts are deleted, if you send them an email, you’ll receive what’s called a hard bounce. This signals that you’re emailing unengaged subscribers (and not really paying attention to your list). In the realm of email marketing, this is a red flag that negatively impacts your reputation as a sender. When this happens occasionally due to accounts slowly becoming inactive, the effect on your reputation isn’t so pronounced, but with a bulk deletion of unused accounts happening today, it could mean a larger percentage of hard bounces all at once.
Repeated or mass hits to your reputation as a sender affects the deliverability of your emails to ALL your subscribers and influences how likely Google (as well as other email providers) is to route your messages directly to inboxes, rather than categorizing you as a spam sender. This is why you’ll want to take action before you send your next email campaign.
So What Do You Do?
Clean your list! I know the words cleaning, scrubbing, and maintenance don’t evoke the most fun images, but just like you do for your home or your vehicle, you’ll want to ensure regular maintenance of your email list by implementing a regular and thorough cleaning process.
Check your email service provider’s specific directions for scrubbing your email list of people who aren’t opening your messages. It’s typically recommended that you remove anyone from your list that hasn’t opened an email in the last 3 to 6 months. While this might make your list appear smaller, it ensures that only those genuinely interested in hearing from you receive your messages, ultimately enhancing your open rate.
Don’t do a disservice to that amazing email you’ve written, clean your list before the next time you hit send and schedule regular maintenance on your calendar to keep your subscriber list healthy going forward.
And keep your eyes on this space, there are more changes to come in early 2024 that will affect how and when bulk emails (newsletters, marketing, and more) are delivered to inboxes for Google, Yahoo, and presumably Microsoft as well.
*Note: This policy applies exclusively to personal Google Accounts, not professional accounts for organizations and businesses.