[This is a repost from an article published in 2016 that still has a lot of attention.]
In 2016, both Gmail and Microsoft implemented a policy change requiring every email sent by one of their email addresses originate from their servers. These changes came about in late 2016, when Gmail and Microsoft update their DMARC policy from p=“none” to p=“reject”. This may feel like deja-vu. And indeed, we have been here before with Yahoo! and AOL.
Gmail and Microsoft updating their DMARC policies is a pretty significant change, and one that will affect more senders than you think. How many of you are using bulk emailing tools with your own email address in the from field? Exactly. Following the implementation of these changes, if you are bulk emailing with a Gmail or Microsoft address in your from field, your email will be rejected.
Suffice to say, if you use an @gmail.com or @outlook.com address to send out your newsletters from a third party service provider, you’ll experience delivery issues.
What is DMARC?
Let’s back up for a minute and make sure we all understand DMARC.
The acronym for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, DMARC is a protocol that confirms an email is being sent from the domain it says it’s from. (Other protocols include SPF and DomainKeys.) DMARC was created in 2012 to prevent email spoofing and all the nasty tricks that come with it, such as phishing and spam.
How this affects you (and what you can do about it)
If you are not using a Gmail, Hotmail.com, Live, MSN, Passport or Outlook account as your sender, sit back and relax. If you currently have a Gmail or one of the aforementioned Microsoft addresses in your “from” or “sender” fields, replace these with a non-Gmail, non-Microsoft email address… ideally an email address associated with your own hosted domain.
Click here to learn how : Changing my sender email Address
Check your “send to a friend” addresses too
Additionally, many marketers allow their users to email a friend via your website or email application. If your form has a user-specified “from” address, the email can get blocked if a user enters a Gmail or Microsoft email address. Make sure you update this field on your website, application or mailing system so that “send to a friend” emails are delivered by “sender name” <message@yourdomain.com>.
Need to read more?
Here are some useful posts from our archive that will help you prepare for Gmail and Microsoft’s upcoming DMARC policy updates:
Make sure people know who you are
Using Yahoo! or AOL? Here’s why your emails aren’t hitting the inbox.
