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New DMARC rules: How your email campaigns will be affected from February 1, 2024
25 January 2024 | Email Marketing
Email is an ever-evolving channel. It is also one of your most important channels, as it allows you to reach your specific customers and newsletter subscribers. With valuable contact lists accessed through email, it's crucial for you as a marketer in the events and experiences industry to stay updated on changes in the email landscape.
Starting from February 1, 2024, a critical change will take effect. This change will impact how your emails are handled by major email providers like Gmail and Yahoo. It's about DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), an email authentication protocol that now becomes even more vital for your emails and campaigns to reach your unique recipients.
What is DMARC and why is it important?
DMARC is a standard that helps prevent email fraud. Thanks to DMARC, email providers used by the recipient receive information on how to handle messages that have not been correctly authenticated. Here are three reasons why DMARC is important:
• Prevents spoofing and fraud: DMARC helps prevent spammers from abusing your domain and sending emails in your name with a fake sender address. This protects your brand and its reputation.
• Secures your email messages: By ensuring that only legitimate email messages are sent from your domain, DMARC contributes to a higher degree of email integrity and security.
• Blocks unreliable email messages: DMARC protects your and your recipients' inboxes from false and malicious messages, contributing to a safer digital world.
Do you know what DMARC is and why it's important?
New DMARC rules – how they affect you
From February 1, 2024, all domains and senders who send large volumes of email must ensure they have correct DMARC settings. DMARC, previously considered an optional best practice, will no longer be optional.
More specifically, the rule change involves:
• Email messages of marketing type: The new, stricter rules pertain to marketing emails.
• Applies to you if you do bulk emailing: Gmail and Yahoo's new requirements primarily target senders who send large volumes of email. More specifically, the rules apply to senders who send more than 5,000 emails per day. If you are a smaller sender or only send transactional emails, you are less likely to be affected by the changes – but that doesn't mean you should or can ignore them.
Having correct DMARC settings in place is not just about getting your messages through – it's about protecting your brand's reputation and ensuring that your email campaigns are seen as credible by both recipients and email services.
DMARC in conjunction with DKIM and SPF
DMARC goes hand in hand with other email authentication methods, such as DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) and SPF (Sender Policy Framework). SPF is used to specify which servers and domains are authorized to send email on behalf of your organization. DKIM is used to ensure that the content of the email message has not been tampered with. A DKIM signature is a digital signature added to all outgoing email messages when DKIM is enabled. This signature is invisible to both the sender and recipient but can be identified by email servers.
If an email message cannot be authenticated using SPF and/or DKIM, DMARC comes into play. DMARC then acts as a policy that tells recipient services how to handle such mailings.
The new rules will affect you who use MarketHype.
How to prepare for the change
To adapt to the new DMARC rules, it's important to review your current email settings. Ensure that your DMARC, DKIM, and SPF settings are correctly configured. Usually, someone in the IT department is knowledgeable about how these settings are made. And if you're unsure how to proceed, consider consulting an expert in the field.
It's important to act now to ensure that your emails continue to be effective and reach your target audience.
Using MarketHype? Contact our Customer Success Team at success@markethype.io for help getting started with DMARC.
What happens next?
As mentioned, the law change, effective February 1, 2024, applies to large senders. However, the requirement for correct DMARC settings is likely to become a requirement for all senders in the future. Moreover, it's rarely a good strategy to ignore rules and legal requirements like these and hope that you won't be examined.
So, whether you send one email a day or millions, it's better to try to protect your domains, avoid spam, and follow best practices. After all, you want to keep your subscribers safe and maintain a good reputation as a sender, right?