Google and Yahoo! both introduced new requirements for email senders that became effective as of February 1, 2024. These changes are intended to enhance email security and protect users from spam and phishing attacks. The email rules will impact how emails are authenticated and delivered. If your law firm marketing plan includes email marketing (and it should!), you will want to review your current policies and procedures for compliance.

Email Authentication and Deliverability

Properly authenticating your emails has always been a best practice, but not all senders adhere to these email marketing guidelines. By failing to authenticate emails, senders inadvertently open the door for bad actors to impersonate domains and engage in phishing activities. Google and Yahoo are committed to safeguarding their users, and they’ve decided that email authentication and deliverability best practices are no longer optional.

Key Requirements for Email Senders

• Authentication: Senders must properly authenticate their emails using DKIM, SPF, and DMARC. These protocols verify that emails originate from legitimate sources and prevent unauthorized use of domains. A brief explanation of each protocol appears below.
• Spam Prevention: To maintain a healthy sending reputation, keep your spam complaint rate below 3%. Monitoring this metric ensures that your emails don’t end up in recipients’ spam folders.
• Unsubscribe Process: Allow recipients to unsubscribe easily by providing a single-click link. Additionally, honor unsubscribes within two days to respect user preferences.
• RFC 5322 Compliance: RFC 5322 is an Internet standard that defines the correct format for email messages, including message body, headers, and attachments. Law firm email senders are advised to follow these Internet Message Format standards for emails. Consistency in formatting ensures better deliverability.
• Valid Reverse DNS Records: Ensure that your sending server IP addresses have valid reverse DNS records. This step contributes to reliable email delivery.

Here is more information on the authentication protocols mentioned above.

• DKIM. DomainKeys Identified Mail is an email authentication method designed to detect forged sender addresses in email, a technique often used in phishing and email spam.
• SPF. Sender Policy Framework is an email authentication method which ensures the sending mail server is authorized to originate mail from the email sender’s domain. This authentication only applies to the email sender listed in the “envelope from” field during the initial SMTP connection.
• DMARC. Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance is an email authentication protocol. It is designed to give email domain owners the ability to protect their domain from unauthorized use, commonly known as email spoofing.

Information for Constant Contact Email Subscribers

As a Constant Contact partner, I’m happy to share their article titled, “Changes to Google and Yahoo’s email authentication requirements.”

If you are interested in learning more about Constant Contact email services for your law firm’s email marketing plan, click on the link to visit Constant Contact.

Law Firms That Send Emails

While these requirements primarily target large bulk senders—those who send over 5,000 emails per day—law firm that send emails as well as and transactional email providers should also take note. Even if you’re not a high-volume sender, adhering to these guidelines will improve your email deliverability.

Remember, email authentication isn’t just a technicality; it’s essential for maintaining trust and ensuring your messages reach the inbox. Stay informed, implement the necessary changes, and keep your email communication secure.

Email Compliance Resources from Google

Define Your DMARC Record
Add Your DMARC Record

Related Law Firm Marketing Articles

Courting Your Clients E-Book
Take Our Law Firm Marketing Test
Turn Membership Organizations into New Law Firm Business
Article Writing Can Drive Law Firm Marketing Success

The “Courting Your Clients” Legal Marketing Agency

We want to serve as your outsourced law firm marketing department! Courting Your Clients is offered exclusively by Legal Expert Connections, Inc., a national law firm marketing agency. We have helped more than 250 law firms in 40+ states pursue new client opportunities as of late 2023. Our focus is on the business-to-business market, including but not limited to business law, insurance defense, employment defense, commercial litigation, and immigration law.

We are experienced in many lines of legal liability and regulatory requirements, including auto, business, construction, cybersecurity, elder law, employment law, ERISA, homeowners, immigration, insurance, intellectual property, premises, products, professional liability, tax, transportation and trucking, trusts and estates, whistleblower, and workers’ compensation.

Our industry knowledge includes education, environmental, forensic accounting, healthcare, hospitality, manufacturing, municipal, professional services, real estate, restaurants, and retail.

Legal Expert Connections, Inc. offers three key benefits to law firms nationwide:

1. We serve as your outsourced legal marketing department. You get the equivalent of a “Chief Marketing Officer” level professional team for an affordable monthly investment. Our ideal client is a small law firm—from a solo practitioner to a 25-attorney firm—that needs marketing assistance but does not want to incur the cost and management time needed to maintain in-house staffing.
2. You get a structured business development process. We accelerate your growth with a multi-step legal marketing campaign that brings discipline, focus, and productivity to your marketing efforts.
3. Increase revenue with Bar-compliant legal marketing campaigns. We understand attorney advertising campaigns and can provide guidance in this regard. Ultimate compliance responsibility rests with the law firm.

Contact Margaret Grisdela, a legal marketing consultant, at 561-266-1030 or via email. Connect with Margaret Grisdela on LinkedIn.