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If your opens slid lately, it’s not just “summer slump.” Gmail now shows a Manage subscriptions screen that makes bulk unsubbing painless—and Google/Yahoo continue to enforce stricter rules on authentication, one-click unsub, and complaint rates. Clean, trusted senders will be fine. Sloppy ones will watch lists shrink and inbox placement wobble.
The fix isn’t a new tool; it’s a short checklist you can run this week: tighten auth, enable one-click, monitor complaints, and prune the dead weight.
Below is a practical playbook we’re using with founders to keep revenue emails in the inbox (and out of Promotions/Spam).
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SALES
What changed (and why you felt it)
Manage subscriptions = faster list pruning. Gmail now surfaces frequent senders and puts unsubscribe a tap away. Unengaged subscribers can clean house in minutes.
Bulk-sender rules tightened. You’re expected to authenticate your sending domain (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), support one-click unsubscribe, and honor removals quickly.
Complaint-rate reality. Treat 0.3% spam rate as the line you should never flirt with. Set your internal guardrail at <0.1% to stay safe.
Two quick mini-stories
B2B SaaS (~38k contacts). They enabled header-based one-click unsub, kept a visible footer link, and suppressed 180-day inactives. Complaints dropped under 0.1% and inbox placement rebounded within two sends. Nothing fancy—just compliance and hygiene.
Services firm (~14k contacts). A promo blast spiked spam to 0.32%. They paused, tightened segments to “recent open or click,” aligned a stray subdomain to DMARC, and resumed. Spam fell below 0.1% and replies recovered the following week.
The 60-Minute Inbox Triage
1) Authentication & alignment (15–20 min)
Ensure SPF and DKIM both pass for your sending domain.
Publish DMARC (start with
p=none; rua=mailto:…so you can monitor).Match your From: domain to the domain authenticated by SPF or DKIM (that alignment is what inboxes look for).
2) One-click unsubscribe (10–15 min)
Add List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post: One-Click via your ESP.
Keep a visible unsubscribe link in the email body.
Honor unsubscribes within 48 hours. It’s both respectful and protective of your sender reputation.
3) Complaint-rate check (10 min)
Open your deliverability dashboard/Postmaster view and check Spam Rate.
If you’re anywhere near 0.3%, pause big sends and fix list hygiene first.
Set a team target of <0.1% as your everyday operating norm.
4) Quick hygiene (10–15 min)
Suppress 90–180-day non-engagers from campaigns until they re-opt-in.
Exclude role accounts (info@, support@, sales@) from promos unless they opted in.
If you have a large legacy cohort, send a short re-permission note with a clear reason to stay—then remove anyone who doesn’t engage.
5) Identity clarity (5–10 min)
Use one familiar From name and From domain people recognize.
Separate marketing from transactional streams (different subdomains or senders) so reputation issues don’t cross-contaminate.
Simple Pre-Send Checklist
SPF/DKIM: PASS
DMARC: published and aligned
One-click unsubscribe: enabled
Spam rate: <0.1% (nowhere near 0.3%)
Segment: engaged only; role accounts excluded
From name/domain: consistent & familiar
Try this today (30 minutes)
Pull your last send and confirm DKIM = pass and DMARC = aligned.
Add one-click unsubscribe headers if they’re missing, and spot-check that removals process within 48 hours.
Prune the top 2% most unengaged contacts before your next campaign. It hurts for a minute and saves your reputation for months.
HEADLINES
Hot picks from the web
→ HubSpot’s 2025 State of Sales Report — Surveying 1,000+ sales pros, the report shows teams are holding steady (or improving) despite macro jitters; value and revenue outcomes now trump activity metrics. AI has moved from hype to habit—only 8% don’t use it, and reps rate it their highest-ROI tool—so double down on value proof while letting AI handle research, prep, and follow-up.
SOFTWARE
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That’s all for today.
Until next time,
Team B2B Whales
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