Google has made some recent changes to Gmail that may have an impact on your email marketing efforts (if they haven’t already). Read on to find out what you need to know!

Block and Unsubscribe

Implemented in late September, Gmail now allows users to block specific email addresses. In addition, this unsubscribe option is available on Android devices, so users can opt out of your mailing list directly from their Gmail app.

This functionality makes it easier than ever for your recipients to unsubscribe from your mailings – all the more reason to redouble your efforts to create and send engaging, relevant and highly compelling messages!

See the full blog post on Gmail’s Block and Unsubscribe functions here.

Snooze

Google has made the “Snooze in Inbox” function even more convenient. Gmail users can now “snooze” emails until the exact moment they need them.

For example: The only way you can get into the hot new restaurant in your town is to make dinner reservations weeks in advance. You wouldn’t want to risk forgetting about those reservations, so you can snooze the email confirmation until the day of your dinner. At that time, it will pop up at the top of your inbox, making it easy to find – and serving as a convenient reminder for you.

According to Gmail product manager Vijay Umapathy, “When you snooze an email that has dates and times – like event confirmations or shipping notifications – you’ll get a one-tap option to snooze to exactly the right time, like the day of your concert or the morning your package will arrive.”

(In case you weren’t aware, Net Atlantic added a snooze function to our email marketing platforms a couple of years ago – so you can “hold your mail” while on vacation, or anytime you know you won’t have access to email).

See the post on the official Gmail Blog for the specific types of emails the Gmail snooze function can be used for.

Gmail Postmaster Tools

With Gmail Postmaster Tools, Google provides detailed reporting that helps qualified, high-volume senders ensure their email reaches their recipients’ inboxes – not their spam folders.

According to Google, you can now analyze your email “using data on delivery errors, spam reports, and reputation” to diagnose issues, define best practices, and ultimately help Gmail get your messages where they need to go – into recipients’ inboxes.

Check out our recent blog post for more details.

Now that you know what Google has been up to, you can put a plan together on how to work with (or around!) these changes to get the most from your campaigns. And if you’re not sure what to do, just give us a call. We’ll be glad to help you figure out the best way forward.