Manage Subscriptions is all about making unsubscribing easier and cleaner for users.

Rather than having to jump through hoops to unsubscribe, users have greater control over their inboxes and can easily reduce the amount of spammy or excessive marketing tactics they’re seeing on a regular basis.

This feature is rolling out slowly, and only some users currently have access, with bugs and fixes ongoing. It’s still better to be proactive and prepared than reactive and not ready!

Users will have crystal clear transparency on what they’re subscribed to and have the ability to easily, swiftly clean their inboxes of brands they don’t want to hear from - it’s a pretty big win for the average Gmail user in an age of clickbait, excessive emails from many brands.

• It could mean bulk clear-outs from time to time or more frequently
• It could also mean users may get into the habit of unsubscribing rather than excessively deleting with this easy-to-use feature

We’re not about to fearmonger (it’s not our style!), but it makes sense to anticipate an increase in unsubscribes that could be quite steep. 

Keep in mind that the commonplace excuse of users ‘forgetting to unsubscribe’ won’t apply anymore - if you want to keep landing in inboxes and being welcomed with open arms, you need to up your value game or risk being thrown into the unsubscribe abyss.

The way you track unsubscribes may (probably) need to change & measuring your Gmail users in alignment with their unsubscribe behaviour could provide insight.

Now more than ever, your segmentation and preference centres are crucial in understanding what your subscribers want and when. 

Microsoft will now require:

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication for anyone sending 5,000+ emails per day
• Real, functioning from & reply-to addresses
• Working unsubscribe links
• Proper bounce and complaint management

As with Gmail’s Manage Subscriptions, the name of the game is protecting users from spam and phishing and making it easier to have a cleaner, controlled inbox.

They also received additional email hygiene recommendations:

• Use valid, replyable “From” or “Reply-To” addresses that match your sending domain
• Include clear, easy-to-find unsubscribe links in marketing or bulk emails
• Regularly clean your email list to remove invalid addresses and reduce bounces
• Be transparent: use honest subject lines, accurate headers, and only email people who gave consent

Users will have cleaner inboxes with less spam and a greater ability to reply to or unsubscribe from real senders - greater inbox cleanliness and clarity!

They may potentially hear from fewer brands/senders, which could be a good thing = less crowded inboxes. 

Again, proactivity is the key, here.

If you haven’t already implemented full authentication, you’ll find your emails landing in spam or being blocked entirely.

Following best practices and maintaining tight list hygiene is an absolute must, and if you’re not too sure on how to keep your deliverability on point, check out our Simple Guide to Email Deliverability.

Ensure you’re not hiding your unsubscribe links - don’t be shy with them.

Let go of risky, old data - it’s not worth the end to all ‘just in case’.

Oh, and if you’re still using that no-reply@yourcompany.com email… it’s time to retire it. Forever.

You guessed it! More privacy and control. It’ll be far easier for users to unsubscribe or ditch a brand entirely, making the average user’s inbox a far more exclusive environment to land in.

It meets the needs of the users that they have been craving - you know, when you just want to grab a freebie but you don’t want to put your email in, as you know you’ll get spammed! 

First...stick to your promises! 

This feature could cause complications for businesses looking to foster long-term relationships and really build their trust with subscribers.

When aliases are turned off, higher bounce rates will be inevitable, and attribution in general will become more difficult.

If you’re not prioritising trust and value at sign-up already, you need to be if you want to avoid being on the chopping block!

Well, it doesn't really, as this is more B2B and managed by their organisation - it’s all happening behind the scenes.

They may see that they are not getting emails on time or at all from businesses and newsletters they’ve signed up for. 

[Sigh]. 

We’d love to write a blog without banging on about the devil that is click rates, but unfortunately, it has to be said.

Inflated opens & click rates are inevitable with security tools and filters, which can cause absolute chaos for everything from your A/B test results to positive engagement stats.

In short, diagnosing what is working well and what isn’t might become more tedious because you can’t rely solely on the data at face value.

You need to be:

• Monitoring suspicious click spikes
• Looking for all-link clicks and same-IP patterns
• Working with your ESP on filtering bots from reports

Users can now skip and skim through emails like Tinder because it’s easier. Add in the better organisation - even though it means more filtering - and it’s a pretty convenient feature for a lot of users.

It also means:

• Users can reply quickly & potentially learn quickly
• It makes it easier to sift out the emails they know they won’t engage with = higher deletion rates

Your preheader message might now be out of your control, which puts more emphasis on your subject lines as your primary way to catch attention.

Additionally, your tone, brand voice, and structure might be summarised or missed completely, alongside emails being miscategorised or buried completely.

It’s not all doom and gloom, though.

There are a few things you can do to combat this:

• Optimise your subject lines and top-line content (this is the area least impacted by these changes, so use this space wisely)
• Don’t rely on preview text alone
• Personalise to full impact, as users need far more incentive to click through 
• Build trust and recognition with senders’ names