Gmail says: No funny (or smiley) business in friendly from
Google recently updated its email sender guidelines with clearer instructions on what not to do when it comes to your sender name (the friendly from) and your subject line. The main point: misleading or confusing sender info is bad news and can make Gmail unhappy.
I'd categorize these as things you really should have been avoiding all along. They are, in my opinion, unspoken best practices. Things that, while not broadly documented in the past, have long actually resulted in message blocking or other unhappy outcomes. (Ask me about the time that an emoji checkmark in the friendly from caused odd, intermittent Gmail blocking for a client.)
Use your sender name only to show who you are or what organization you represent. Keep it consistent and truthful.
Do not stuff subject line info or call-to-action bait into the sender name. Thinking about all caps, "URGENT REQUEST," "Important Update," or other things meant to mimic something other than the marketing message you're actually sending? Don't.
Never include the recipient's name or fake a reply thread in the sender name.
Sender names should not use emojis or other gimmicks that look like graphics, especially anything that could be construed as a mark of approval or UI element.
Do not spoof Gmail addresses or pretend to be someone else. (I note from experience that this can get tricky if you're trying to rewrite headers to handle email forwarding to work around DMARC limitations, and maybe you were thinking of stuffing original address info into the friendly from. Be careful -- you probably don't want to do this.)
Subject lines, headers, display names, and other message parts must accurately match the sender and the content. Do not use Re: or Fwd: in your subject unless it really is a reply or forward. Do not mislead people about who sent the message or who is receiving it.
I'm glad to see this newly documented ... sad as I am to think about why it is necessary to have it newly documented. But overall, I'll take it as a win, and you should, too. If you're supporting coworkers or clients who want to add these potentially deceptive elements to email campaigns, now you've got documentation to help make the case that if you don't follow these rules, you're going to have a heck of a time getting your email delivered to the inbox successfully. Deception impedes deliverability success.
Google recently updated its email sender guidelines with clearer instructions on what not to do when it comes to your sender name (the friendly from) and your subject line. The main point: misleading or confusing sender info is bad news and can make Gmail unhappy.
I'd categorize these as things you really should have been avoiding all along. They are, in my opinion, unspoken best practices. Things that, while not broadly documented in the past, have long actually resulted in message blocking or other unhappy outcomes. (Ask me about the time that an emoji checkmark in the friendly from caused odd, intermittent Gmail blocking for a client.)
Things to do (and not do), according to the latest version of the guidelines, include:
- Use your sender name only to show who you are or what organization you represent. Keep it consistent and truthful.
- Do not stuff subject line info or call-to-action bait into the sender name. Thinking about all caps, "URGENT REQUEST," "Important Update," or other things meant to mimic something other than the marketing message you're actually sending? Don't.
- Never include the recipient's name or fake a reply thread in the sender name.
- Sender names should not use emojis or other gimmicks that look like graphics, especially anything that could be construed as a mark of approval or UI element.
- Do not spoof Gmail addresses or pretend to be someone else. (I note from experience that this can get tricky if you're trying to rewrite headers to handle email forwarding to work around DMARC limitations, and maybe you were thinking of stuffing original address info into the friendly from. Be careful -- you probably don't want to do this.)
- Subject lines, headers, display names, and other message parts must accurately match the sender and the content. Do not use Re: or Fwd: in your subject unless it really is a reply or forward. Do not mislead people about who sent the message or who is receiving it.
I'm glad to see this newly documented ... sad as I am to think about why it is necessary to have it newly documented. But overall, I'll take it as a win, and you should, too. If you're supporting coworkers or clients who want to add these potentially deceptive elements to email campaigns, now you've got documentation to help make the case that if you don't follow these rules, you're going to have a heck of a time getting your email delivered to the inbox successfully. Deception impedes deliverability success.Read the full updated guidelines here: Gmail Email sender guidelines
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