6 email deliverability best practices when sending to Yahoo mail

4 min read

August 15, 2024

Deliverability is top of mind for marketers in the know.

Your well-designed products, beautifully positioned and accompanied by sharp, witty copy in marketing emails, won’t do much good if they don’t make it into inboxes.

But since Google and Yahoo’s updated sender requirements went live in early 2024, it’s become even more crucial to focus on the nitty-gritty.

The Klaviyo deliverability team is here to support you with a series of blogs that give you actionable tips to consider when sending to a particular inbox provider. Here are 6 crucial tips for sending to Yahoo mail addresses.

1. Listen to your subscribers

If your subscribers aren’t engaging, continuing to send to them is hurting your sender reputation.

Klaviyo suppresses email addresses that have hard bounced or reported you as spam. However, subscribers who are no longer engaging with your messaging are telling you they’re not interested at that time. Removing them from your regular sends will keep your reputation with Yahoo positive and allow your messages to get to the inbox.

Deliverability tip: Try changing the frequency you send to your lesser engaged subscribers before removing them from your list. Create a sending schedule based on email engagement.

2. Email authentication

Make sure you set up DMARC, and make sure you have an email address for DMARC reports to go to.

Don’t just stay with P=none. Use the email address to receive the reports and monitor who’s using your domain. Once you have a clear understanding of who should be using your domain, then drive toward P=Quarantine and ultimately P=Reject. You can use third-party tools like Valimail to assist in this process.

Learn more about email authentication.

3. Send marketing emails consistently

If you send emails on a regular basis, and you have a sudden spike of activity, Yahoo could flag you as a compromised sender.

The best way to protect yourself against this is to honor the intended cadence of a particular segment. When ramping up your sends, never send more than double your previous average send.

Deliverability tip: Have a big sale coming? Plan for it and ramp up your volume over time to avoid sudden spikes in volume. That way, you warm your reputation to the expected volume for the big day.

Learn more about ramping vs. warming.

4. Personalize your content

Neither your subject line nor your email content should be generic. Make sure you personalize your marketing messages so your subscribers find them relevant. This way, you minimize your chances of being marked “spam”, which can hurt your sender reputation.

Learn how to customize your templates and content and create a campaign content calendar.

Testing tip: When developing new templates or content you haven’t used previously, it’s important to test. Make sure you go beyond just how things look—take note of where they land (inbox or spam filter). Sending to seedlists or your own personal addresses for a number of inbox providers will help you double check your content prior to the big send.

Learn how to test your email content to identify spam triggers.

5. Send re-engagement campaigns to the unengaged

It’s a good idea to check in on your unengaged segments periodically. Send re-engagement campaigns with incentives to open, click, and buy.

A re-engagement series should be part of your messaging landscape all year. A good re-engagement campaign and sunset policy can significantly improve your reputation.

6. Keep your spam complaint rate under 0.3%

It’s important to keep spam complaints of all types low. Yahoo requires that your spam complaint rate remain under 0.3%. You’ll see spam filtering or possibly even temporary blocks if you go above that rate. Through consistent monitoring and following steps 1-5 above, you can keep your spam complaint rate low.

Deliverability tip: Best practice is to keep your spam complaint rate under 0.1%. That way, if there are any anomalies that temporarily drive up the rate, you’re unlikely to go above 0.3%.

Learn how to reduce spam complaint rates.

Ensure top-notch deliverability to Yahoo Mail

Achieving strong email deliverability to Yahoo Mail requires a strategic approach that goes beyond crafting great content. By keeping spam complaint rates low and adhering to these best practices, you solidify your position as a trusted sender and set your email marketing program up for success.