Change is in the air.
In just a few short weeks – February 1, to be exact – Google’s new bulk emailing rules will take effect. Yahoo plans to roll out similar rules during Q1 as well.
If you’ve been on LinkedIn over the past few months, you’ve probably seen your fair share of conversations about it. Some have even begun to ask, “is cold email dead?”
Let’s dive into what this will really mean for the world of B2B outreach and talk about how you can navigate this brave new world with solid cold email strategies.
A quick summary of the new bulk email regulations
So here’s the TL;DR version: Google and Yahoo, two major email providers, want to provide a better experience for their users, so they’re adding restrictions for high-volume senders. Any domains that don’t follow those rules (with a complaint rate of 0.3% or higher) could end up with deliverability issues – meaning their emails won’t be seen by Google or Yahoo users.
What are the rules? Basically:
- Authenticate your emails based on best practices like SPF/DKIM/DMARC. This is something your company’s IT team will have a good handle on.
- Make it easy for recipients to opt out of emails and unsubscribe them within 2 days of their request.
- Send your emails to people who will want to see them (keep that complaint rate below 0.3%)
Is there an exception for B2B?
Something else you might want to know: Google has clarified that these changes will only apply to messages that are sent to personal (@gmail.com ) accounts, not Google Workspace Accounts. Which means that if you’re sending to business emails instead of personal ones (which is the case for most B2B sellers), then you likely won’t run into issues. Be aware that as of yet, Yahoo hasn’t said anything similar.
Still, this isn’t a deep dive on the regulations by any means, and we can’t give you legal advice on how to make sure you’re compliant (you’ll want to talk to your legal advisors or compliance team for that).
But what we can talk about is how B2B communication trends might shift in light of these moves.
What this means for B2B outreach
So…does this mean cold email is dead? Nah.
If anything, this shift will prompt GTM organizations to revamp their strategies to be even better so that they’re delivering value every time they email a prospect.
In fact, this is the direction that B2B email has been moving anyway. Google and Yahoo have just pressed their foot on the accelerator.
How to approach cadences in the new era of B2B email
What exactly is this “new direction” you should take with B2B email cadences? Well, we (and a few experts) have some ideas:
1. Build hyper-targeted lists
Now more than ever, you need to make sure your emails hit the inboxes of people who will find them super relevant. That’s been the goal all along anyway, right?
So take it up a notch and move beyond using just job titles to craft your list of recipients.
Build hyper-targeted lists with Lusha using tools like:
- Technology filter: find prospects that not only fit your ideal customer profile (ICP), but also use tech that indicates they might be a good fit.
- Intent: see which companies actively show buying signals for the kind of solution you offer.
- Funding data: get insights into a company’s funding, which can reveal whether they might be in a good position to buy.
- Engage: with our free email sequencing tool you can send email cadences to the super-targeted lists you build in the Lusha platform or extension.
2. Personalization is a must
It’s time to get personal. But how do you do that with automated email sequencing?
As you get extra intentional about your targeting, also think about the best way to segment your lists so you can automate and scale personalization.
Best practice here is to create tighter segmentation. Group contacts as specifically as possible; that way you can send cadences that can speak to prospects on a deeper level of personalization.
3. Use top-tier data
Be carefully where you get your data from. The lower the quality of your data, the more likely you are to get spam complaints.
That means as tempting as it may be, you need to avoid falling into the trap of buying lead lists. Often, those end up being sketchy and out of date.
Instead, source your data from a reliable platform. Even better if it’s GDPR and CCPA compliant like Lusha.
4. Consider shorter, higher-value cadences
Shorter sequences – think 2-3 emails – are less likely to get flagged as spam than longer sequences of 4-5 emails, according to a recent post by Lavender Co-founder Will Allred.
That means your email copy needs to be focused and tight – and deliver value immediately. So ditch those lifeless scripts and insert some personality. And with your hyper-targeted and segmented lists, you can include relevant challenges that will resonate with your recipients.
5. Go for multichannel outreach
You may be thinking that even with the focus on email quality, a shorter sequence just might not be enough for cold outbound. After all, it takes an average of 8 touches to get a meeting with a prospect.
The key is to rely on several kinds of touchpoints. In addition to using email cadences, try some social selling and reach out on LinkedIn.
And don’t forget Ol’ Faithful: picking up the phone and cold calling. It’s still a highly effective way to reach prospects, especially when paired with a solid email cadence. Look for direct dials so you don’t get stuck on the switchboard.
And try out Lusha – we recently beat out the competition in head-to-head cold calling duels, showcasing a higher hit rate than Apollo, ZoomInfo, and LeadIQ. Sign up to start for free.
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