The GMAIL Update Did More Damage Than I Thought...

I'm not going to argue with you about it. I appreciate you've done some testing, but at the end of the day you're only 1 person and that isn't proof in any scientific experiment.

In a few weeks people could get used to the promotions tab, so jumping to conclusions yet is hasty. Once people get used to it your emails could be found easier, especially if you have a niche outside IM where people don't sign up too every list in sight.

I'll take your feedback into consideration if I see a huge decrease.

I could not have said it better, Coby.

I too prefer to use a self-hosted option using SMTP services such as SMTP.com etc., - and like Coby wrote - (this is VERY important and prevents you from being blacklisted due to email spoofers and identity thieves using your email address to send out their spam) setting up SPF and DKIM is a crucial step in the process - and you can set that up yourself in your cPanel by clicking the "Email Authentication" icon -

As for Gmail, one click in my settings, and my inbox was back to the way it was before - one main inbox. So any marketers whose list I signed up for using my Gmail account are still getting my attention unless their mail was already going to the spam folder. LOL.

This is interesting about the open rates - and because of this I can't imagine any of the hosted autoresponder services being very happy about Gmail's change at all.

That there is the problem. Marketers seem happy to keep throwing money at providers who go out of their way to make marketing more cumbersome -- whether it's Google with its anti-"information harvesting" policy or autoresponder providers who go above and beyond CAN-SPAM requirements.

As seen in the damage-control blog posts to which I linked in my previous post, the providers can depend on the "positive thinking" crew to keep people glued to the providers.

I use the same strategy... Every email marketer should...

But my current testing is showing that I'm having to re-send half as often... Or in other words - I'm now getting the same amount of opens from ONE email that was previously taking me two emails from Aweber.


See - I had the exact opposite happen.

I had one lady, that has been a customer of mine since the very beginning, reply to the first email I sent from my self-host after moving part of my Aweber list over...

Now, she is NOT dumb...

But she said she had NO IDEA about the new Gmail tabs and if I hadn't sent that email (that landed in her primary tab) she wouldn't have even known about it... (she is also a member of this forum)

So, this is one example of someone that "wants" my emails. She has even gone as far as to send me a personal email in the past when I didn't send an email for a few days just to see if I was "okay"...

So, as stated earlier - most of my customers are of the "older" generation. And they - like myself are not very technically advanced (probably why they can relate so well to me)...

If one of my "loyalest" customers - who is also a good representative of my whole customer base - thinks that I "quit emailing" what are the ones that don't like me "as much" thinking...

2nd email I sent out - I had a gentleman reply back with the same line of thought. Although his words were "Coby, long time no hear, where ya been?"...

So, while it may not make sense to "make changes" in your own business. It definitely makes a ton of sense for me to make changes in my own business.

But no matter what I say or what I show you as proof - you will never believe me, lol. That's cool - that's what leads to great discussions.

Some folks will continue to market from the Promo Tab or the Spam folder - but personally I will take steps to avoid it all together...

Now - for the folks saying "if they want your email - they can move you to the primary box"... Well this goes in reverse for those saying that their customers "enjoy the promo tab"...

So - we can argue this till we are blue in the face or we can agree to disagree. :p

I've seen the proof firsthand - both from my own customers mouth and with the testing I've been doing way before the tabs were introduced (we all knew it was coming). So I'll stick to my plan - y'all stick to yours. We will have to wait a few years to see which strategy is better (if there is a "better").

This is just one of those things that will always be argued - just like the Aweber vs GetResponse vs iContact vs Constant Contact debate. Some will say one is better than the other. Some will switch from one to another. Some will try all four. The truth remains - no one knows what's best for your business but you.


Yep! But at least I'll be on the right side of the red river!

and the fact that humans are inherently lazy means that there are opportunities for those of us who aren't to cash in