A recent change by Yahoo has some email marketers exclaiming some choice four letter words, rather than the cheery one for which the company was named. You see, an update to Yahoo’s authentication policy may effect the delivery of emails that come from yahoo.com addresses. So, if the From address is from your personal address at yahoo.com (YourName@yahoo.com or YourCompanyName@yahoo.com), it is likely that your email campaigns will bounce or be marked as spam. Yahoo made this adjustment to its DMARC authentication policy to try and impede spam.

We’re telling you this, because it’s something you should be aware of as an email marketer. However, if you’ve been following best practices you should be in the clear. You see, we’ve long been advocates of sending from a business domain address (YourName@YourCompany.com). It gives more credibility to your email campaigns. Anyone can create a personal account on Yahoo or any other free service like Gmail, Hotmail, etc. Sending from an address that matches your company’s website adds a layer of trust to your marketing efforts.

So, if you’re not already sending from an email address attached to your company’s website it’s probably a good time to start. Especially because this may only be the start. If other personal email service providers such as Hotmail or Gmail go the way of Yahoo, it could further effect your email campaign’s deliverability.

No need to panic. These Yahoo changes may seem scary or drastic, but it’s a simple fix. Especially when it’s a change for the better. Your email campaigns will be sent from a more trusted address and Yahoo is doing their part in reducing spam. With best practices in mind, everybody is a winner.