Should I avoid emailing Gmail users based on growth hack advice?

Key findings

1. Misguided advice: The concept of intentionally avoiding a large segment of your audience, such as Gmail users, is widely considered poor advice by deliverability experts and experienced marketers alike. It is often a tactic proposed by those unfamiliar with the nuances of email deliverability.
2. Audience reach: Gmail holds a dominant share of the email market. Deliberately excluding Gmail users would severely limit your potential reach and hinder business growth, as a significant portion of your target audience likely uses Gmail.
3. Engagement is key: Rather than avoiding, the focus should be on sending relevant and desired emails to Gmail users to build a positive sender reputation. Engagement metrics, such as opens and clicks, heavily influence inbox placement. You can learn more about how to improve Gmail email inbox placement and avoid spam.
4. Universal best practices: The principles of good email deliverability apply across all mailbox providers, not just Gmail. These include proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining a clean list, and respecting user preferences.

Key considerations

1. Focus on deliverability fundamentals: Instead of seeking shortcuts or 'hacks', invest in understanding and implementing core deliverability strategies. This includes segmenting your audience and sending highly targeted content.
2. Monitor performance metrics: Regularly review your email performance, particularly for Gmail, to identify any deliverability issues. This includes open rates, click-through rates, and complaint rates. You can also monitor your email deliverability rates to ensure optimal performance.
3. Understand Gmail's policies: Gmail (and other major mailbox providers) continually update their filtering algorithms and sender requirements. Staying informed and compliant is far more effective than trying to bypass their systems. Mailgun's article on Growth Hacking, Email and Mullets provides context on responsible email practices amidst growth strategies.
4. Build trust: Successful email marketing relies on building trust with your subscribers and mailbox providers. This is achieved by sending valuable content, honoring opt-outs, and maintaining a healthy sender reputation.

Key opinions

1. Bad advice: Marketers frequently label the idea of avoiding Gmail users as 'bad advice' or 'stupid shit', suggesting it lacks a clear, beneficial goal for legitimate businesses.
2. Outdated strategies: Attempts to 'game' complaint percentages by flooding other mailbox providers (like AOL, Hotmail, Yahoo) are considered outdated, as these providers are now much smarter at filtering unwanted mail. You can also check our article on why your emails are going to spam.
3. Gmail's prevalence: Many marketers acknowledge that Gmail is not just for 'knowledge workers' but is broadly used across demographics, especially among younger populations. Avoiding it means ignoring a huge part of the market.
4. Audience preference: The consensus is to email users according to their desired preferences, regardless of their domain. Success comes from respecting user intent, not by excluding major providers.

Key considerations

1. Growth marketer skepticism: Marketers often express frustration with 'growth hacks' that oversimplify email deliverability and promote risky, short-term tactics that can damage sender reputation.
2. Monitor new clients carefully: When clients propose such 'hacks', it's a red flag. It indicates a need for education on proper email practices to prevent significant deliverability issues. Monitoring how to improve Gmail sender reputation after sending issues is important.
3. Adapt to provider changes: Mailbox providers are continuously improving their filtering. Strategies that once might have offered a slight edge are quickly rendered obsolete. Staying current with provider requirements, such as those that might cause Gmail blocking your emails, is paramount.

Key opinions

1. Mailbox sensitivity: Experts acknowledge that Gmail's algorithms are indeed sensitive to senders who send excessive or unwanted mail. This sensitivity, however, is a reason to practice good sending habits, not to avoid the platform entirely.
2. Evolving filters: Major networks are constantly improving their ability to filter nuisance mail, regardless of whether it was initially requested. This makes attempts to 'game the system' increasingly ineffective and risky.
3. Audience location: A key expert opinion is to send email where your audience actually is. Given Gmail's significant market share, excluding it means missing a large portion of potential engagement and growth. You should also be aware of how your email address can end up on a blocklist.
4. Focus on relevance: The focus should be on ensuring emails are relevant and wanted by the recipient, which is a far more sustainable strategy than trying to work around deliverability challenges by avoiding major providers.

Key considerations

1. Avoid risky hacks: So-called 'growth hacks' that promote avoiding specific mailbox providers or manipulating metrics are generally ineffective and can lead to severe long-term deliverability issues, including being blocklisted.
2. Damage to growth: Limiting sends to a primary domain like Gmail directly impacts potential growth and audience engagement, as a large segment of your active audience resides there.
3. Reputation rebuilding: If past bad practices have led to reputation issues, the solution isn't avoidance, but a methodical approach to rebuilding sender reputation, which can take time. Learn how long it takes to recover domain reputation.
4. Legitimate engagement: Real email deliverability success is built on consistent, legitimate engagement and adherence to best practices, rather than seeking shortcuts. As an article on SpamResource.com often highlights, filtering is sophisticated, and quality sending is key.

Key findings

1. Sender guidelines: Gmail's official sender guidelines for bulk senders explicitly detail requirements for authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining low spam complaint rates, and sending only to engaged users. These are universal rules, not reasons to avoid their users.
2. Spam prevention: Google's documentation highlights its continuous efforts to protect users from spam and phishing. This means their filtering systems are designed to identify and block problematic sending behaviors, regardless of the sender's attempts to 'hack' the system.
3. Rate limits: Gmail imposes sending limits to prevent abuse. Exceeding these limits can lead to temporary blocks, not a suggestion to avoid the domain. Understanding and adhering to these limits is part of responsible sending.
4. No domain-specific avoidance: There is no official documentation from Google or any other major mailbox provider advising senders to avoid emailing users of specific domains. Their guidance consistently points towards improving sending practices universally. Google's own Postmaster Tools also provide insights for improving Gmail deliverability.

Key considerations

1. Adherence to standards: Adhering to email standards (RFCs) and authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is fundamental. A simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM can help you understand these crucial aspects.
2. User experience focus: Documentation consistently points to the importance of a positive user experience, minimizing spam complaints, and providing clear unsubscribe options. These elements are prioritized by mailbox providers to maintain a healthy email ecosystem.
3. Continuous adaptation: Mailbox providers regularly update their policies and filtering mechanisms. Senders must continuously adapt their practices to remain compliant and ensure deliverability. Checking Google's bulk sender guidelines directly is vital.