Don’t Let the Gmail Trap Block You From Brides

By Kathy DalPra

The tech world is all a-buzz this week with news of Google’s recent changes to the way Gmail handles incoming email. Why? Because the new system is automatically deciding where incoming mail should go, and if you don’t prepare your email subscribers, your messages might get the boot. Which means, sooner or later, your prospects will forget about you.

What You Need to Know

Google modified the Gmail inbox to include 3 sorting tabs: primary, social and promotions. The “promotions” tab is where Gmail routes messages that don’t come from friends and family. And since most Gmail users aren’t likely to view their “promotions” tab too often, it’s also where email marketing goes to die.

We want to keep your email messages as far from this tab as possible. To do that, you’ll need to educate your subscribers on how to direct Gmail to put your messages in the “Primary” tab instead of the “Promotions” tab.

Here’s What To Do

I’m going to provide you with the exact steps that you’ll want to pass on to your subscribers. I’m going to use Jeff & Stephanie of Book More Brides as our case study on how it’s done.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure to follow these steps in your own Gmail account where you receive email messages from Book More Brides.  Otherwise, you won’t get their email messages either!

Step 1

Log into the Gmail account you use to receive messages from Book More and search for “stephanie@bookmorebrides.com.”

Step 2

Drag any email message from “stephanie@bookmorebrides.com” to the “Primary” tab. This will tell Gmail that its a safe email and belongs under the “Primary” tab, not the “Promotion” tab.

Step 3

A pop-up will appear asking you if you want all future messages from stephanie@bookmorebrides.com to be organized under the “Primary” tab. Select “YES”!

Extra Credit

To really make sure Gmail knows Jeff & Stephanie are safe senders, hover your mouse over any message from “stephanie@bookmorebrides.com” and add it as a new Contact in your Gmail address book. This will also “whitelist” the email address so it doesn’t get bounced to the wrong folder or tab.

Now, once you’ve tested these steps yourself, using Jeff & Stephanie as your sample, share these same instructions with your own email subscribers so your messages will be safeguarded for them too.

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About the Author:
Kathy DalPra is a bridal-preneur who unexpectedly fell in love with web design and SEO. Today she helps other wedding professionals use their website to get more traffic, leads and inquiries so they can create a thriving wedding business in any economy. Learn how to turn curious visitors into paying brides™ on her website at http://brideappeal.com.

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