{"id":6465,"date":"2015-09-23T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/gmails-new-block-option-pros-and-cons-for-marketers\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T16:40:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T21:40:58","slug":"gmails-new-block-option-pros-and-cons-for-marketers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/gmails-new-block-option-pros-and-cons-for-marketers","title":{"rendered":"Gmail\u2019s \u2018Block\u2019 Option: Pros and Cons for Marketers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Gmail rolled out new \u201cblock\u201d functionality<\/a> to all Gmail webmail users in 2015, giving consumers yet another option to rid their inboxes of email they don\u2019t want. On the surface, that might not sound like a great thing for marketers, but it\u2019s not as bad as it sounds. It means you need to be smarter about image blocking in Gmail.<\/p>\n

Many Shades of \u2018I Don\u2019t Want This\u2019<\/h2>\n

Gmail\u2019s world view on email has been consistently about not losing sight of the trees for the forest. Commercial emails are not the same as personal emails\u2014and more than that, there are different kinds of commercial emails, including social notifications, promotions, and so on. There are many shades of email.<\/p>\n

Similarly, Gmail recognizes that there are many shades of \u201cI don\u2019t want this email.\u201d With the latest addition, Gmail users can now\u2014in increasing order of severity\u2014decide to\u2026<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. \u201cDelete\u201d the message<\/li>\n
  2. \u201cUnsubscribe\u201d from the sender\u2019s emails through Gmail\u2019s native \u201cunsubscribe\u201d link, when available, which conveys the opt-out request to the sender<\/li>\n
  3. \u201cBlock\u201d the sender so that, in Gmail\u2019s words, you \u201cnever see messages from this person again\u201d<\/li>\n
  4. \u201cReport spam\u201d from the sender, which directs future messages from the sender to your \u201cspam\u201d folder and potentially makes it more difficult for the sender to get email delivered to other Gmail users<\/li>\n
  5. \u201cReport phishing\u201d by the sender<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"gmail_options_720\"<\/figure>\n

    Gmail said that Android users on the Gmail app will have the ability to block next week, and that the option to unsubscribe will also be added soon, so functionality in the app will match that of the webmail client.<\/p>\n

    Local vs. Global Blocking<\/h2>\n

    In giving users another way to stop receiving emails they don\u2019t want, Gmail appears to be trying to fine-tune its local blocking of senders. The problem largely stems from the fact that the \u201creport spam\u201d button is used liberally by email users. While it is used to vanquish malicious and unsolicited messages, it\u2019s also used much more casually as a convenient, never-fail unsubscribe button.<\/p>\n

    Since spam complaints are a major factor in ISPs\u2019 decisions to either globally block all of a sender\u2019s emails or locally block just the ones being sent to particular users, this ambiguity muddies the waters. For instance, at least one ISP has said publicly that they don\u2019t count spam complaints against senders when the subscriber was previously engaged with the emails.<\/p>\n

    \"global-local-level-blocking-of-email\"<\/figure>\n

    The option to \u201cblock\u201d appears to be an attempt to give users a new, more accurate way to express their displeasure with a brand, one that doesn\u2019t rely on the brand to honor an opt-out but doesn\u2019t tarnish the brand\u2019s sender reputation.<\/p>\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/td>\n\n

    Make it to the inbox, not the spam folder<\/h2>\n

    Identify issues that might keep you from the inbox and get actionable help for how to fix them with Litmus Spam Testing.<\/p>\n

    Book a demo \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

    Better Than the Alternative<\/h2>\n

    I\u2019ve said that an unsubscribe is always better than a spam complaint, because opt-outs don\u2019t hurt your sender reputation. It\u2019s unclear exactly how Gmail will be using blocks, but it seems safe to say also that a block is always better than a spam complaint, because a local block is far less harmful than a global block by an ISP.<\/p>\n

    For marketers, the upside is that the new \u201cblock\u201d option should reduce spam complaints because some subscribers who would have previously clicked \u201creport spam\u201d will now click \u201cblock\u201d instead. The downside is that the \u201cblock\u201d button may have created a new lower bar for ISP intervention, so some subscribers who might have previously clicked \u201cunsubscribe\u201d will now click \u201cblock\u201d instead.<\/p>\n

    There are 4 ways to minimize the downside of this new development:<\/p>\n

    1. Make your unsubscribe link prominent in your emails.<\/strong> If subscribers can\u2019t easily find your opt-out link, some will simply block or complain to save themselves time. So if your unsubscribe link is buried in a bunch of small grey type, it\u2019s time to break it out on a line by itself with larger, easier-to-read type, perhaps with a brightly colored link. Consider including both an HTML text opt-out link as well as a graphical or bulletproof opt-out button.<\/p>\n

    Also consider an additional unsubscribe link at the top of your emails in situations where blocks and complaints are more likely. Emails sent to inactive subscribers are good candidates for this treatment, as are welcome emails since new subscribers may suddenly regret signing up or may not have realized they were subscribing.<\/p>\n

    2. Surface your preference center more often, if you have one.<\/strong> Often times, a subscriber would be happy to continue receiving emails if only they could receive messages less often or on different topics. Many opt-out processes are now managed in preference centers, but as more subscribers rely on ISP-provided opt-out methods, marketers can\u2019t use their preference centers as a last resort anymore.<\/p>\n

    Be proactive with your preference centers. Key moments in the subscriber lifecycle to target include the onboarding process and as a response to inactivity.<\/p>\n

    3. Make use of Gmail\u2019s auto-unsubscribe feature.<\/strong> Add the \u201clist-unsubscribe\u201d header<\/a> and Gmail will, in certain circumstances, place an \u201cUnsubscribe\u201d link after your sender name and sender email address (as seen in the Pinterest email example above). While this link allows subscribers to circumvent your opt-out process\u2014including preference center, if you use one\u2014it\u2019s still preferable to getting a block or spam complaint.<\/p>\n

    4. Send more relevant messages.<\/strong> The arrival of the \u201cblock\u201d button should be yet another reminder that marketers need to send more messages that are contextually aware<\/a>, making use of segmentation, personalization, dynamic content, triggered messaging, and other tools and techniques to create better subscriber experiences.<\/p>\n

    Doing those 4 things should help blunt the negative effects of the new \u201cblock\u201d option, but in general I\u2019m expecting this to have positive benefits for marketers since Gmail users now have a less punitive way to stop getting messages from senders. It remains to be seen if Gmail will share block data via its feedback loop<\/a>, but it\u2019s recommended that marketers keep an eye on the spam rate that Gmail reports over the coming weeks and months as consumers become acquainted with this new option.<\/p>\n

    \n\n\n\n
    \"\"<\/td>\n\n

    Do your subscribers use Gmail?<\/h2>\n

    When it comes to email marketing, it\u2019s all about your audience. Use Litmus Email Analytics<\/a> to discover which email clients are most popular with your subscribers.<\/p>\n

    Discover your audience \u2192<\/a><\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Gmail rolled out new \u201cblock\u201d functionality to all Gmail webmail users yesterday, giving consumers yet another option to rid their inboxes of email they don\u2019t want. On the surface, that might not sound like a great thing for marketers, but it\u2019s not as bad as it sounds. In this post, we’ll cover the pros and cons of Gmail’s latest update.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":6466,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[45,106,48],"blog_category":[57,53],"class_list":["post-6465","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-deliverability","tag-gmail","tag-spam-filter","blog_category-observations","blog_category-tips-resources"],"yoast_head":"\nGmail\u2019s \u2018Block\u2019 Option: Pros and Cons for Marketers - Litmus<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gmail rolled out new \u201cblock\u201d functionality to all Gmail webmail users yesterday, giving consumers yet another option to rid their inboxes of email they don\u2019t want. On the surface, that might not sound like a great thing for marketers, but it\u2019s not as bad as it sounds. 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