From Edie: Email marketing is evolving fast. Learn how 2025 platform changes—MailerLite, Kit, and more—impact authors, deliverability, and your email strategy.
Email Marketing for Authors: How 2025 Platform Changes Impact Deliverability, Costs, and Growth
by Kate Huff @KateOliviaHuff
Email Platforms Are Changing. Why Does It Matter to Authors?
The world of email marketing isn’t static, and platforms are evolving fast. If you haven’t checked your email provider lately, now’s the time—especially as your list grows.
Recently, I’ve had a lot of questions about changes at MailerLite. But what most people don’t realize is that a shift started last year, and it’s important to recognize the technical changes happening on all email platforms. Here are a few things for authors to consider as we walk through the changes.
MailerLite’s Shift
Let’s start with what’s most relevant to many authors, especially pre-published authors: MailerLite recently moved to require paid plans once your list exceeds 500 subscribers. That means when your list grows past that mark, you’ll need to switch to a paid plan.
At first, that may sound discouraging, especially when you’re not making a lot of money as an author, and publishers keep hammering the need to grow your list.
The reality is that these updates reflect a rise in the value of what email platforms offer. You’re not just paying to use the service, but you’re paying for stronger deliverability, better design tools, and seamless automations.
Kit.com (Formerly ConvertKit)
Another big change came from Kit (formerly ConvertKit), a long-time favorite among authors and creators. Over the past year, Kit has overhauled its pricing and branding, leaning into premium features and creator tools.
- Entry-level plans have increased by roughly 35%, with advanced automations and paid recommendations now reserved for higher tiers.
- A free newsletter plan remains available (up to 10,000 subscribers), but it comes with limited automations. Meaning most growing authors will eventually need to upgrade.
- The good news? The platform’s new features and integrations make it more powerful than ever for those ready to invest.
What Other Platforms Are Doing
Mailchimp: Removed some automations from free plans, raised prices, and now charges for inactive or unsubscribed contacts.
Klaviyo: Adjusted pricing to reflect both subscriber count and email volume—a tough change for smaller creators.
EmailOctopus, Sender, Moosend: These newer, smaller platforms are focusing on affordability and transparency, offering fewer frills, but predictable pricing.
The Hidden Technical Changes Most Authors Miss
Here’s what most people don’t realize: the biggest shifts aren’t just about pricing. They’re happening behind the scenes and directly affect whether your emails actually land in inboxes.
Email Authentication Requirements (The Real Game-Changer)
In early 2024, Gmail and Yahoo quietly implemented new requirements that changed email marketing forever. If you’re sending emails to Gmail or Yahoo (spoiler: you are), your emails now must pass three technical authentication checks: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Think of these as your email’s digital passport. Without them, your carefully crafted newsletter might never reach readers—even if they subscribed and want to hear from you.
What this means for you: Your email platform should handle most of this automatically, but here's what you need to verify in your platform settings:
- Domain Authentication Status: Check if your custom domain (like newsletters@yourauthorname.com) is fully authenticated. Most platforms have a dashboard indicator showing "authenticated" or "verified."
- DMARC Policy: This is the instruction that tells Gmail and Yahoo what to do if someone tries to impersonate send emails from your domain. Even a basic policy (p=none) is now required.
- Look for the green checkmark: In your platform's domain settings, you should see verification that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are active.
Where to find this: In MailerLite, check Settings > Domains. In Kit, go to Settings > Domain & URLs. Most platforms now have a dedicated "Email Authentication" section that didn't exist a year ago.
Domain Reputation vs. IP Reputation
Another fascinating change is that email providers are shifting from judging your emails based on the servers sending them (IP reputation) to judging them based on your domain (domain reputation).
This is great news for authors! It means:
- Your reputation travels with you if you switch platforms
- You’re not affected by other senders on shared servers as much
- Your brand builds trust over time across all your emails.
Tip: Use a custom domain for your sender address (like hello@yourauthorname.com instead of yourname@gmail.com). This builds your domain reputation and looks more professional to readers
The Spam-Complaint Threshold Nobody Talks About
Gmail now has a hard line: if more than 0.3% of your emails generate spam complaints, you're in trouble. That's just 3 complaints per 1,000 emails sent.
This is why list hygiene matters more than ever. One angry subscriber hitting "spam" instead of unsubscribe can hurt your entire sender reputation.
Smart move: Most platforms now offer engagement-based segmentation. Check your platform for features like "engaged subscribers" filters or automatic suppression of inactive contacts. MailerLite and Kit both have these—you just need to turn them on.
Why These Changes Are a Good Thing
Before you spend time complaining about one more thing you have to pay for as an author, be encouraged! These shifts are strengthening the industry.
- Better deliverability means fewer spam issues and stronger sender reputations. AKA your emails actually landing in inboxes, not the spam folder!
- Improved automations and analytics help you send smarter, not harder, saving you time in the long run if set up properly.
- Stronger support gives you confidence that your launch emails will actually land when it matters most. And if something goes wrong, you'll get a quicker response!
- Built-in compliance means the technical heavy lifting for authentication and privacy laws is handled for you.
These aren't just upgrades for big businesses; they're upgrades for authors who want to grow.
Why MailerLite Still Holds Strong
Despite the new subscriber limits, MailerLite remains my top suggestion for authors growing their list (less than 5,000) and want the best use of their money.
You’ll get
- Clean, easy-to-use design tools
- Easy to read and understand help guides (blogs and YouTube videos)
- Reliable and seamless automations for lead magnets
- Transparent pricing (no hidden fees or sneaky “contact” charges)
- Built-in authentication tools that meet all the new Google/Yahoo requirements.
Paying a little each month isn’t a setback—it’s a milestone. It means your author business is growing, your list is thriving, and your connection with readers is deepening.
Want to Stay Ahead of the Curve?
Email platforms will keep evolving—but that’s exactly what Newsletters Made Simple is for: helping authors grow and connect confidently, without overwhelm.
Join my free newsletter (https://rebrand.ly/Newsletters-Made-Simple) and receive “24 Ways to Grow Your Subscriber List + bonus templates.” You’ll also get ongoing tips, resources, and easy-to-understand updates on changes that actually matter.Because your words deserve to reach the readers waiting for them.
TWEETABLE
Kate works as a freelance content writer and newsletter specialist. She has over twenty years of experience crafting content, specifically newsletters, across diverse sectors, including non-profits, sales, and fundraising. She helps authors and entrepreneurs create compelling newsletters that connect with their audiences and offers tailored content creation services, as well as training on how to build newsletters and grow subscriber bases.
You can find her at WWW.KATEOLIVIAHUFF.COM or on most socials as @kateoliviahuff. Sign up for Newsletters Made Simple for Authors at HTTPS://REBRAND.LY/NEWSLETTERS-MADE-SIMPLEfor simple tips to take your newsletter from good to great!
No comments:
Post a Comment