Hey Reader,

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Picture this...

You've just dropped your new single and sent a newsletter to 2,000 fans announcing it. You're excited, maybe a little nervous, waiting to see the downloads roll in. But only 200 people actually see your email because the other 1,800 got filtered to spam or blocked entirely before they ever reached an inbox.

This isn't bad luck or some algorithm conspiracy against indie artists. It's what happens when you send mass emails from Gmail, Yahoo, or any other free email address.

And it's probably happening to you right now.

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Your Free Email is Sabotaging Your Music Business

Look, I get it. When you're starting out, every dollar counts. Why pay for email when Gmail is free and everyone has one? I used to think the same thing. But here's the brutal truth: that free Gmail address is costing you way more than you realize.

Think about it…

If you're sending a merch drop announcement to 1,000 fans but only 300 actually see it, you're losing 70% of potential sales. That's the difference between selling out your new t-shirt design and having boxes of inventory sitting in your garage.

The numbers don't lie. When musicians switch from free email addresses to their own domain, they typically see their email delivery rates jump dramatically. That's not a small improvement—that's the difference between a failed campaign and a successful one.

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Why Email Providers Block Your Gmail Newsletters

Here's what's happening behind the scenes, and I promise I'll keep this simple:

Email providers like Gmail and Yahoo have basically put up a digital bouncer at the door. When you send a newsletter from your Gmail account through Kit, Mailchimp or another service, here's what happens:

1. The bouncer checks your ID: The receiving server looks at your email and says "This claims to be from Gmail, but it's not actually coming from Gmail's servers."
2. The mismatch triggers security: Since 2024, major email providers have strict policies called DMARC that automatically reject or spam emails that fail this authentication check. Google updated Gmail's policy in 2024 to "p=quarantine", meaning any bulk email pretending to be from Gmail gets routed to spam.
3. Your email gets blocked: The receiving server thinks "This looks like someone pretending to be Gmail" and either blocks it entirely or sends it straight to spam.

It's like trying to get into a club using someone else's ID—even if you're not trying to cause trouble, the bouncer isn't taking any chances.

Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook have made these policies even stricter because they're trying to protect their users from scammers who abuse free email addresses. Mailchimp warns that starting February 2024, any sender blasting out more than 5,000 emails per day to Gmail or Yahoo must use a custom authenticated domain, or else expect bounces and failures.

Here's the technical reality: To pass these security checks, you need to set up SPF (Sender Policy Framework) and DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) on your domain. With your own domain, you can configure these authentication methods by verifying your domain on your email marketing platform. But if you're using gmail.com or yahoo.com, you don't own that domain, so you cannot authorize a third-party sender or add security keys for it.

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What Fans Really Think When They See Your Email

Beyond the technical stuff, there's a psychological problem too…

When your fans see an email from "CoolBand@gmail.com" versus "hi@coolband.com," which one looks more professional?

I've watched this play out countless times. Fans are more likely to:

• Open emails from branded addresses because they immediately recognize it's official
• Trust custom domain emails because it shows you've invested in your brand
• Remember your band name when it's reinforced in every email they receive from you

On the flip side, free email addresses can actually hurt your credibility. Some fans might think:

• "Is this actually from the band or someone pretending to be them?"
• "Why doesn't this professional musician have a professional email?"
• "This looks like spam—I'm not clicking this."

As one expert puts it, a free @gmail account for business can seem "unprofessional and kinda provisional. They don't inspire trust."

By contrast, a custom domain email immediately identifies you and reassures the recipient that it's truly coming from your band or company, not an imposter.

Your email address is part of your brand identity. If you're promoting your website and social media handles, shouldn't your email match that same branding? If a customer buys a T-shirt or concert ticket from MyBandName.com, they expect the confirmation email to come from an address at @mybandname.com – not from a random Gmail address.

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How to Fix This (It's Easier Than You Think)

The good news? Setting up a custom domain email is way simpler and cheaper than most musicians think. Here's the basic process:

Step 1: Get Your Domain (If You Don't Have One) If you already have a website, you're halfway there. If not, grab your band name as a .com domain. This usually costs $10-15 per year.

Step 2: Set Up Email Hosting Most domain registrars offer email hosting for $5-10/month. There are plenty of places you can get a branded email like this. As so many of us are used to the Gmail user experience, Google Workspace is my personal favorite with options starting around $7/month per user.

Step 3: Connect to Your Email Platform Your email marketing service (Kit, Mailchimp etc) will walk you through connecting your custom domain. This usually involves adding a few DNS records—sounds technical, but it's mostly copy-and-paste.

Step 4: Configure Authentication Your email platform will provide the SPF and DKIM records you need. Add these to your domain settings (your hosting provider can help), and you're authenticated. This is a one-time task that pays off with improved inbox placement.

Total investment: Usually $10-20/month for everything. Compare that to the revenue you're losing from emails that never reach fans.

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What Changes When You Make the Switch

Here's what typically happens when musicians make the switch to sending from a branded email address:

Before: Poor deliverability, low open rates, fans complaining they "never got the email"

After: Dramatically improved inbox placement, higher engagement, fans actually showing up to shows and buying merch

But the benefits go beyond just numbers. You start building your own sender reputation with email providers. When you send bulk emails from a free domain, you are effectively using that provider's reputation (which they fiercely protect). Free email services often block high-volume sends from their addresses because they "cannot vouch" for the sender's quality.

With your own domain, you begin building your domain's sending reputation with ISPs and mailbox providers. Over time, consistent sending from a custom domain that follows best practices (opt-in audiences, good content, proper list hygiene) will earn you a positive reputation, improving inbox placement.

Email providers track sender reputation, which includes your domain's history of sending. If you consistently send valuable content from yourband.com, over time Google and Yahoo will learn to trust your domain and deliver those emails more reliably.

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Ready to Stop Losing Fans to Spam Folders?

Here's the bottom line: Your music deserves to be heard, and your business deserves to be taken seriously. Don't let a free email address be the reason your fans miss your big announcements.

I know change can feel overwhelming, especially when you're juggling songwriting, performing, and trying to run a business. But this is one of those changes that pays for itself almost immediately.

Next steps:

1. Check if your current emails are being delivered (most email platforms show delivery stats)
2. Research domain and email hosting options (I can recommend some in a future email if you're interested)
3. Set aside an afternoon to make the switch—it's usually a one-time setup that takes 2-3 hours

Your future self (and your bank account) will thank you. Plus, there's something satisfying about sending emails from hello@yourbandname.com instead of yourbandname123@gmail.com.

Questions about making the switch? Hit reply—I read every email and love helping musicians level up their email game.

Keep creating,

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P.S. If you found this helpful, forward it to a fellow musician who might be struggling with email delivery. We're all in this together.

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