Important: Microsoft Outlook Bulk Email Updates

Important: Microsoft Outlook Bulk Email Updates

Dear Marketers,

We want to bring your attention to an important upcoming change announced by Microsoft (Outlook) that will impact users sending bulk emails to Outlook.com, Hotmail.com, and other Microsoft-hosted inboxes. This update focuses on strengthening email authentication to improve inbox security and reduce spam. These measures will help reduce spoofing, phishing, and spam activity, empowering legitimate senders with stronger brand protection and better deliverability.

Microsoft's New Requirements for Bulk Senders:

Microsoft is introducing new requirements for domains sending more than 5,000 emails per day. Starting May 5th, 2025, Outlook will begin enforcing stricter email authentication standards.

Key Changes to Be Aware Of:

  • Mandatory SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Your sending domain must pass SPF authentication. Ensure your domain's DNS record accurately lists all authorized IP addresses and hosts that send emails on your behalf.

  • Mandatory DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Your emails must pass DKIM authentication. This validates the integrity and authenticity of your emails.

  • Mandatory DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): Your domain must have a DMARC record in place, and alignment with either SPF or DKIM (preferably both for optimal deliverability).

Impact on Non-Compliant Senders:

  • Initial Routing to Junk: After May 5th, 2025, emails from high-volume senders that do not comply with these authentication requirements will initially be routed to the Junk folder.

  • Future Rejection: Microsoft has stated that in the future, non-compliant emails will be rejected entirely to further protect their users.

Recommendations for Zoho Campaigns Users:

As users of Zoho Campaigns, especially if you send bulk email campaigns that might exceed 5,000 emails per day to Microsoft-hosted inboxes, it's crucial to take the following steps now to ensure your email deliverability is not affected:

  • Review Your DNS Records: Audit your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for the domains you use to send emails through Zoho Campaigns. Verify that they are correctly configured and accurately reflect your sending infrastructure.

  • Ensure SPF Passes: Confirm that your SPF record includes all necessary sending sources for Zoho Campaigns.

  • Ensure DKIM is Implemented: Verify that DKIM signing is properly set up for your sending domains within Zoho Campaigns.

  • Implement DMARC: If you haven't already, implement a DMARC record in your DNS. Starting with p=none allows you to monitor your email authentication results before moving to stricter policies.

  • Configure Custom Return Path: This dedicated custom return-path address allows you to receive detailed notifications about email bounces, enabling you to analyze delivery issues and proactively manage your email lists.

  • Follow Email Hygiene Best Practices: While not strictly mandatory yet, adopting the following practices will further enhance your deliverability and sender reputation:

    • Use compliant and valid "From" and "Reply-To" addresses.

    • Include functional and easily accessible unsubscribe links.

    • Maintain clean email lists and manage bounces effectively.

    • Practice transparent mailing practices with clear subject lines and proper consent.

Next Steps for You:

  1. Prepare Now: Review and update your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records immediately.

  2. Help Resources: If you need assistance with setting up SPF, DKIM, or DMARC, refer to Zoho Campaigns's help documentation.

This update from Microsoft underscores the increasing importance of proper email authentication for ensuring reliable email delivery. By taking proactive steps now, you can safeguard your email campaigns and maintain strong deliverability to Outlook inboxes.

We will continue to monitor this situation and provide any further updates or guidance relevant to using Zoho Campaigns. Keep an eye on our community forums and announcements.

It's important to note that Zoho Campaigns will not impose restrictions on email sending; however, users are strongly encouraged to proactively implement these authentication measures on their end to maximize deliverability

If you have any questions or concerns regarding this, please don't hesitate to reach out to our support@zohocampaigns.com or engage in the community forums.

Happy Marketing!
Zoho Campaigns

 

    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip of the week 03 - Sending emails in batches

      Today's marketers not only want their email marketing to be efficient, but also smart. For an email campaign, you may think you have all the essential elements for lead conversion—a big mailing list, an attractive template design, and the most-engaging message content, but after hitting the ‘send’ button, you may not get the expected conversions. Wondering why? Here’s one of the major reasons. Many marketers miss out on sending the email campaign the right way. Did you know that you should not be
    • Tip of the week 04 - Know about your recipients' 'prime open time.'

      In today's market, the importance of customer behavior is astounding, with a vast amount of research and resources going into finding how customers make decisions. The process of persuading your customers to open your email and click on your call-to-action becomes easy when you understand the psychology behind their behavioral traits. Time to turn into a psychologist! Let's get to the basics—you want your emails to resonate well with your recipients. So, what's the primary thing involved here? It's
    • Zoho Campaigns Expert Diaries on SoundCloud, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube

      Hi email champs,  As email marketers, we find great lessons in each other's works—be it the subject lines that worked good, the design that was received well, or the CTA that had the maximum clicks. Email marketing encompasses a wide variety of topics spanning everything from creation and design to development and deliverability.  Here's when we from the Zoho Campaigns team found the need to build an email marketing community comprising of seasoned marketers and email geeks who can help each other
    • Email Deliverability Tip #3: Seal the deal with the preheader

      In the last post, we learned about the subject line. Today we'll be learning about the preheader. A preheader is the short text that follows the subject line in an email. The preheader is designed to hint at what your email message is all about. A good preheader should act as a second subject line and convince your contacts to open the email. Now, let's learn the best way to craft a preheader. Your subject line and preheader should work together and accurately convey the gist of your email. Keep
    • Tip of the week 15 - Add subscription-preferences option. Drive more engagement.

      If crafting content for emails, getting creatives done, and running email campaigns is your love, then unsubscribes are the heartbreakers.  You can save your emails from being unsubscribed/trashed by adding a proper subscription-preferences option in your emails (works best at the time of signup). Giving subscribers the option to choose what they want to receive from you and decide how often (frequency of the emails) your emails should hit their inboxes will increase the reach of your campaigns manifolds. 
    • Recent Topics

    • Different Transaction Series for Different Types of Sales

      Is there any way I can create multiple transaction series for different type of Sales? Say B2B-001 and B2C -001 for respective type of Sales.?
    • Unable to charge GST on shipping/packing & Forwarding charges in INDIA

      Currently, tax rates only apply to items. It does not apply tax to any shipping or packing & forwarding charges that may be on the order as well. However, these charges are taxable under GST in India. Please add the ability to apply tax to these charges.
    • Customer Advance Zoho Book API

      All I could find was Customer Payment API, it does not have facility to add customer advances, where those are not linked to any invoice as such. How to do it?
    • Even though the received amount+tax is equal to or lesser than the invoice value, zoho doesnt allow to record

      Even though the received amount+tax is equal to or lesser than the invoice value, Zoho mentioned the error- you've recorded more payment than the actual invoice balance. please check again. screenshot also attached.  You've recorded more payment than
    • Multiple deductions in invoice

      I issue invoices to a customer that include multiple deductions that I would like to track in different expense accounts. But that is not possible in Zoho Books as there is only one Deduction field and even that I don't have control over to assign it
    • #BiginnersTips | How to bulk update closing dates for multiple deals in Bigin

      Hello Biginners! Keeping your CRM data accurate is crucial for any business- big or small. One key aspect is ensuring that closing dates for deals are always up to date. Why? Because if a deal is closed but not updated, your dashboards and reports would
    • 采购里出现付款通知 的错误

      采购里面出现付款通知错误,怎么调整,我找不到路径,好像是ZOHO 自动生成的,请问怎么调整
    • {"code":1002,"message":"Statement of Accounts does not exist."}

      Hello Zoho team, I faced an issue while trying to POST a sales order from sap to zoho books, using the below data packet: {   "customer_id": "4322967000027451968",   "line_items": [     {       "item_id": "2154170000010847685",       "rate": "752.00",
    • Add Custom Fields only in Customer module and not on supplier module!? Is not there a way to do that!?

      I am trying to create custom fields on clients module but it also gets created on suppliers module; which of course does not make sense at all as a lot of custom fields are client or supplier specific but never both. I am missing something? This seems
    • Logging website service fees

      Hello, I do a lot of freelance work on sites like Upwork and Wyzant and others and those companies take a small cut from what I pay or what I earn and I am wondering what is the correct way to log this in my books. For example if I charge $55 per hour
    • How do i clear a liability account without making a payment?

      I have a liability account with a provision for an expected bill from previous years. However the bill never arrived and the provision/liability account with Cr balance has been carried forward for many years now. How do i know clear the provision made
    • 2 Transactions for single Expense

      I have make 2 payments and have 1 Invoice containing both the items. My Bank Feeds show 2 Transactions, How can i associate them with Single Expense? I tried adding them to Advance Payment, but advance payment I can only apply to Bills It seems. Why cant
    • Everything AI in Zoho Recruit – Webinar Recording Available!

      AI is transforming the way recruiters find, engage, and hire top talent. In our latest webinar, we explored how Zoho Recruit’s AI-powered features can help streamline hiring, automate workflows, and improve decision-making. Missed the session? No worries
    • Introducing the FTP task in Deluge

      Hello everyone, We're excited to announce the launch of the FTP task, a powerful addition to Deluge that enables you to effortlessly transfer files between various Zoho apps and your own servers. Unlike the invokeUrl task, which supports various HTTP
    • Custom widgets on Zoho one dashboard

      Is it possible to create custom widgets on the Zoho One dashboard? I see there is a widget name My Open Tickets to display open tickets in my view, but I would also like to have a widget to display unassigned tickets. A widget to display unfinished projects
    • Data privacy concerns

      Does Zoho team have access to my data in the database e.g. Balance Sheet, Bank account transactions, Profit & Loss statement etc.
    • Ability to Remove/Change Zoho Creator Admins via Zoho One Interface

      Dear Zoho One Team, Greetings, We would like to request a feature enhancement in Zoho One. Currently, it is not possible to remove or downgrade a user with the Admin role in Zoho Creator from the Zoho One admin interface. Unlike other Zoho apps where
    • Zoho Sheets

      Are they ever going to set up the feature "where I left off" just as you can do in Microsoft Excel online ? For me that is the only feature missing from Zoho sheets other than that I think they are terrific and use them every day. I only occasionally
    • Canvas Detail View Related List Sorting

      Hello, I am having an issue finding a way to sort a related list within a canvas detail view. I have sorted the related list on the page layout associated with the canvas view, but that does not transfer to the canvas view. What am I missing?
    • Mass Update in Zoho CRM

      Hello, I want to update my past update records by using deluge on some conditions. anyone can please tell me how can I do it.
    • Admin asked me for Backend Details when I wanted to verify my ZeptoMail Account

      Please provide the backend details where you will be adding the SMTP/API information of ZeptoMail Who knows what this means?
    • Action requested: Retain your sales journey configuration in Path Finder

      Dear Customers, We hope you're well! As you might know, we're completely overhauling our journey management suite, CommandCenter, and are in the last leg of it. As a means of getting ready to go live, we will be announcing a series of requests and updates
    • search layout in new version

      Hello where is the menu for customizing search fields (module search layout) in the new zoho version (2016) ?? thanks nono
    • Zoho Marketplace Analytcis

      Hi Team, Our Zoho Marketplace Dashboard is not showing any data. What do you think we could do?
    • if i have zoho one can i upgrade some of my staff from crm to crm plus within my organisation?

      if i have zoho one can i upgrade some of my staff from crm to crm plus within my organisation? Or because I have many licenses of ZOHO ONE , IF I upgrade some staff to ZOGO CRUM PLUS. they will not be on the same organisat
    • The problem with Commerce ownership changing

      Hi, I am changing the ownership of the company and trying to delete the previous user-owner. I changed the owner of the company from user Tatiana to user Eugene. Eugene is the owner of the organization. It's OK. I am now trying to remove the user Tatiana.
    • Secondary Emails

      I am having issues deleting a secondary email address from a couple of our users and need help. When in Directory, manage email addresses, I click the trash icon by the email address and confirm I am trying to delete the email. I click continue and I
    • Zoho Books | Product updates | June 2025

      Hello Users, We’ve rolled out new features and enhancements in Zoho Books, from the option to record advances for purchase orders to dynamic lookup fields, all designed to help you stay on top of your finances with ease. Introducing Change Comparators
    • Widget Upload to CRM Fails with “Page Not Found” – Even with Correct Index Path

      I'm building a simple widget to export Contact data to CSV in Zoho CRM, triggered via a custom button. The widget uploads cleanly, appears in the widget list, and is successfully assigned to a Contact detail view via a custom button. But when clicked,
    • Account disabled

      I have an issue I need help with. Whilst trialing ZOHO CRM I created the following: Account1 (-------------) using m__ame@m__rg___s__i__.___.__ and 2 personal emails Account2 (-------------) using a personal email and 2 users _al__1@______________._o_.__
    • How can we manage the tags in ticket

      Allowing agents to use Tags indiscriminately can cause havoc. We could not find tag management where 1. The admin can create Tags beforehand for use by Agents 2. Permission can be allocated which roles/profiles can use existing tags or add new tags 3.
    • Feed Notifications filter?

      I'd like to have filter settings for Feed Notifications just like we have for Personal Email. If someone dumps a bunch of files into a project, we get a notification for every file!
    • Custom fields and filters for Timesheet

      HI Zoho Projects team. IT would be great and useful if we can add custom fields to the Timesheet design And is needed more options for filtering the timesheet dashboard, like "Milestones" and task list asociated to the record. Thank you
    • How do I rename the dropdown that contains a form and a report?

      I want to rename this, but I can't find how
    • Filtering two fields

      Hoping somone can assist, i am trying to create a report to show values from two different fields. e.g I have Field 1 Field 2 In some records, fields 1 and 2 are both "yes"; in other records, only one of the fields has the value "yes". Can we generate
    • Unable to Convert Quote to Invoice – Integration Active but User Not Recognized

      I’m having trouble converting a Quote into an Invoice inside Zoho CRM, even though the Zoho Finance Suite integration is enabled (Invoices, Quotes, Products, and Customers are all checked), and my user is an Admin in both Zoho CRM and Zoho Books, using
    • Owner drawings

      I entered an owner’s drawing transaction in 2023 but it’s still appearing on 2024 books. Is that supposed to happen? Or should Is there an additional step? I prefer for this transaction not to appear.
    • Running Balance in Account Statement.

      Running balance should come by default in the accounting statements but in ZOHO we need to customize every time to get the running balance in accounting statement. I did not understand, when the bank account statement opened from Bank Menu can show the
    • Importing Invoices

      Dear Team I used the enclosed csv file to import some invoices and it worked fine. I had to delete the file and when I am trying to re-upload it, I am getting the error for invoice number and branch "Resource does not exit." I tried a number of different
    • Enhance "Send Cliq Notification" Action in Zoho Desk Workflows (and also add Happiness Rating Support)

      ello Zoho Desk Team, We hope you're doing well. We’d like to submit a feature request regarding the “Send Cliq Notification” action available in Zoho Desk workflows — specifically in workflows triggered by Happiness Ratings, but also relevant to all workflows
    • Next Page