Election Noise, Inbox Snooze

We always need to be watching what is happening in our world. It dictates some of our marketing. Our emails are getting affected by the elections. Jay Schwedelson, in his latest email, that we subscribe to, started it with "We are ALL sick of political ads BUT they are screwing up marketing HUGE right now!" So of course I had to listen to his podcast Do This Not That And:

Election season can affect your marketing, even if your business has nothing to do with politics. As November 3 gets closer, people may see more campaign ads, fundraising messages, news updates, and calls to take action. That flood of messages competes for attention across inboxes and screens.

Email data shows that the concern is more than a feeling. Email deliverability company Validity reviews the data around elections. And it has found that average inbox placement across Gmail, Microsoft, Apple, and Yahoo falls by more than 5%. The drop affected legitimate, permission-based marketing emails, too. Validity also saw increases in messages sent to spam or rejected.

A crowded inbox can make a good message easier to miss. Validity reported that some political programs sent four or more emails a day as Election Day approached. Complaints about both political and nonpolitical emails also rose before the election. This does not mean every business email will land in spam. It does show why marketers may face more competition and less reader attention during that period.

The 2026 election may add another change. Google’s Verified Sender Program gives eligible political committees a way to deliver compliant messages more reliably to personal Gmail accounts. Google says those senders must still follow its rules and keep spam reports below its limit. A verified sender is not guaranteed inbox placement; people still report, block, or filter messages.

This is a good time to manage expectations and plan your timing. If you’re announcing a sale, hosting a webinar, or sending a major promotion, consider scheduling it outside the few days before November 3 and the couple of days after. News, campaign messages, and requests for donations may keep attention focused on election results. If your message must go out, make it clear, useful, and easy to recognize.

Watch your own delivery, clicks, unsubscribes, and spam complaints. Keep your list current and send to people who asked to hear from you. Google advises bulk senders to keep reported spam below 0.1% and avoid reaching 0.3%, since higher rates can hurt inbox delivery.

Election week is not a typical marketing week. Don't worry about your results, They are going to be different right now. No matter where someone lives or what they believe, the increase in ads and messages can shape what they notice. Plan around the noise, and give your audience room to focus.