How To Set Up BIMI (and Why It’s Important in 2023)

Two years ago, Apple shook up the entire email world.

In April 2021, the tech giant made major changes to its privacy controls. Apple introduced an update that dramatically limited the tracking capabilities of digital advertisers. Plus, iPhone users were now able to opt out of data sharing if they wanted.

Along with Apple’s changes, third-party cookies are also phasing out in 2024 (according to Google). These major privacy changes brought on by tech giants have induced a massive stir among brands.

Why?

Because in a world where privacy measures are on the rise, so is brand distrust among consumers.

More than ever, anyone choosing to partake in the email newsletter game needs to ensure they’re doing everything possible to build trust among their readers and overcome the privacy hurdles from the tech overlords. One key method of protecting your sender reputation in this shifting landscape is to set up BIMI.

In this article, you’ll learn what BIMI is, why it’s important, and exactly how you can set it up for brand recognition in the inbox to ensure your newsletter is successful.

Let’s dive in!

What Is BIMI?

Have you ever flipped out your smartphone, opened up your email inbox, and noticed some brands have a logo displayed next to their message?

This image is known as a verified sender logo—and it’s made possible by those who have properly set up BIMI.

Let’s tackle this strange acronym. BIMI stands for Brand Indicators for Message Identification.

Simply put, BIMI allows you to show off a trusted sender logo with all of your emails. The primal purpose is to verify that you are who you say you are—not a scammer or spammer. BIMI works alongside three other important methods for verifying your sender information:

• Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC)

• Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM)

• Sender Policy Framework (SPF).

Don’t worry too much about those three jargony terms yet. We’ll cover how they tie into BIMI in just a little bit, but for now, let’s look a little closer at BIMI.

BIMI is one of the latest emerging technologies in online security that helps authenticate who you are as an email sender. The main benefit for you as a newsletter publisher is that it essentially helps you build trust with your subscribers.

When you use BIMI, it helps protect your email domain from being used by hackers to send sketchy emails. With BIMI implemented, your logo always shows up with your emails, so recipients know the email is truly coming from you.

What Does BIMI Look Like in Email?

Curious about what BIMI looks like in an email?

Check out this example below.

Do you see how Amazon’s logo appears next to their email? That specific type of logo is called a verified sender logo. Notice how the other brand doesn’t have anything there? It’s just blank.

When you see those two emails, which one are you more likely to trust? Which one is more on brand? And which one are you more likely to click on?

In summary, BIMI lets you display a verified sender logo along with your email in your subscribers’ inboxes. It’s one of the ways your brand is verified as a trusted sender, both by your subscribers and by the email provider (like Gmail or Apple Mail).

Why BIMI Matters

So, why should you pay attention to BIMI? Well, it doesn’t matter if you’re not regularly sending emails to a list of subscribers. But if you are, then it’s crucial.

In a world filled with email scammers and phishing, it’s important to establish trust with your readers. In a survey of over 1,000 adults, using BIMI with a registered logo increased consumer confidence in an email’s legitimacy by 90%.

From your reader's point of view, BIMI allows them to quickly identify and trust that an email is truly coming from the real you and not a scammer.

But, there’s more. BIMI also creates a better user experience, leading to better email engagement. For instance, another benefit found in the survey is good open rates and brand recall, as seen in these stats:

• 21% increase in open rates

• 34% increase in average purchase likelihood

• 18% increase in brand recall after a 5-second exposure

From a brand’s point of view, BIMI lets you display your logo in all your emails, which builds trust. But, there’s another added benefit — with every email you send, you’re further solidifying your brand image. You will stand out in crowded inboxes, giving you more brand consistency.

To recap, BIMI allows you to:

• Display your logo on every email.

• Control which logo shows up in your emails.

• Authenticate yourself in an email provider’s POV.

• Build trust in your readers.

• Establish brand recognition and an optimized subscriber experience.

What Email Providers Support BIMI?

Something to keep in mind is that BIMI isn’t recognized or used by every single email provider.

It’s still an emerging technology, which means some providers don’t offer it yet. For a while, the major players were Google and Yahoo. Apple wasn’t on board initially. But in September 2022 they launched iOS 16 and finally established BIMI in Apple Mail.

Once Apple bought in, most major email providers jumped on board and are now BIMI-enabled.

Here’s the current list of the most used email providers that support BIMI:

How Do You Implement BIMI?

So, how do you set up BIMI?

Well, there are only five steps, but it is a bit of a process. Buckle in, as this next section is going to get a little bit technical. However, you may already be partly done (I’ll explain in a minute).

If you’re just getting started with BIMI, here’s a step-by-step process to set it up:

1. Authenticate Your Brand’s Emails with DMARC, SPF, DKIM

First off, in order to get BIMI set up, you need to understand that it works in conjunction with a few other authentication protocols to verify to your readers that you are, in fact, you!

Before enabling BIMI, you need to have a few other protocols set up: DMARC, SPF, and DKIM:

1. Ensure all three of these are set up and aligned properly.

2. Set up a DMARC record on your “From” domain. Remember: the reject policy in the record must either be p=reject or p=quarantine.

If you’re unsure of how DMARC works, or you need more help, you can check out beehiiv’s handy DMARC resource.

2. Create an SVG Tiny PS Logo

Next up, it’s time to create the logo you’ll use in your emails. To do this, you have to create a very specific file type called an SVG. Plus, you’ll have to ensure the image is the right size so it’s compatible (and looks correct).

Here are some rules when creating your new verified sender logo:

• SVG format (scalable vector graphics)

• Centered image

• Square aspect ratio

• Solid background color

• Under 32 kb

Remember to make sure your logo has enough space on the outside. Sometimes the outside edges will be circular or square depending on the email provider. You don’t want it to get cut off in the inbox.

Once your logo is created as an SVG file, upload it to a public server.

3. Get a VMC

To ensure your logo displays in Gmail, you’ll need to acquire a VMC. A VMC, or verified mark certificate, is a way to digitally legitimize and certify your logo online.

You can set up your logo’s VMC with Entrust or DigiCert.

4. Publish a BIMI DNS Record

Next up, you’ll have to head over to your domain dashboard (or wherever you manage your domain). Once you’re there, you’ll have to create a text record within your domain’s nameservers.

While the next part is going to seem quite complicated because of all the crazy numbers and letters, the process is quite straightforward, as it’s just a simple copy-and-paste job.

In your domain manager, go to your DNS. Create a new TXT record at the default._bimi subdomain.

Add the following values:

default._bimi.[domain] IN TXT “v=BIMI1; l=[SVG URL]; a=[PEM URL];"

Then, fill in these sections:

• SVG URL: the web address where you’re hosting your SVG file

• PEM URL: the web address where you’re hosting your Verified Mark Certificate

• Domain: your domain name (i.e. beehiiv.com)

Most DNS providers will require you to enter your BIMI record in two areas:

The first field is: default._bimi.example.com

The second field is: v=BIMI1; l=https://example.com/bimi-logo.svg

5. Verify BIMI Is Set Up Correctly

Your last step is to double-check that everything is set up just right. To do this, head over to the BIMI Group’s BIMI inspector tool to ensure you’ve set everything up correctly.

Before verifying your BIMI, you should wait about 24 hours after you’ve set everything up. Once you plug everything into the inspector tool, it will tell you if it’s working properly or if there’s something you need to change. The tool will tell you of any potential log issues, and you’ll even be able to preview it in different display scenarios.

Make Your Newsletter Stand Out in the Inbox

In the ever-changing world of email, it’s more important than ever to ensure your newsletter is standing out in the inbox.

With BIMI, you’ll now be one step closer to establishing yourself as a trusted sender and a recognized brand.

If you want to ensure you continue to separate yourself from the hundreds of emails in your readers' inboxes, then you need to use a trusted email newsletter platform.

At beehiiv, it’s never been easier to launch, grow, and scale an email newsletter. At beehiiv, we understand what it takes to establish yourself in the newsletter game. Our platform is made by creators, for creators, and is stacked with a variety of tools to help you master the inbox.

See how beehiiv can help get you where you need to be. Sign up for free today.