{
  "slug": "everything_about_bimi",
  "title": "Everything You Need to Know About BIMI: Strengthen Your Brand and Deliverability with Visual Indicators",
  "date": "2024-09-27",
  "banner": "https://port25.sh/blog/img/bimi.jpeg",
  "content": [
    {
      "type": "markdown",
      "text": "# Everything You Need to Know About BIMI: Strengthen Your Brand and Deliverability with Visual Indicators\n\nSeptember 27, 2024\n\nHello everyone! 👋\n\nToday, we're going to explore an exciting innovation in the world of email marketing: **BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification)**. If you want to build trust with your recipients and showcase your brand right in their inbox, this article is for you! 🚀\n\nWe'll also discuss **VMC (Verified Mark Certificates)** and **CMC (Certified Mark Certificates)**, key elements for implementing BIMI, especially with Gmail.\n\n## 🧐 What is BIMI?\n\n**BIMI** is a standard that allows senders to display their brand logo next to their emails in the recipient's inbox. In other words, it's like a showcase that highlights your visual identity even before the email is opened.\n\n**Why is this important?**\n\n- **Building trust**: Recipients instantly recognize your brand, increasing the likelihood of opening the email.\n- **Protection against phishing**: A verified logo indicates that the email comes from a legitimate source.\n- **Improved deliverability**: Email providers give more trust to authenticated emails that comply with standards.\n\n## 📜 How Does BIMI Work?\n\nBIMI relies on existing email authentication protocols, particularly **DMARC**, to verify the sender's identity. Once authentication is successful, the email provider displays the brand logo according to BIMI specifications.\n\n**Key Elements of BIMI:**\n\n1. **Strict email authentication**: Your domain must have a DMARC policy with p=quarantine or p=reject.\n2. **Logo file in SVG Tiny PS format**: The logo must be in a specific format to be compatible.\n3. **BIMI DNS record**: A **TXT** type DNS record that points to the logo file.\n4. **VMC and CMC certificates**: These certificates are used to validate brand ownership and logo.\n\n## 🔄 VMC and CMC: What's the Difference?\n\n### VMC (Verified Mark Certificates)\n\n- **What is it?** VMCs are digital certificates issued by recognized certification authorities. They confirm that you are the legitimate owner of the brand and logo used.\n- **Why are they important?** VMCs add an extra layer of trust by officially validating your brand identity with email providers.\n\n### CMC (Certified Mark Certificates)\n\n- **New evolution**: CMCs are a new form of certificates recently introduced, notably by Google, in addition to VMCs.\n- **What is it?** CMCs are similar to VMCs but with specifications adapted to meet the requirements of some email providers like Gmail.\n- **Why CMCs?** Google has implemented CMCs to further improve security and brand verification within the framework of BIMI.\n\n**In summary**: To maximize compatibility and logo display with all email providers, it is recommended to have a VMC and, if necessary, a CMC.\n\n## 🔧 How to Implement BIMI for Your Domain\n\n**1. Ensure your emails are properly authenticated:**\n\n- **SPF**, **DKIM**, and **DMARC** must be correctly configured.\n- Your DMARC policy should be set to p=quarantine or p=reject.\n\n**2. Prepare your logo:**\n\n- The logo must be in **SVG Tiny PS** format.\n- It must comply with BIMI guidelines regarding size, format, and content (e.g., avoid text or overly fine details).\n\n**3. Host your logo:**\n\n- Place the SVG file on a secure server accessible via HTTPS.\n\n**4. Obtain your VMC and CMC certificates:**\n\n- **VMC**: Contact an accredited certification authority (e.g., DigiCert, Entrust) to obtain a VMC. You will need to provide documents proving brand ownership.\n- **CMC**: To meet Google's requirements, you may also need to obtain a CMC. This certificate is specific and obtained through recognized authorities.\n\n**5. Create the BIMI DNS record:**\n\n- The record is of type **TXT**.\n- The record name is: default._bimi.yourdomain.com.\n- The record content specifies the location of the logo and certificate information.\n\n**Example of BIMI record with VMC and CMC:**\n\n```\nv=BIMI1; l=https://yourdomain.com/logo.svg; a=https://yourdomain.com/certificate.pem;\n```\n\n- v=BIMI1: BIMI protocol version.\n- l=: Logo URL.\n- a=: VMC or CMC certificate URL.\n\n**6. Test your configuration:**\n\n- Use online tools to verify that your BIMI record is correctly configured.\n- Send test emails to see if the logo appears with major email providers.\n\n## 📖 Reference to the BIMI RFC Draft\n\nThe **BIMI RFC draft** defines the technical specifications of the protocol. It describes authentication requirements, logo formats, DNS records, and security considerations.\n\n**Key Points of the Draft:**\n\n- **Authentication Requirements**: The domain must have a strict DMARC policy.\n- **Logo Format**: Must be in SVG Tiny PS to ensure security and compatibility.\n- **Use of Certificates**: VMCs and CMCs allow validation of brand ownership.\n\n## 🤔 Benefits of BIMI for Your Business\n\n- **Increased open rates**: A recognizable logo attracts recipients' attention.\n- **Stronger brand awareness**: Every email becomes an opportunity to promote your visual identity.\n- **Improved deliverability**: By complying with strict authentication standards, you optimize your chances of reaching the inbox.\n- **Increased recipient trust**: Displaying your verified logo reassures recipients about the authenticity of the email, reducing concerns related to phishing or spam.\n\n## ⚠️ Best Practices for BIMI\n\n- **Ensure your DMARC policy is correctly configured**: This is the foundation for BIMI to work.\n- **Use a simple and recognizable logo**: Avoid complex details that may not be visible.\n- **Keep your certificates up to date**: VMCs and CMCs have a limited validity period.\n- **Monitor developments**: BIMI is constantly evolving, stay informed about updates and new requirements.\n\n## 🤗 Need Help?\n\nImplementing BIMI, VMCs, and CMCs may seem complex, but don't worry! At Sarbacane, we're here to help. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or need assistance implementing BIMI and strengthening your brand.\n\n---\n\n**In Summary:**\n\n- **BIMI** is an innovative standard that allows you to display your logo in the recipient's inbox.\n- It relies on strict authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and requires a logo in a specific format.\n- **VMCs (Verified Mark Certificates)** and **CMCs (Certified Mark Certificates)** are certificates that validate ownership of your brand, essential for some providers like Gmail.\n- **Adopting BIMI** means building trust, improving deliverability, and promoting your brand with every email sent.\n\n#EmailMarketing #Deliverability #BIMI #VMC #CMC #Branding"
    }
  ]
}