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Issue #004 | September 2008 |
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JupiterResearch Promotes Feedback Loops, List Hygiene in Latest Report On September 3, JupiterResearch email marketing analyst David Daniels published an insightful new report entitled "E-mail Delivery Optimization Tactics." The report looks at how email marketers can maximize inbox delivery rates through a combination of delivery tools and list hygiene practices. Specifically, Daniels urges email marketers to sign up for ISPs' feedback loops and to take advantage of delivery tools and services. In fact, JupiterResearch reports that marketers taking advantage of email accreditation and reputation management services see a positive increase in key metrics ranging from 15 to 40 percent. The emphasis on feedback loops (FBLs) is being driven by significantly increased ISP adoption over the past 18 months. With AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft and many others now offering FBLs, you can't afford to ignore this critical information. By leveraging feedback loop data, you can identify which subscribers are hitting the "this is spam" button and try to identify what practices might be prompting the activity. Before signing up, you'll need to verify that you're currently authenticating your email using SPF, Sender ID or DKIM, as Daniels reports that email authentication is required to participate. More information on Feedback loops can be found in our recent whitepaper "Mastering Your Email Reputation: Seven Strategies for Improving Deliverability." Citing previous research indicating that 37% of email marketers take no action to suppress or try to reactive inactive subscribers, Daniels also highlights the importance of list hygiene. Failure to remove inactive addresses from your list, can significantly affect deliverability. Send too many emails to bad addresses, and you risk getting your messages blocked by ISPs. Plus, Daniels also points out that closed accounts are often being used by ISPs as honey pots or spam traps. Consequently, he suggests removing subscribers who are unresponsive for 10 months or more. For companies who outsource to an ESP, removing inactive addresses can lower your CPM fees by reducing your list size. Finally, the report recommends looking into email delivery tools and accreditation services from StrongMail partners Return Path and Goodmail Systems. Both can help you increase your inbox delivery, which will in turn deliver better results. This report serves as a good reminder of why it's important to follow through with email best practices. For more information and industry statistics, you can purchase the report directly from JupiterResearch. ................................................................................................. 
The ROI of Email Deliverability and Centralization New Forrester Consulting Study: The Total Economic Impact™ of the StrongMail Platform Available: Download Now! An independent ROI analysis from Forrester Consulting assesses the financial benefits that the company behind eToys, BabyUniverse and other popular online brands is receiving by centralizing its email on StrongMail. Download the 17-page study and learn how The Parent Company has reduced costs and improved deliverability. Back to top ................................................................................................. 
Keep it Relevant or Risk Recipients Clicking the "This is Spam" Button MarketingSherpa recently announced the results of a consumer survey that looked at the use of 'Report Spam' or 'Junk' buttons within popular email clients, and it's not an encouraging statistic for email marketers. While 52% of email users hit the spam button when they received messages from senders who don't have their permission, the second place reason, coming in at 41%, is because the email received wasn't of interest to them. While sending relevant emails is an established best practice for increasing results and customer satisfaction, this study links relevancy (or lack of it) to a consumer action that can significantly damage an email marketer's sender reputation. One of MarketingSherpa's key takeaways is that recipients "define spam by the quality of the email itself - not by the overall reputation of the company emailing them." With consumers broadening their definition of spam to include irrelevant messages, it's more important than ever to ensure that you're sending highly relevant messages based on preferences given by consumers and gleaned from their behaviors. This does require some effort, including tight integration with your customer databases. One of the most effective ways to ensure relevant messages is to use behavioral targeting. Try starting with email metrics such as opens or clicks and remarket to them. Make sure you categorize your links so you can key off those categories when you create your content blocks. Behavioral targeting can be even more powerful than targeting based on stated preferences - because actions speak louder than words. Behavior targeting does require tight integration with your backend systems and customer databases. Having real-time access to this data can empower you to deliver relevant messages not just based on content - but timing as well. Sending a delayed promotion for something that that a consumer been searching for won't be effective if they're already made a purchase or since lost interest. Keep in mind that relevancy can take many forms, including frequency. If you send email too frequently, recipients will begin to devalue your messages. Plus, frequency plays a prominent role in generating spam complaints. Send email to often, and recipients are likely to hit the spam button. Testing is the key to find the best frequency for your line of business. If you're thinking about increasing frequency, start sending slowly and watch for an increase in unsubscribes, complaints and opens and clicks. On the other hand, sending messages with too little frequency can cause consumers to forget why they have a relationship with you in the first place. Relevancy also means making sure you're identifying your email in a way that the consumer is going to recognize from a prior interaction. For example, if your company has multiple brands, be sure the "From" line of your email identifies the company with whom the recipient has a relationship. If the consumer doesn't recognize your brand or a prior relationship, they will likely hit the spam button. In the end, while these survey results expose the risks of consumers hitting the spam button for legitimate emails that they've opted in to, it's a good wake up call and motivator to start thinking about how you can make your emails more relevant, which will earn respect and business from your customers. Back to top ................................................................................................. 
It's Not Just What You Send, But How As mentioned in the previous article, sending relevant messages doesn't just generate better results, it also plays a role in deliverability by helping to safeguard your sender reputation. However, the number of recipient complaints is just one factor affecting deliverability. How you send your email also has a significant impact on deliverability and your long-term sender reputation. In order to protect their end users from spam and email abuse, ISPs actively block email based on how fast it's sent, the number of simultaneous connections, and whether or not emails are authenticated. That's why it's important to take all deliverability factors into account, otherwise your best practices in one area can be undermined by your actions in another. For example, having a pristine list won't matter if you get blocked by an ISP for sending too many messages at once. To that end, you should verify that your email system or email service provider is continually updating their sending parameters to meet the changing requirements set by ISPs, such as domain throttling and other ISP connection policies. While you're at it, you should also make sure that your system is updated with the latest bounce codes to facilitate list hygiene. Taking a holistic view of deliverability that incorporates both sending technology and email best practices will go a long way to getting your email messages delivered to the inbox. Back to top ................................................................................................. Manage Your Email You are receiving this email because you have opted in to receive the StrongMail Systems newsletter. Should you no longer wish to receive these messages, please send an email to info@strongmail.com with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line. To ensure delivery of this newsletter to your inbox and to enable images to load in future mailings, please add info@strongmail.com to your email address book or safe senders list. To view our Privacy Policy click here. |
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