Without a doubt, you need an email marketing automation guide if you want to increase your email deliverability and open rate. Because deliverability and open rate are major contributing factors to the success of your email marketing campaign.
Imagine all the resources and effort you spend planning every detail of your marketing campaign and then later find out that most of the emails you sent out were not opened. Or that they went to the spam folder of your prospective customers. It would be sad and it would cause you not to achieve your email marketing goals.
Yet you need more engaged email subscribers that you can easily convert into paying customers. Now, we want to help you understand how to get your emails into target customers' inboxes.
What is Email Deliverability and What Decreases Deliverability?
Email deliverability means the rate at which emails make it to your subscribers' inboxes. An email that goes to the spam folder or is blocked by the ISP is a deliverability failure. Here are some factors that may cause such deliverability failure.
Spammy email content
A high bounce rate occurs when you send an email to an invalid email address.
Low sender score and reputation
Negative actions by the recipients. For example, unopened emails, immediate deletion of email, or classification of your email as spam.
Clone phishing attacks
So, how do you improve deliverability in your email marketing campaigns? The following is a representation of how.
Source: Mailmodo
1. Increase Your IP Credibility
Your IP address is a set of numbers that identifies all emails from your domain. An email provider distinguishes "safe" and "unsafe" emails based on the historical conditions of your IP address and domain reputation.
In other words, if servers have historically seen "bad" emails from your IP address, they may be inclined to blacklist your domain. Therefore, most of your emails will likely end in the recipient's spam folder. That is why you should avoid sharing your IP address with others, as you have a reputation you want to protect.
The first step in your domain authenticating process is determining whether your IP address is blacklisted. If your IP is blacklisted, please visit the blacklist company's page and find out the requirements to have it removed from their list.
Also, focus on putting in place authentication protocols to protect your domain. Here are steps you can take to achieve this.
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC)
It is a DNS protocol that protects your domain from unauthorized use. For example, phishing or email spoofing. DMARC protects the compromise of your domain by issuing specific instructions to the email provider about the allowable use of the sending domain.
Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
SPF is an email authentication technique that verifies that an incoming email originates from an authorized and legitimate sender and not from a relay server. It tells the email provider which IP addresses and hostnames are allowed to send emails from a domain.
DomainKeys Identified Mails (DKIM)
It is an encrypted digital signature that informs the receiving inbox provider that an authentic email from this domain should include. DKIM ensures that no change is made to the message while transmitting it.
2. Perfect the Opt-in Process
You are less likely to experience email deliverability failure if you have an efficient system of adding customers to your email list. An optimized opt-in process guarantees that your email list is full of engaged users.
It is best to have a smaller email list of customers ready to receive email communications from you. It minimizes the risk of many recipients classifying your email as spam, which hurts your IP credibility.
We recommend using a double opt-in system to develop your email list. The system collects a subscriber's email address through a signup form. Later, the lead receives a confirmation mail to validate their contact information before being added to the list.
3. Review Your Sender's Reputation
Did you know the reason for your email deliverability failure could be a low sender score? The sender reputation is a product of the IP address and domain reputation.
Your email service provider assigns the sender score, which makes up your sender's reputation. The score is calculated using traditional metrics, such as spam reports and unsubscribes. ISPs will automatically reject any emails that fall below a certain score.
The score ranges from 0-100. The higher the score, the better your reputation. And a high bounce rate on your emails harms your score.
4. Make the Opt-Out Process Easier
The last thing you want is a disgruntled subscriber on your email list to protect your sender's reputation.
You have to be open to the idea of subscribers changing their minds about being on your email list. Forcing them to be there is illegal and doesn't do your sender's reputation. Such subscribers will be quick to classify your emails as spam.
The CAN-SPAM Act requires you to clear to your subscribers that they can unsubscribe at any time and give them clear guides on how to do it. That should be the principle for you.
Your subscribers shouldn't face any unnecessary hassles unsubscribing from your email list. The best you can do is offer the subscriber an option to rejoin your email list.
5. Monitor Engagement Metrics and Spam Complaints
You stand a better chance of dealing with your email deliverability failure if you understand what is causing it. Some of the engagement metrics to look out for include:
Open and click-through rates
Number of unsubscribes
Spam complaints
Most major ISPs offer feedback loops that you can use to gain information from recipients who have complained about your email. The Complaint Feedback Loop (FBL) will determine whether you follow the best email practices. For example, why are customers considering your emails redundant?
How to Tips from This Email Marketing Automation Guide
The representation above shows numerous ways you can increase your email deliverability. The ultimate goal is to create a winning email marketing funnel that converts more of your subscribers into paying customers. At Royal Executive Assistants we’ll help you achieve this milestone with our unique process geared to help you achieve freedom through automation.