Email myths part 2: The recovery plan

Ok so after reading our last article you figured that your TRUE deliverability is in the toilet. Now before you shoot the messenger here are the 3 easy steps you need to follow to get back on track and move forward.

Step 1: List Hygiene

Like any hygienic endeavor it needs to be done on a consistent basis or things will start to smell (writing gods forgive me for this horrible metaphor-but hey it does the job). always aim to stay between 15%-20% open rate (depending on industry). If that number start to go south,that's the first indication that there's something wrong with the list

Hard bounces

Hard bounces, usually detected by your ESP, should be deleted as they occur. This signals to the mailboxes that upkeep is being consistently done on the lists avoiding issues down the line.

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Spam traps and honeypots

These are email addresses created by a mailbox or a blacklist in order to identify spammers and are scattered across the web . If they aren’t removed and the domain keeps sending to these honeypots, the IP reputation will drop and might get the domain blocked altogether

Double opt-in

I have never been the biggest fan of this strategy due to this being a double edged sword. 1) the user can see the process as tedious just not opt-in 2) the user double opt-in and now you know you really have an engaged user--- as always in digital if unsure split test

Delete inactive users

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This is the recommendation I get the most flack for but it’s an important one—Deleting inactive users. If you see users aren’t interacting with your emails for more than 90 days+ cut them loose. If you still think there might be something to squeeze our of them then the strategy we implement with most our clients is to offer a generous rebate. If they STILL do not open the email then we say buh bye… Granted if your product is a high ticket item that is not frequently bought then I would maybe park those emails for a later date.

 Example: Car owners change cars once every 3 years on average . It does not make sense to delete those emails since they most likely won’t open a rebate no matter how big if their lease has just been renewed

Step 2: Rebuilding

We fixed the most glaring issue and have a strategy going forward to make sure our email strategy is strong. Now let’s dive into rebuilding.

Permanence

Similar to domain age in SEO, the IP age of the sender impacts whether the email is let in or not. If your IP has been burnt , it would make sense to get a new one and start sending emails . Most Mailboxes will “throttle” the emails from the new IP until they can be certain that this isn't another spammer IP and its safe.

IP Warm-up

A warmup is done by sending emails from the new IP ONLY to your most engaged followers ( i.e. 30 days) . The purpose is to counteract the throttling method mentioned previously and let the Mailbox know the IP is safe

Authentication

Although not a requirement to get inside the inbox, if authentication is not present, your emails are subject to jump through more hoops until they are let through. There are 3 kinds of authentication and some do come standard with your ESP.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework):

Published in the DNS, it’s used to authenticate the sender and make sure the email is from that domain address.

DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM):

Cryptographic authentication, it’s a virtual signature which signs parts of the email authenticating that it comes from the source.A common occurrence of this, is when forwarding an email to a friend the email received comes all broken . This is the authentication preventing spammers from spoofing the domain name.

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance(DMARC):

The highest/newest level of authentication, aims to prevents spam spoofing by matching “from” and “envelope” domain. It basically instructs the mailbox on how to handle the email.

Step 3: Content Strategy

Content is king in this domain as well. Although emails require much lest text than your average website, there needs to be some balance between images shown and the text to accompany it.

The reason behind this is, spammers tend to send one image emails to bypass the filters. Therefore the trend has leaned to have one dominating visual image with CTA along with images and text below the fold.

Hopefully you use the strategy above and you can get back on track within as little as 30 days . For any more question or insight do not hesitate to message me-- Always love talking shop