Email Marketing Deliverability
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Transcript of Email Marketing Deliverability
Brad Gurley
Professional Services & Deliverability Consultant at Bronto
TIMA Subject Matter Expert Lunch
Email Deliverability
Hot Topics
Declining deliverability – or not?
Engagement and Gmail
Mobile email adoption
It’s so Hard to Say Goodbye
Are Inbox Delivery Rates Declining?
Are Inbox Delivery Rates Declining?
According to ReturnPath, North American inbox delivery rates dropped to just 79% in the 2nd half of 2011.
Bronto’s numbers, using the same seed test method, show over 99% inbox delivery.
Are Inbox Delivery Rates Declining?
What’s the difference?
• Complaint rates
• The average complaint rate for a participant in this study was 4%
• Bronto clients have an average complaint rate of about 0.2%
• Lower complaint rates indicate better sender reputation• Translates to higher inbox delivery rates
Email Engagement: The New Frontier
Engage!
Most major email providers/ISPs are making changes that spotlight user engagement as a major factor in deliverability.
To keep inbox delivery rates high, senders need to shift focus:
• Relevant, content-driven mailings• Clear expectations at time of opt-in• Prominent unsubscribe option• Domain Authentication
Be Relevant and Add Value
Provide emails your subscribers want to receive Relevance
• Target specific seasons, holidays, or product lines
Content• Include useful
information with your promotions
Added Value• Give readers a reason to
save your email instead of deleting it
Set the Right Expectations
Clearly inform new subscribers what to expect Type of content
• Promotional or Informational?
Frequency• Monthly or Daily?
Area of interest• Provide options for
optimal targeting
Make Unsubscribing Easy
Place the Unsubscribe link in a prominent location If the Unsubscribe link is
hard to find, readers are more likely to use the Spam button to unsubscribe
Placing the link at the top of the message often reduces spam complaints
Authenticate!
Use Authentication tools to sign your messages
DKIM/DomainKeys• Yahoo protocol
SPF/SenderID• Created by Microsoft
Control your reputation
Private domain• Creates consistent headers
Dedicated IP address• For high-volume senders
GMail Leads the Charge
The push toward engagement-based metrics has been pioneered by Gmail.
• In April 2011, major changes were rolled out to the Gmail filtering system
• Engagement became a large part of the filtering algorithm• These metrics were tied to domain as well as IP address
• In March 2012, Gmail again made changes
• Filter behavior was changed• Messages routed to Spam now include a reason• Effects of this change were mixed
• Many senders saw increased spam folder placement• Bronto clients saw higher Gmail open rates on average
Dedicated vs. Shared IP
Dedicated vs. Shared IP
Dedicated vs. Shared IP
Shared IP “Carpool”
• Ideal for small senders
• Benefit from other senders
• Little to no “warm up time”
• Other senders can hurt deliverablity
Dedicated vs. Shared IP
Dedicated IP “Solo Driver”
• Ideal for large volume senders
• Control IP, no other senders
• “Warm up” time needed
Mobile Email and New Challenges
Mobile Adoption Soars
ReturnPath reports that email opens on mobile devices grew 82.4% between March 2011 and March 2012
Mobile is projected to overtake desktop and webmail as the most-used method of reading email by 2013
How does this impact deliverability?
• Filters for mobile clients are typically no different• Design best practices are crucial
• Broken formatting is more likely to lead to a spam complaint• Unsubscribe link should be easily visible on mobile screen
It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye
It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye
Removing Non-Engaged Contacts is essential to maintaining inbox deliverability
But how do you avoid removing contacts who WANT your email?
Make Up or Break Up?
• Last Chance to Engage• Strong Call to Action is Crucial• Attention Grabbing Subject Line
• Are We Breaking Up?• It’s Time to Say Goodbye
Non-responsive contacts• Remove from List• Send Less Frequently
Thank [email protected]/Blog
Questions?