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Reaching the InboxSecrets to Success
Part 1
Agenda
Consumer Landscape Email Landscape Best Practices
Consumer Landscape
What Consumers Want…
Relevancy
On Demand
Community
Delightful Experience
Consumer
ISP
Design
ContentDelivery
Email Client
Engagement
Factors Affecting the Consumer
Email Landscape
7
20% of Mail Never Makes it to the Inbox
8
Deliverability is Cited as Top Challenge by Marketers
25%
29%
30%
37%
52%
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Images not rendering in our email messages
Knowing where to begin to optimize our mailings
Declining response rates (e.g., campaign performance)
List turnover (e.g., addresses churning and going bad)
E-mail deliverability
Anatomy of ISP Delivery Process
Recipient Rules
Inbox Spam box Block/bounce
AOL Internal Blacklists
AOL Reputation Metrics - ”Abuse Data”
In Address Book
Enhanced White List
No White ListStandard White
ListCertified Mail
AOL Rules & Bayesian/Signature
AOL Volume Filters
Recipient Bayesian
URL Blocklists
ISPs Scorecard of a Mailers Reputation
Hotmail
AOL
Issues Impacting Delivery
Mailing System Business Policies Reputation Design & Content Data Management
How Engaged Are Your Customers?
Best Practices
Best Practices Register for Whitelist and Feedback Loops
– http://www.pivotalveracity.com/email-marketing-resources/isp-postmaster-resources.html
Review how emails render across various email clients
Run deliverability test via a 3rd party or independently Identify inactive customers and consider removing
them from all mailings Identify original source of unsubscribes/FBLs and
consider making alterations to acquisition methods
Sponsored by
Reaching the InboxSecrets to Success
Part 2
Today’s Topics on Deliverability
I. Understand how it works
II. Choose your destiny
III. Follow these guidelines
IV. Use these techniques
V. Contact us to learn more
Understand how it works(1) Mail is sent
• Could be an ESP or Individual Sender
(2) Mail is “received”• Could be ISP or business
(3) Mail is filtered with MANY different methods• Authentication (SPF, DKIM)• Blacklists and Whitelists• Sender reputation• Content filters• User safe lists
(4) Mail is processed… “delivered”• Inbox • Spam folder• Bounced• Deferred (the black hole)
Choose your destiny“Senders that were listed on just one of the top 12 blacklists saw their delivery rates plunge to an average of 35%”. - Return Path (2008)
When you choose your email provider, you choose your deliverability destiny.
Two Types:
1) Pooled (Shared): Can be efficient, low cost, low risk
2) Individual: Can be low cost
What’s it take to reach the inbox?
- Warming up- Feedback loops- Whitelists- Blacklist monitoring
Follow these guidelines“75% of respondents say lack of relevance is the biggest reason subscribers choose to opt out, followed closely by sending too frequently.” - Return Path (2010)
There several things you can do to improve your odds of reaching the inbox.
- Send a welcome message to all new subscribers
- Ask subscribers to add you to their safe list, address book, etc
- Use spam-check tools on your messages
- Don’t include attachments or imbed any video/audio
- Don’t use too many images or rely solely on images
- Use a permission statement in your messages and sign up form
Use these techniques“Twenty percent of email in the US and Canada is still not making the inbox with 4% of email going to the “junk” or “bulk” folder and 16% going missing.” - Return Path (2010)
We also recommend:
- Test your HTML designs for rendering problems
- Consider using a confirmed opt in process
- Run Return Path reports to test your inbox delivery
- Segment your list and send targeted relevant messages
- Finally, never consider buying, renting, or sharing lists
Contact us to learn more
For copies of these slides, general questions or ideas please feel free to contact me directly:
Derek EdwardsiContact Account [email protected]