|
|
 |
E-Marketing Deliverability Issues
Does it seem to you that when you view "openings" within your statistics, that fewer recipients seem to be opening your campaigns?... Where: There are 3 places your email can go once you have hit 'send' on your latest e-marketing campaign: 1. The Inbox. Safely delivered (and hopefully read!) 2. Junk Mail Box. This has negative implications on: a: Brand image b: Decreased profile c: Inaccurate campaign reporting 3. Undelivered. (?or are they?) Why: The 3 main reasons why your statistics show less recipients are opening your campaigns: 1. Filters. 2. Fallen out of favour. 3. Statistics not accurate. How: Let's talk about how we can improve both the deliverability and the statistics of your campaign: 1. Filters. When an email is wrongly filtered out as Spam, this is known as a "False Positive". Here is a list of the most commonly used filters. a) Community: This is based on the community joining together and installing the filters, then reporting any occurrences of Spam. False Positive occurrences should be low, but in reality they aren't. This is due to a couple of reasons: The first being the weed theory. What one person regards as a weed, another may regard as a flower. We all have different opinions. The other is that many people are now reporting once wanted email as Spam instead of unsubscribing. b) Blacklisting: ISP's generally use their own proprietary lists of known Spammers, created by themselves. Third party blacklisting companies also publish databases of Spam senders. False Positive's are extremely high, as these third party blacklists have no accountability. In fact anyone can report an IP Address as a Spammer and do not have to qualify their reasons. c) Address recognition: Sender's email address is in the recipient's address book or the server's/gateway's acceptable list. Email senders must earn their position within these lists. d) Trapping: The filter company plants email addresses all through the Internet to attract Spam Harvesters. Once the false addresses receive Spam, the source of the Spammer is identified; the sender is then blocked immediately across all users of the filter. False positives are extremely low. e) Challenge-Response: This white listing concept is based on all emails being Spam and the sender having to prove otherwise. Before an email is delivered, the ISP or PC that uses the filter challenges that a human sent the email. The sender has to then manually click the link and then they are added to the subscriber's permissible list. Any auto-responses such as Double Opt in responses do not work well with this type of filter. f) Rule-Based: This is the most commonly used type of filter on a server. It catches Spam by rejecting/accepting messages based on predetermined rules of what is acceptable. g) Bonded Sender: Email markers gain status as a non-Spammer through these bonder senders and are therefore permitted through the filters. h) Volume Blocking: Spammers are known to send high volume emails without thought to speed, volume or list cleanliness. The ISP sees the large amount as well as the other problems and terminates the connection. i) Probability: Using rules, this filter "learns" the user's definitions of Spam and decides what may be regarded as Spam. False Positives increase as rule-based Spam is reduced. To combat these filters and to work towards not being a "False Positive", you should make sure that your Email Service Provider: 1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc) 2: Manages ISP relations 3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality 4: Provides Copy advice or tools 5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle 6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else's i.e sends them separately 7: Monitors delivery outcomes 8: Check blacklists often You should also ensure that: * Your recipients want to receive your emails * You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose * You are explicit-what, when, how often * You provide easy to use unsubscribe links * You invite recipients to add you to known senders list 2. Fallen out of favour, but not unsubscribed. An unfortunate trend nowadays is for recipients to report as spam or assign to the junk box, rather than to unsubscribe from the newsletter. For this reason alone, make sure your unsubscribe action is easily achieved. According to Jakob Nielsen's Newsletter Usability Report, the 3 main reasons for newsletters falling out of favour are: 1) Too frequent 2) Irrelevant Content 3) Not signed up If your statistics are showing less openings, then reviewing your list, your content and your frequency maybe applicable. 3. Statistics not accurate. This can be caused by 3 main reasons: 1) An increased amount of text only recipients. Most ESP's deliver using MIME Technology, which ensures the recipients receive the correct format for their requirements. Increasingly more recipients are able to receive HTML, although with "text only" email providers such as Gmail coming on this scene, the balance maybe maintained. 2) Delivered to Junk mail box. Emails that are read by the recipient in the junk mail folder may not produce any response or statistical information and so can affect the accuracy of the campaign report. 3) Image blocking, which means that the campaign 'opens' cannot be tracked, hence giving you an incomplete report. This is one reason to educate users about the need to add trusted senders to their address books, as AOL and MSN (Hotmail etc) don't display images in e-mail from unknown senders by default. However, if you can convince your recipient to add you to their address book, thereby 'whitelisting' you, the images will display by default and they will receive your HTML email as it was intended to be seen. A solution to this is to run an "Add to Address Book" campaign. The aim is to get subscribers to add senders to their address books. Add this text to the Thank You page after a new subscription is collected, add it to a Confirmation Message and the Welcome Message, and add it to the top of the HTML and Plain Text versions of the email. Make it part of your template, add it near the top of your template as well as near the unsubscribe link. Some examples are: "Want to unsubscribe? Click here!" "Want to make sure that you keep receiving our valuable publication? Be sure to add [insert your sender address here] to your address book!"). Hopefully these hints and tips will better equip you in getting your campaigns delivered into your recipient's inboxes. Kath Pay is Marketing Director of Ezemail, a web-based e-communications tool, which enables you to create, send and track your email marketing and SMS messaging campaigns. For more information please go to http://www.ezemail.com or contact Kath at: kath@ezemail.com.
MORE RESOURCES:
Email-Marketing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
12 Tips For Writing Winning E-mail Learning to write more effective e-mail is a valuable skill when you are trying to build an online business. Here are a few tips to get you started. Choose Your Email Marketing Software Wisely Successful online business can't be led without email marketing. Many people know that it is very important to have a web site but having a web site is only one step in creating successful online presence. 7 Ways Email Can End Your Business Relationships Before They Start Too often, people forget they're anonymous in the internet world. Your friends and colleagues might know you as being a tireless worker, a great friend and loving parent, but I don't know that. Dirty Secrets Of Co-Registration Email Lists Years ago, I listened to Internet marketing "gurus" share that they had lists in the hundreds of thousands, and I was all ears. Up to that point, I had not managed to get my lists above 60,000 (after many years of consistently working at it). What is Email Marketing? There are many avenues available for marketing online products. Radios, TV advertisements, newspaper and magazine advertisements, and that big sign on the highway are examples of the traditional marketing approach. How to Do an E-mail Interview in 9 Easy Steps Need a fresh idea for your e-zine content? Do an interview! One of the many benefits of being an e-zine publisher is that you'll have no trouble finding experts who will take a few minutes to talk with you. People love free publicity and are generally delighted to get in front of your readers. E-mail 101: The Dos and Donts Even though many people have been writing e-mails for a few years now, you would be amazed at some of the pure gibberish that arrives in my e-mailbox on a regular basis.Many people seem to think that because they aren't dealing directly with another person (or as directly as they would be face-to-face or by telephone), all forms of civility and basic respect for the other person (i. Email: When You Dont Get a Response The lack of an email response is an issue I have grappled with many times especially since I rely on email as a primary means of communication rather than the phone because of my hearing loss.You email a client, follow up, and whatnot. Successful Email Marketing No doubt email is still the best way to get a quick response from your prospect. Big companies on the web have realized this that they have implemented free email address service on their web site. Email Etiquette III Further to my previous issues this subject continues - part III.This month I'll share on Topic Changes and Read Receipts. 10 Terrific Ways To Enlarge Your Subscriber Base 1. Create a unique selling proposition (USP). 7 Autoresponder Marketing Strategies To Automate, Build and Grow Your Business Did you know one of the most important tools in your Internet marketing arsenal? Sometimes it does sound trivial but it is one of the most powerful marketing strategies available on the Internet. Why is that? It's simply because it does everything in the background but this is how it becomes extremely profitable. Follow Up Letter for Past Customers - Why and How to Write It Following up with your past customers is a proven way to make a lot of extra sales. You can simply write a promotional offer about one of your other products in the form of a follow up letter, and then send it to your customers email list. Free Mailing Lists: Good Or Bad? Advantages of the free mailing listsThe free newsletters are a great way to build a relationship with your customers, or with your potential buyers. Online, only a very small percentage of your visitors will buy on their first visit to your site. Single or Double Opt--In? You heard the message before. Your e-mail list is the most important key to your future online success. All I Really Needed to Know About List Building I Learned From Stephen King! I have always been an avid reader of Stephen King's writings over the years, he's one of the few authors that I can safely say I have read everything he has written. Granted, I am a couple of years behind, but I do manage to catch up as I get the time and opportunity to read him. Add Email To Your Marketing Mix If you are serious about adding email to your marketing mix, you should take email seriously enough to develop a plan for it. Too many organizations launch a half-baked email program and then are disappointed when it doesn't live up to expectations. Youve Got Mail It seems that Google is revolutionizing the Net in more than one way. Recently they announced that they will be offering a free email service called Gmail. Email Marketing Kung Fu Have you ever heard email described as, "the killer Internet Application?" Do you understand why email is the killer app for your business on the Internet, or how to make it that way if it isn't now?In my spare time, I teach WingTsun(TM) Kung Fu. I learned Internet marketing by marketing my martial arts schools and classes online. Your Newsletters Are Pretty Lame If You Are Doing These 7 Things I remember the good old days of the internet when it was a real treat to subscribe to someone's newsletter and receive all their wonderful information through the convenience of your email.It's still like this today - for the publishers that are getting it right.
|
|
Home | Marketing eCourse | Online Marketing Kit | Web Hosting | Links | ClickBank Portal Advertising Information | Blogging & RSS | Branding Information | Copywriting | Traffic Building Email Marketing | Ezine Publishing | Site Promotion | PPC Advertising | E-Books |
| Copywrite © 2006 www.AdAdvantageSuccess.com All Rights Reserved. |
