Once a reputable DMA approved list broker has supplied you with your up-to-date, opted-in email list and you have the data right, there are still plenty of areas where you can really ensure that budgets are fully utilised and you are getting the most from your email campaigns.
Here are 15 handy tips to help our little emails on the way.
Fly my pretties, fly.
1.
Get matey with ISP's: They are your friend.
Send your emails in a steady rate and manner from a dedicated and consistent IP address.
This way, you build up a nice reputation with the ISP's and the E-romance begins.
2.
From Address: YourpalDatabroker@ = win.
0912478AJTY21@ = #Fail.
Make it friendly.
Make it personal.
3.
Speak to your prospects: Tell them how you want to communicate with them, better still ask them how they want to be communicated with - frequency, visible privacy policy, opt-in details.
4.
Loopholes = Bad News: Don't use email data that is not permission based.
It's not big or clever and yes, we know there are technical work arounds but you will just end up blacklisted and with a brand in tatters.
That office stationary company in Bury - I will never use you because of your email policy.
#illegalemails 5.
Build a loyal following: Put an opt-in box on your email HTML to opt-them in specifically for your company.
6.
Better Safe than Sorry: Ask to be put in the safe senders list within their address book.
This decreases likelihood of your message ending up in the spam file.
7.
Give Unsubscribe options on every email: No excuse not to, there is no point in speaking to people who are not interested in what you have to say.
And make it easy, no more than 2 clicks required.
Make sure that it's branded with your logo and company name, this helps with trust.
8.
Virtual v Reality: If possible, have an offline point of contact for to unsubscribe such as an address or phone number.
Again, this helps with trust and service.
9.
Spic and Span: Flag your hard bounces and keep your list clean.
Don't good money to send to poor data.
Your data is an asset and needs to be treated as such.
Take out duplicates, flag gone-aways and keep it up to date.
10.
Three Strikes: Have a soft bounce policy to deal with temporary errors.
A common one is three strikes and you're out, if an email bounces three times then flag it as gone-away.
11.
Standing on the Shoulders...
Consider Email Service Providers (ESPs) that offer a delivery management solution - this monitors your ISP reputation and status.
Very useful.
12.
Standing on the Shoulders...
#2 Again, Consider using an ESP to take advantage of their reputation and status with ISP's.
They are often white-listed and have years worth of good rep! 13.
Spam score your email HTMLs.
Avoid large images, lots of different coloured text and excessive numbers of links.
14.
Subject Lines: Nothing dodgy in there.
Avoid "FREE", "OFFER", Caps and!!!! - those little blighters will cause you spam problems.
15.
Testing: Inbox Preview - Preview your HTML in various ISP inboxes to check it all looks fine and keep the best call to action above the fold ( in the preview pane ).
The DMA has a whitepaper on email marketing and deliverability.
This has additional detail and is certainly worth a read.
Here are 15 handy tips to help our little emails on the way.
Fly my pretties, fly.
1.
Get matey with ISP's: They are your friend.
Send your emails in a steady rate and manner from a dedicated and consistent IP address.
This way, you build up a nice reputation with the ISP's and the E-romance begins.
2.
From Address: YourpalDatabroker@ = win.
0912478AJTY21@ = #Fail.
Make it friendly.
Make it personal.
3.
Speak to your prospects: Tell them how you want to communicate with them, better still ask them how they want to be communicated with - frequency, visible privacy policy, opt-in details.
4.
Loopholes = Bad News: Don't use email data that is not permission based.
It's not big or clever and yes, we know there are technical work arounds but you will just end up blacklisted and with a brand in tatters.
That office stationary company in Bury - I will never use you because of your email policy.
#illegalemails 5.
Build a loyal following: Put an opt-in box on your email HTML to opt-them in specifically for your company.
6.
Better Safe than Sorry: Ask to be put in the safe senders list within their address book.
This decreases likelihood of your message ending up in the spam file.
7.
Give Unsubscribe options on every email: No excuse not to, there is no point in speaking to people who are not interested in what you have to say.
And make it easy, no more than 2 clicks required.
Make sure that it's branded with your logo and company name, this helps with trust.
8.
Virtual v Reality: If possible, have an offline point of contact for to unsubscribe such as an address or phone number.
Again, this helps with trust and service.
9.
Spic and Span: Flag your hard bounces and keep your list clean.
Don't good money to send to poor data.
Your data is an asset and needs to be treated as such.
Take out duplicates, flag gone-aways and keep it up to date.
10.
Three Strikes: Have a soft bounce policy to deal with temporary errors.
A common one is three strikes and you're out, if an email bounces three times then flag it as gone-away.
11.
Standing on the Shoulders...
Consider Email Service Providers (ESPs) that offer a delivery management solution - this monitors your ISP reputation and status.
Very useful.
12.
Standing on the Shoulders...
#2 Again, Consider using an ESP to take advantage of their reputation and status with ISP's.
They are often white-listed and have years worth of good rep! 13.
Spam score your email HTMLs.
Avoid large images, lots of different coloured text and excessive numbers of links.
14.
Subject Lines: Nothing dodgy in there.
Avoid "FREE", "OFFER", Caps and!!!! - those little blighters will cause you spam problems.
15.
Testing: Inbox Preview - Preview your HTML in various ISP inboxes to check it all looks fine and keep the best call to action above the fold ( in the preview pane ).
The DMA has a whitepaper on email marketing and deliverability.
This has additional detail and is certainly worth a read.
Source...