Thursday, 17 September 2009

Don’t shoot the messenger!

Posted by Unknown at 1:54 pm Labels: , , , ,
When it comes to achieving high rates of delivery, it’s important that we all understand that Email Service Providers (ESPs) cannot be held solely responsible for delivery issues. The majority of delivery issues are caused by the ESP users and email marketers themselves, knowingly as well as unknowingly. Matt Blumberg, CEO & Chairman of ReturnPath, refers to Ken Magill when stating that deliverability being controlled by the ESP is a myth – deliverability is controlled by the marketer. Ken Magill further comments that each client can make a massive impact on deliverability by using the right “data collection, data hygiene, frequency and relevance. These are the main factors that affect deliverability and they are all within the list owner’s control”.

Delivery issues
We think that the majority of delivery issues arise from bad list acquisition and bad list management.  Delivery issues such as ‘domain unknown’, ‘mailbox unknown’ and ‘complaints’ can be attributed directly to the actions of the user. Sometimes, a simple spelling mistake can lead to the email being returned (domain or mailbox unknown); however, the mail is returned much more often because the subscriber thought that they had not given their permission to be on the list.

Clean lists
Some email marketers become much too greedy when acquiring lists and buy lists or scour the net for random email addresses that fit their marketing segment. This has created an army of expert spammers – users who buy lists are usually far more likely to be blocked and thrown off a sending server because they are easy to spot.
Having a good opt-in list saves time and money and, in the long run, improves delivery.  It’s also a good idea to remember that subscribers can change their preferences from time to time – it is therefore a good idea to send the occasional email asking them to update their profile. Then, if someone is no longer interested in receiving your newsletter, they can unsubscribe immediately.  It also gives you the opportunity to shift them to a list which is much more targeted and which will communicate directly with them, re-enforcing and deepening your relationship with them.

Clean content
Remember that the content of your subject line and the email itself are both extremely important in reminding your subscribers that they have given their permission.  Content should be clean and not contain any words that could be interpreted as spam. Give your next email newsletter a spam check before sending it.  Also ensure that your content is in line with what your subscriber has asked for.
Your email content and the quality of your list are the main components that ensure that your email gets delivered into your subscriber’s inbox.  So remember to review your practices and make sure that you don’t become your own worst enemy.

If you’re not quite sure about all these email deliverability terms, checkout this helpful glossary by Mark Brownlow.

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