With over 293 billion emails sent per day*, most people struggle to get above the noise in a crowded inbox. But that is made even harder if you can't get into the inbox in the first place! So how do you manage email deliverability in 2022 and what tips and tricks can you use to help?
*true as of 2019.
You spend hours crafting the perfect email, you're excited to watch the sales and traffic pour in, but... tumbleweed.
While there are often a number of issues that could be causing a lack of engagement with your email activities, if you're not getting into the inbox in the first place, you're going to have a real problem! Understanding email deliverability will help you navigate why your emails might not be landing, but unfortunately, there are a number of myths swirling the internet which make the situation more complicated.
But never fear! I'm here to bust some myths and help you better understand how you can combat any email deliverability issues you might be having!
Myth 1: The promotions tab is email purgatory
When Google introduced the promotions tab to Gmail in 2013, there was a collective intake of breath by those in my industry. It was already hard enough to get emails read, now they were being banished to the tab of purgatory never to be viewed!
But this is somewhat of an over-reaction. Since its introduction, there has been a relatively low adoption rate of the tabs view by Gmail users:
55% of emails are read on devices that do not offer tabs.
Only 20% of Gmail users have a tabs view enabled.
50% of tabs users are reading the promotions tab daily
Couple this with the research that Google did around the behaviours of email consumption in its users (and the finding that people have to be in the right frame of mind to engage with promotional messaging), and you'll see that the promotions tab isn't actually negative.
First off, the promotions tab is not a separate folder to the inbox. It's just an organisational tool! By separating emails that arrive from family and friends from those from brands, users allow themselves space to be in the correct mindset to engage with branded sends.
Myth 2: What you say impacts spam scores
Okay, so this one is a bit more complicated. Bad content in campaigns can affect deliverability. But not in the way you think!
When you email your customers, you have a goal in mind, most notably to get people to interact with the message you have sent and complete a conversion. But if you're sending content that does not engage them, is irrelevant to their wants and needs, or does not make sense to them they won't open, click or convert.
The more often you send an email that isn't engaged with, the more likely it is for the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to recognise that to their user (your customer), your email is spam!
So you need to make sure your content is relevant to the people you will be sending it to, make sure that the audience is segmented, and that you're making it clear what your call to action is (or what you want people to do off the back of reading the email).
Myth 3: Unsubscribes will get you more deliverability issues
When someone on your audience list marks your email as spam, this is telling the ISP that your mail is unwanted and that you as the sender, are sending email in a way that is antagonising to the end-user. So the ISP will usually block the sending of emails from your domain to that particular user.
However when someone unsubscribes, they're asking to not get any more of the messages you're sending, they're not telling the ISP that you're a nuisance, they're telling you! And to the ISP that's fine! Unsubscribes should not be feared! They are a clear indicator that your message is irrelevant to that particular user, and help you clean your database without much effort from you! They can also help you understand if you have any problems with your audience segmentation!
Remember to make it as simple as possible for someone to unsubscribe from your email lists, as if you make it hard, they are more likely to mark you as spam which is much worse for your deliverability.
Myth 4: Using a 'noreply@domain' address as a from address destroys your credibility as a sender
It's a long-held belief that using a noreply sender/from address will end up lowering your deliverability. But this isn't true!
A noreply sender address simply rejects any communications being sent to you by your customers. And while there may be some customers who are desperate to engage and initiate a two-way conversation with your brand, not every email can be responded to! If you've got a large database and it's just you on the other end, you may struggle to reply to customer interaction, you may also end up losing communications with your customers if there are queries or complaints sent via your inundated inbox!
ISPs don't mind what the sender's email domain is, they won't penalise you for using one!
Myth 5: Inbox placement can be guaranteed
Inbox placcement is decided by the ISP, it is entirely outside of the control of you, your Email Service Provider, email validation experts or anyone else who claims to be able to guarantee your arrival in an inbox.
Together, mailbox providers and recipients are the ones who decide which messages land in the inbox, not email senders or any kind of third party vendor.
Be wary of anyone claiming to ensure you land in inboxes! There are loads of things you can try, but remember, not everything will work first time, and some things that worked previously might not work further down the line!
Struggling with your email deliverability?
If you're looking to grow your business through email marketing but aren't sure where to start or don't have the resource to dedicate, get in touch with me to discuss your requirements and see how I can help.
Email: rachel@baines-moore.co.uk
Text: 07507070032
And why not check out more hints and tips related to marketing your business on social media.
תגובות