The key to deliverability and the importance of a successful email marketing campaign by Tom Corbett. Available from <http://www.fourthsource.com/email-marketing/key-deliverability-importance-successful-email-marketing-campaign-21495>. [October 19, 2016]
In the marketing industry today, it is not enough to simply have great email content. Marketers need to ensure it reaches the right inboxes at the right time. Tom Corbett, Experian, offers a guide to getting the most out of email deliverability.
The most powerful tool of a marketer is email marketing. Both highly measurable and capable of producing impressive ROI, it is not uncommon to hear people boast about high deliverability as one of these metrics that truly matter.
But what does ‘deliverability’ actually mean? Statistics suggest that 1 in every 5 emails fail to land in the inbox which means 20% of opportunities to connect with customers are regularly being missed.
Deliverability
Marketers are often (incorrectly) under the assumption that a measurement of their deliverability is simply the proportion of emails that were ‘accepted’. An email is considered to be delivered if it does not bounce or doesn’t get returned to the mail server. Delivery rate is a calculation of mail sent minus the volume that bounced. But to really be able to consider campaigns to be successful, marketers need to ensure that what they’re sending is not becoming stuck in spam – or ignored. Overall, deliverability is making sure you are doing what you can to put yourself in the best position to be actually seen by your subscribers. Taking this into account, it is important to understand exactly what happens after you click send and to understand what has happened when it doesn’t go to plan.
All Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have developed different filtering methods as a way of offering unique customer inbox experiences. They all offer a form of global level blocking which makes a big difference in the world of email spam.
Spam is often a word that is synonymous with annoying people. It is universally hated, and marketers shouldn’t be sending it because, quite simply, no-one likes receiving irrelevant mail.
However, not only is it annoying and damaging to the customer experience on an individual level, it is also potentially quite dangerous, because not all spam is the result of ‘innocent’ unsophisticated marketing.
Spam and blocking
70 per cent of mail sent globally is considered spam and these filters drastically reduce the volume coming to an inbox. However, the interpretation of spam differs from person to person, hence the saying ‘one person’s spam is another man’s ham’. As a result, local level blocking has given the recipient the power to take control of their inbox.
Make the grade: Be wanted
What is becoming increasingly important is humanisation in email communication; making your email wanted is the key to a successful mail programme.
With the recent update of Google’s Gmail Android app, customers were given greater control of their mailbox on their personal devices. Blocking a sender means all future mailings are instantly moved to the spam folder.
It is essential to ensure that your participants actually want to receive your messages. Personalisation and relevance are crucial. There is nothing to lose. By putting your consumer at the centre of your marketing strategy, you’re providing a more relevant and positive customer experience, which will reap the rewards in receiving both their time and attention.
The key to deliverability and the importance of a successful email marketing campaign by Tom Corbett. Available from <http://www.fourthsource.com/email-marketing/key-deliverability-importance-successful-email-marketing-campaign-21495>. [October 19, 2016]