Deliverability… what’s really at stake?
Deliverability… behind this neologism, almost impossible to place on a Scrabble board, lies a major issue: your e-reputation.
You may have spent a great deal of time applying our valuable advice on how to create a high-performing prospecting email, only to end up in the spam folder because of a misstep. It only takes a few dissatisfied users to land your emails on a blacklist, damage your deliverability and put your marketing manager at risk.
A few best practices will help you avoid embarrassment and the penalties of being marked as unwanted, especially when sending prospecting emails to a target that has never interacted with your brand before.
Two main factors strongly impact the deliverability of your prospecting emails:
- A human factor: low open rates, inactive email addresses, etc.
- A technical factor: the use of incorrect email addresses or improperly configured identification protocols.
Whether you use your own database or rely on publishing partners, follow these 7 rules to maximize your chances of reaching the inbox.
1. Clean your database regularly
Sending emails to inactive or invalid addresses harms you.
Email providers take this into account when analyzing your campaigns. Remove hard bounces, opt-outs and inactive addresses, which should first be included in reactivation scenarios before being permanently discarded.
2. Choose a sender aligned with your domain name
Leverage your reputation and your brand by using a sender address and sender name that include your domain name. Do not hesitate to rely on an already established reputation.
If you are just starting to build your digital presence, avoid addresses that look suspicious or overly technical, such as xxx@mrk.trz.com, which may create distrust among prospects or email providers.
3. Implement authentication standards
Have you ever received an email from your bank or telecom provider that was not actually from your bank or telecom provider?
DKIM, SPF, DMARC… Reduce the risk of landing in spam by signing your emails with these three authentication protocols. This is the best way to authenticate your identity with email providers and reassure your prospects.
4. Segment your database and target your mailings
Sending a mass email to your entire database might seem convenient. Yes, but your prospects are not all the same.
Take this into account in your mailings by creating typologies and segments. Your KPIs, such as a good open rate and a low complaint rate, will benefit from it.
Content and sending frequency should be defined according to the engagement level of each address in your prospect base.
5. Follow email best practices and GDPR requirements
- Include an unsubscribe link.
- Find the right sending frequency and avoid excessive commercial pressure.
- Respect user consent as defined by the CNIL and GDPR.
- Be welcoming and implement an effective welcome email or onboarding process.
6. Pay attention to your wording
Your email subject line must be carefully crafted.
Avoid spam trigger words, the direct route to the spam folder. If you are unsure, consult our article “Emailing: which content can bypass spam filters?” to make sure you avoid problematic wording.
7. Select and support your publishing partners
If you have chosen to work with a publisher, it is time to build trust.
Make sure your partners follow the best practices mentioned in points 1 to 6, especially regarding CNIL and GDPR compliance.
Find out how their database was collected, through competitions, co-registrations and so on, and ensure that the addresses were properly obtained with opt-in consent.
If you want to impose a subject line on the publisher, provide several options, four or five, to distribute across your campaigns. They know their databases well and will be able to select the most appropriate subject line to optimize deliverability and increase open rates. Given their expertise and experience, publishers are often in the best position to design a subject line that generates strong performance.
Regularly refresh your email templates, designs and offers. This is particularly important if you distribute your emails through publishers. A static creative used for several months will negatively impact campaign performance. As a general rule, review your creative structures approximately every three months.
Test before sending
As you can see, the deliverability of your campaigns depends on several factors.
A good habit is to test your campaigns before sending them and check whether they may be flagged as unwanted on platforms such as mail-tester.com.
If you have read this article to the end, it means it was delivered in the best possible way.
You can also find all our advice on HTML email integration to optimize deliverability.
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