Sending spam when emailing is a bit like posting during a Facebook outage or singing into a switched off microphone… it is completely counterproductive and a major failure…
When it comes to email, the key to ensuring visibility and strong KPIs is deliverability. In this article, we give you all the keys to optimizing this crucial element for the success of your campaigns.
Introduce yourself and make yourself known again
Identification is key. Make yourself known and assert your identity to avoid rejection. It is easier to open the door to someone you know or answer the phone when you recognize the number. In email marketing, reputation is fundamental.
There are several technical tools available to avoid being rejected by ISPs. Technologies that reassure providers and allow you to be considered trustworthy:
SPF protocol, Sender Policy Framework, is used to verify the domain name. It is an email authentication method designed to detect forged email addresses. The list of authorized IP addresses is published in the domain’s DNS records.
DKIM, Domain Keys Identified Mail, is an electronic signature that allows a sender to claim responsibility for a message. It is identified as such and validated by the recipient.
DMARC authentication, Domain based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance, prevents email spoofing techniques. It is based on the two previous protocols, SPF and DKIM.
You have spent hours, even days, finding a name for your brand or a domain name that truly represents you. Now is the time to use it for your email campaigns. Avoid free domain names such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail or Laposte.net, and even Caramail for that matter. They are not designed for mass emailing and their use for that purpose is considered suspicious by ISPs.
Sending emails clearly and methodically identified with your domain name helps build and maintain your reputation. And reputation is the key to staying out of spam folders.
In the same spirit, do not forget to sign your emails and comply with the rules. Your emails must include a physical address and, of course, unsubscribe links. If you hide them or forget to include them, some of your recipients will not hesitate to mark you as spam.
Take care with your wording
Keywords can work both ways. Excellent for SEO, they can be disastrous for emailing, especially in the subject line. Some of them almost guarantee a direct landing in the junk folder, without passing through the inbox.
Here are some examples of words and phrases to avoid:
Anything related to money, money, money:
free in all its forms, 100 percent, trial
price related terms: cheap, bargain, best
money and everything associated with it: earn from, bonus from, make money
Marketing terms, keep them for Monday sales meetings:
limited offer
increase sales
all forms of competition
guaranteed offer, exceptional offer or all in offer
urgency terms: fast, now
special offers: discounts, reductions, special deals, coupons
sales terms: traffic, orders, revenue
Health, sex, drugs:
pharmacy names
miracle cures and incredible treatment tips: weight loss, slimming, anti aging
and of course, any terms related to sex and everything associated with it. Naturally, you will need to be especially careful if you sell erotic toys.
It is not strictly vocabulary, but avoid overdoing it. There is no need to shout, so avoid excessive capital letters. The same goes for overusing emojis, save them for family text messages and above all, avoid excess.
Certain punctuation marks such as exclamation marks and question marks are closely monitored, especially when repeated multiple times.
Take it slow and steady
Avoid sending too many emails at once. Sending a large volume of emails increases monitoring by ISPs. Above all, do not radically change your usual sending rhythm.
Reputation is built through consistent behavior, and ISPs like predictable habits. If you significantly increase the number of targeted addresses in one campaign compared to your usual volume, filters will automatically be triggered because the behavior is considered unusual.
Speak HTML
It is the language to respect in email marketing. It allows you to integrate all visual and textual elements in the right format. Design is just as important as content, and certain fundamentals must be respected.
Think responsive. The majority of emails are opened on smartphones. Emails that are not visually compatible will be redirected to spam and, if you are lucky enough to avoid that, they will still be deleted by mobile users.
Do not overload your emails and pay attention to image weight.
Maintain a good image to text ratio.
Avoid Flash or Javascript. HTML is solid.
Email is like life when you want to make many friends: introduce yourself, speak the right language and do not be overwhelming. Our experts have mastered these codes perfectly. Very useful when working on a keyboard.
Do not hesitate to contact us for support. At Dataventure, we love making new friends.
