Getting the Most Out of Your Email Marketing Efforts

Top Tactics for Getting Emails Delivered and Opened

By Deb Daufeldt
Second Story Solutions, LLC

One of the biggest challenges facing email marketers today is first getting their legitimate emails into the recipients’ Inboxes and then getting them opened and read. From a technical perspective, emails must navigate many potential pitfalls through cyberspace from power outages to server failures. But even if all of the hardware cooperates, there’s the ever-increasing threat of delivery problems including filtering, blocking, blacklisting, and junk-mail-folder challenges, along with the recipients not recognizing your emails, confusing these emails as “spam” or simply forgetting they’d signed up to receive your email communications.

Email marketing success hinges upon getting your email messages delivered to even have a shot at being opened. I’m continually amazed at how many marketers I meet who don’t see this as a critical issue!

Why spend the time, money, and effort on an email marketing program only to have a fraction of them make it into the Inbox?

Here are some key tactics guaranteed to increase the likelihood your recipients will actually receive, and consider opening, your email messages:

Utilize Content Checkers. Many of today’s middle-to-higher-end email marketing solutions have built-in content checkers to help you pinpoint possible spam filter triggers. Use them – they’re well worth the money to help get emails delivered. Content filters focus on promotional phrases such as “work from home”, “guaranteed income”, or even seemingly innocuous phrases such as “click here” and “unsubscribe.” They also look at text formatting that is indicative of spam, such as the use of ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, excess use of bright colors, or very large fonts. Although far from perfect, these content checkers can be a good indicator of potential spam filter triggers.

Capture Suspect Content in Images. Some industries, such as retail, are very discount- or offer-driven and have continuous problems with content filtering. Their emails frequently contain “spammy” words such as “free” and “sale” which can trigger the spam filters that can block the email altogether or direct it to the Junk Mail Folder. I’ve had to train myself not to close my emails with “Please feel free to call me…” because the word “free” has become so taboo in the email world.

For our clients who can’t easily get around using these words, we’ve moved to an image-based content format where appropriate. Certain content is contained in images rather than as text. The approach has some potential downsides, however, including increased file size, slower loading, image blocking, and bit more work for the design team.

Use a Recognized & Consistent Sender (From) Name. When scanning Inboxes, recipients look at the sender name and subject line to determine when (and if) that email gets opened, filed for later viewing, or simply deleted. Consistently use (and stay with) a sender name that's simple, easily recognized, expected, and trusted by your recipients. When possible, use a sender email address that's recognizable, such as newsletter@secondstorysolutions.com or even better deb@secondstorysolutions.com as emails that come from a person’s name tend to have a higher Open Rate.

Ask to be Added to Safe Lists and Address Books. Depending upon your recipients’ email programs, ask them to add your From Name/email address to their Safe Lists or their Address Books. This will help your emails get delivered into their Inboxes rather than the Bulk or Junk Mail Folders or, worse yet, bounced altogether.

Brand Your Subject Lines. Your subscribers may receive a hundred email messages a day or more. As recipients scan their Inboxes, they're probably looking for messages that are either obviously spam or, conversely, email they’ve opted to receive. You want your message to be easily recognized. Branding your subject line and reinforcing it with a familiar “From Name” helps to improve your Open Rates.

For example, my email newsletter subject line begins with the name of my publication and a bit about the subject of that issue. The subject line of last month’s issue read: “the strategist: what does it take to get a response?” This helps the recipient recognize who the email is from, makes the email standout from the pile, and the hint at the content of the newsletter serves to pique their interest. Test this technique to see what works best with your readers.

Segment and Personalize. As you’ve read in previous columns, this is a bit of a soapbox subject of mine. The more timely, relevant, and personalized a message is, the better the chance it will be read and acted upon. This information can be gathered in a number of ways such as on- and offline purchases, click-through activity, and survey responses, for example. Utilize this information to segment subscribers based on their preferences, behaviors, and interests and watch your Open and Response Rates skyrocket!

Test Your Emails Across Platforms. This point always bears repeating. Always test messages to yourself, co-workers, and (if appropriate) a seed list. These “test” emails uncover formatting inconsistencies, content errors, broken links, and potential spam filter issues. Be sure to test emails on multiple ESPs (Email Service Providers) such as AOL, Hotmail, and Yahoo as well as different web browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, and Netscape) and hardware platforms (PC and Mac).

The more emails you can get into your recipients’ Inboxes, the more successful your email marketing will be… it’s that easy. Implement these simple suggestions and watch your email deliveries (and your bottom line) move in the right direction.

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Deb Daufeldt is the owner of Second Story Solutions, an email marketing specialist based in Denver, Colo. She works with many large corporations to help them use email marketing effectively.

5808 S. Rapp St., Suite 235 Littleton, CO 80120
in the Denver Metro area - 720-922-3124