Deliverability – Are You Getting into the Inbox?

Email best practices are something we all should know and utilize every day. Recently at KobeMail we spent some time brushing up on our best practices. We want to share what we discussed with all of you to help improve your online reputation and deliverability. Reputation is something you need to work toward improving, it is something that must be built from the ground up, so here’s how you can do that…

Improving and maintaining your online reputation

This is fairly simple. You can begin by ensuring that your emails are authenticated. ISPs need to validate your emails to ensure that they can actually be trusted and that you’re not a spammer or sending phishing emails. Once you’ve been authenticated, you’re set to begin sending valid, trustworthy campaigns.

Practice permission-based sending

Acquire your opt-ins legitimately and you should see a decrease in spam complaints, which will boost your reputation with ISPs. You can get legitimate, permission based opt-ins a couple of ways. You can include a sign up box on your website’s homepage; include a newsletter sign up form with an order confirmation; use the double opt-in method, which requires users to confirm their subscription to your newsletter before they will receive it. Whichever method of opt-in you choose, remember that permission based signups will affect your online reputation.

List hygiene

That means, clean out dead email addresses and hard bounces so you don’t keep racking them up every time you send a mailing. Inactive or dead email addresses can be very dangerous for email marketers to send campaigns to. Often times, ISPs convert inactive addresses into spam traps with the intent of catching would be spammers. If you’re sending 2 emails a week to a list of inactive addresses, your spam scores are going to be out of this world, which will really hurt your reputation.

Segmentation

In addition to permission based signups, the volume and consistency with which you send emails can either help or hurt your reputation. Try to avoid sending huge blasts to your user base several times a week. This can result in high bounces or blocks and can generate high spam complaints, which is certainly something to avoid. If you have a poor online reputation, you will have a poor deliverability rate as well.

It’s really important for your user base to trust your company. Right on your site’s sign up page, explain to users what you will be doing with the personal information you’re asking them to give you and how you’ll keep it safe. Explain the benefits they’ll receive for allowing you to know their home address or phone number. Being straight forward with your customers is going to allow them to build a trusting relationship with you and want to give your company their business.

Welcome Emails

Another way to build trust with your customers is to send a welcome email thanking them for their sign up. This will make your customers feel noticed and important. You can also try sending new users a short welcome series, thanking them, introducing your company and explaining the types of mailings they’ll be receiving from you. All-in-all, a welcome message is great because not only does make users feel important, but immediately engages them and reminds them who you are and what you do.

Once you’ve said hello and thank you to your now engaged users, take a good look at the content you’re sending them. Is it relevant? The best way to find out is to ask your users for feedback. Send a short survey to users asking questions about the subject line, the from name, the content, how the email itself looks, etc. Offer a small incentive to users for completing the survey, such as a coupon or discount on your product. This will not only get them to fill out the survey but to make a purchase from you as well.

Relevant Content

Remaining relevant in your mailings is equally as important as introducing yourself to your readers and keeping them engaged. Not only should your content be relevant to your product and the people reading about it, but it should also be relevant to the times. The current social media craze, for example, is something every email marketer should be on board with. Include a link to your social media sites in every mailing you send. If your content is relevant and engaging, chances are people will share your newsletter or promotion with their online network at no cost or effort to you.

In order to successfully accomplish all of these things, it’s essential to have a sound infrastructure. Your Mail Transfer Agent, which basically is the piece of technology that takes your emails and sends them, should have its connection adjusted based on ISP’s standards. You should constantly be performing quality control on your infrastructure, because the quality of your infrastructure is directly linked to sender reputation. This means you should be processing spam complaints as quickly as you can and constantly monitoring reports for any issues.

These are all really valuable tips to help you up your online reputation and increase your deliverability. Implement these best practices and see great results.

Author: Courtney Dillsworth
Editor: Peter Schirripa

A Few Secrets to Creating a Solid Website

Creating a new website? People are constantly coming up with new products and website ideas, so here are some helpful website content strategies to bear in mind during the planning and creation process to help get your conversions up.

First of all, defining the goal of a website, the target audience and a website’s ability to support the content is what separates successful sites from unsuccessful sites. The content has to support the product completely and vice versa. Content creation should focus on providing information that generates call to actions and conversions. You need to know who you’re talking to and what you’re talking to them about and know what your expectations are so you can fulfill them – otherwise, how will you know if your site or product is successful?

If the site is ecommerce based, for example, conversions are a good indicator of success, while informational-based sites are more geared toward the length of time users spend on your site. These analyses are crucial for understanding how a user navigates a website so you can create content that generates leads and sign ups. Google Analytics has become a standard for such analysis. It allows you to analyze your site’s data and traffic and set future goals. Also, click heatmaps are a great way to see where users are clicking on your site and cater your information to generate more clicks.

It’s crucial to make sure everything on the site is in proper context. For example, a newsletter sign up, Twitter and Facebook icons shouldn’t just be put at the bottom of the page because they may go unnoticed by lazy site goers. They need to be in a relevant location with attention called to them so they can actually be effective – they should generate sign ups. Every single piece of your new website should be effective, especially the landing page, so you can bulk up your email lists.

If you don’t have a newsletter, consider creating an autoresponder and short curriculum to notify new users of what your company has to offer. Always include a send to a friend link in every mailing – if your consumers like what you’re saying, they’re going to tell their friends, who will likely sign up also. Every sign up and every click helps

If you do have a newsletter, the sign up should be very visible on your landing page. Put it in an obvious location and include a call to action to draw users’ attention to it. Try including a pop up which asks users to subscribe to your newsletter. This is a great call to action technique. It’s instant, noticeable, direct and effective.

Call to actions for sign ups shouldn’t just be on your landing page, though. There should be a call to action for whatever it is you want users to do – sign up, download, purchase – on every single page of your site. Some people need a little more persuading and want to learn about your business before they give you theirs.

Lastly, web content writers should get out of the mindset that content is concrete. It needs to change constantly to be relevant, maintain good SEO, comply with new laws and regulations and remain interesting. Get users to trust you and they will be loyal followers of your newsletters and purchasers of your products.

Good Luck!

Author: Courtney Dillsworth
Editor: Carolina Bonaparte

Gmail’s “Priority Inbox”

If you use Gmail, you may have noticed a new button displaying Priority Inbox (Beta). This new and improved inbox is meant to provide users with a far more efficient way of filtering their emails. What does this mean to you? Well, the Priority Inbox filters emails in a way that enables users to control what emails they will see, and when they will see them. Emails are organized into three categories: Important and unread, Starred, and Everything else.

The idea behind the new inbox is simple – Emails are tagged and then sorted by importance. Placing emails into the “Important” inbox is as easy as a click of the mouse. Gmail users can now enjoy the luxury of seeing what they want when they want. Ultimately, this could be considered the most efficient inbox to date, leaving email marketers in quite the conundrum.

To be successful, you must adjust to the change, revamp emails, and send accordingly. If you can adapt accordingly, you will reap the benefits, leaving competition far behind.

The Priority Inbox could pose a threat for your email lists hitting the inbox. However, if you implement a few minor tweaks, emails can be optimized to reach these users

Initial Email
You must continue to try to maximize engagement. This can be done through something as simple as asking users to place emails into their priority inbox. It takes very little time on both ends to do so

Optimize Emails
This concept should be nothing new to you. It’s simply an adjustment that should be made to adapt to the changing times. You should note that the Priority Inbox algorithm does not use sender I.D. to classify “important” emails.

Link Social Networks
Try to take even more advantage of social networking sites that have been implemented. If emails contain any type of link to these networks, Priority Inbox will automatically mark them as “important”.

Consistency in Emails
You must make sure that your emails are consistent. Frequently repeat keywords within emails from specific addresses. Since Priority Inbox organizes by click rate & keywords, this is sure to bolster your chances of being an “important” email.

Here at KobeMail, we like to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to strategic email marketing. Our strategy team is designed to keep our clients up to date with the newest technology and revenue generating practices. The Priority Inbox represents a step in the right direction for inbox management. For personal emails, this is a great feature. On the business side of things, outlook seems to control a good portion of the work force. However, countless small businesses do rely on Gmail. In order to be successful, you must realize this and personalize emails towards these people. The small amount of time it takes to make these changes could make the world of a difference for your campaigns.

Author: Anthony Lee

Editor: Peter Schirripa, Yasifur Rahman

What Can Email Marketing Do For a Business

The email marketing world is definitely still new and not everyone is able to define it accurately, even those who work in the field. The answer may vary depending on what type of business you have, whether it’s retail, advertising, small business or a restaurant. Well here are the top eight answers you can give:

1. “We bring in new customers and keep them loyal and coming back.”
When we send out emails, we have the privilege of having customers’ personal inbox and anything we send will make our consumers feel special. With welcome letters to make our consumers feel special and thank you letters to show our appreciation, we develop a stronger relationship with our consumers more than any other form of communication.

2. “E-mail marketing is our most valuable, targeted, and measurable form of communication”.
It’s the easiest and most efficient form of communication which saves companies money and also helps consumers save with exclusive offers. It also gives valuable information to the consumers to learn what they never learned before.

3. “Our e-mails provide benefits that other marketing channels can't match”.
We are able to reach our audience effectively wherever they are. We can catch them when they’re at work, the gym, the bus, or vacation. We are able to reach them when they are on the go which makes it convenient for them.

4. “We provide the strongest return on investment within our department”.
With emails, ROI is easy to measure with a whole spectrum of details. Number of opens, clicks, clicks to conversion, lead and close rates. It is the industry leading deliverability.

5. “We can keep the buzz going for weeks and weeks.”
When consumers love something, they will never stop talking about it with their friends, families, co-workers, and even strangers. Buzz is a big part of email marketing. Email marketing communications will lead people to talk about your product or services. Consumers love to pass on exclusive deals, news and valuable information to others.

6. “Customers provide companies with insight about what they are interested in and what they are not interested in.”
Companies can see what consumers are signing up for, and what their purchases are to determine their likes and dislikes. They even write reviews on the products, and fill out surveys. Consumers rely on other consumers reviews.

7. “We share information through email to loyal customers and prospects before letting the public know about it.”
Before the public could get their hands on the news and products, emails recipients get it first directly and the fastest.

8. “We keep our consumers connected to our brand.”
We are constantly communicating with our loyal customers who want to be updated on the latest and they never miss a thing. They have a special connection with the brand that makes it personal.

Author: Tiffany Wong
Editor: Courtney Dillsworth

Email Marketing On A Rise

Some people think that email marketing is not effective anymore or that people don’t check their emails as often. However, the technology of new devices such as smart phones and the iPad, are actually increasing the email marketer’s ROI. Consumers who look forward to and purchase these new devices like to try new things, so they are more likely to respond to emails offers. They shop by impulse.
Consumers that are technically aware of the new devices that are coming out to the market, means that they are more likely to be very web savvy and not paranoid about putting their information online. All of these technology fans are daily bloggers, social networkers, online shoppers and more. Being on these sites by using these wireless devices, consumers are more conscious of their inbox. The convenience of receiving emails everywhere you go, on the go, right away.
Now is the time to re-work your creatives. Simplify them – take out all those images, keep the text short and to the point so users tuning in from smart phones or the iPad will be able to get the same, premium email service as those looking from their personal computers. Re-work subject lines to be short, sweet and enticing to lure in those smart device lovers. By tapping into the smart phone/iPad phenomena, you can watch your clicks and opens increase because you’re reaching a huge database of people who may not be checking emails from home.
Now is the time to re-work your creatives. Simplify them – take out all those images, keep the text short and to the point so users tuning in from smart phones or the iPad will be able to get the same, premium email service as those looking from their personal computers. Re-work subject lines to be short, sweet and enticing to lure in those smart device lovers. By tapping into the smart phone/iPad phenomena, you can watch your clicks and opens increase because you’re reaching a huge database of people who may not be checking emails from home.

Author: Tiffany Wong & Courtney Dillsworth

Less is More

Many email marketers strive for long term goals against short term tactics. However, short term goals are actually more important for long term gain. Think strategically - How can you create your short term tactics that can drive instant results and help the company in the long run?

May I suggest that the first time the user signs up – keep a couple of days between the welcome email and the deal promotion email. Also, for new signs ups, keep your promotional emails to a minimum. For instance, you should consider all new sign ups to be on a short -term subscriber list. You are not sure if the new user may be a long term, loyal consumer or a consumer that may be just testing out your company. New subscribers are quicker to unsubscribe when they’re bombarded with a bunch of new emails and regret that they subscribed. They may even stop using your products or services altogether.

If you are using a curriculum for new subscribers, try scheduling the days in between for a longer period before sending out the next email. For example, once the “welcome” or “thank you” email goes out, schedule the next email to arrive a couple of days after and then increase the duration between emails. Don’t overwhelm your users. The most engaged subscriber is a new user where you’ll see higher open and click rates.
As we all know, the consumer doesn’t spend more than three seconds on each email, so let’s try to keep your newsletters and messages as brief as possible. Highlight only the important content.

Continue Mailing…Sophisticatedly.

Author: Tiffany Wong
Editor: Courtney Dillsworth

Reinforce Your Company Statement

A major problem has been pointed out in the email marketing industry. Companies are not reinforcing their mission statement to the consumer in their emails. The consumers are not being reminded why they have chosen your company over your competitors. If you are sending a notification email that states the product they purchased is being delayed, or if there is a change in service; don’t forget to have your company’s marketing statement in the message. This statement, of course, should always be the reason why your product or service is better than your competitors. Reminding your consumers why they have chosen your goods is always necessary in every single email you send, especially when there is an issue or change regarding their order.

When there is a change or issue with an order, even a billing statement, it usually associates with a negative discern. Make sure you are reiterating the benefits of your company, to reinforce the positive aspects you possess! Remember, customer loyalty is just as important as bringing in new clientele.

- Keep in mind that product delays are very irritating to consumers who need what they purchased right away. Yes, it’s true many of us are impatient, and we’d all like to have things on time especially when it is scheduled. Due to this, consumers may be asking themselves, ‘why should I have to deal with this company, when the competitor can get it to me faster for a lower price?’

It is essential to sustain brand and customer loyalty. The way to accomplish this is by making sure it’s in everything you send out. Try this simple task. Keep communications going. Let the consumer know that you care about them and haven’t forgotten what they need.

Author: Tiffany Wong
Edited by Courtney Dillsworth & Yasifur Rahman