Why are my emails delivered in junk and what I can do about it? – Email Marketing Blog

• Updated on: 2017-11-29
• Read original article here

Aleksandrs Viļums
Imagine a situation where you send out emails to your subscribers, but some of them end up in spam. Or, you are just doing your daily tasks like making email campaigns and sending them out, but you don’t monitor your reputation with services like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook? If yes, this impacts your deliverability rates and brings down your email marketing ROI.
Before I describe why your emails could sometimes end up in spam or why your engagement rate is low, I want you to compare two types of marketers. One of them has excellent deliverability rates. The second marketer delivers only less than 50% of his emails in the inbox.
Marketer whose deliverability in inbox is up to 99%
Uses double opt-in (DOI) forms as often as possible
Informs the subscriber about what he’ll be receiving and how often
Segments his subscriber list
Tracks his domain reputation in services like Google Postmaster
Learns principles behind dedicated IP addresses and starts to use them
Doesn’t tire out subscribers by sending frequent e-mails to the point that they unsubscribe
Checks that his campaigns’ complaint count doesn’t exceed 0.1%
Before sending out campaign checks if emails will land in the inbox
Marketer is up to date with newest trends in email marketing and follows Mailigen newsletter ????
If someone complains about spam, marketer analyzes the possible errors and adjusts content
Sends at least one email campaign per month to keep his domain reputation active
If the subscriber hasn’t opened an email during the last six months, marketer sends re-activation or resubscribe campaign offering something unique to determine if the subscriber will be active or should be removed from the list
Knows that having a low open rate will damage his domain reputation
Sends out only content that subscriber has agreed to receive
Is protecting his domain with DMARC
Marketer whose deliverability in inbox is less than 50%
Is using offline subscription forms without sending a confirmation email (double opt-in) to the subscriber.
Upon subscribing, the user is not informed what he will be receiving and how often
Marketer isn’t using email segmentation
Doesn’t monitor his domain reputation
Doesn’t know how to build his reputation or use the benefits of a dedicated IP address
Is not checking if his sending frequency or unsubscribe rate are too high
Isn’t interested in spam complaints
Doesn’t try to improve if he sees that his emails have fallen into the spam folder
Doesn’t follow the latest trends in email marketing
Sends emails only a few times per year
Doesn’t know how to implement re-activation campaigns. Sends emails also to those subscribers who haven’t opened any emails during the past two years.
Doesn’t care if the open rate for his emails is meager
Sends out content that subscriber hasn’t been informed about and isn’t expecting.
Sends email campaigns on behalf of several companies based on a statement from his Privacy Policy (that subscribers never read)
Doesn’t think that he needs DMARC protection for his domain.
These are only some of the bad and good practices. The more you follow good practices for email marketing, the more often you’ll see your emails in your subscriber’s inbox and not in spam.
What can I do to improve my deliverability?
Following the right practice guidelines outlined in this article is essential. If you already have a bad reputation and your email campaign open rate is below 11%-17% (depends on the region to which you send your emails and your email list), then it is crucial to take a few steps to regain your lost domain reputation.
Segment emails by subscriber activity and send emails only to those subscribers that have opened at least one email in the last six months.
Send re-activation email campaigns to those subscribers who haven’t opened any of your emails in the last six months. You can use the template available in Mailigen platform and customize it to your brand. The main idea for a re-activation campaign is to give something different that would prompt the subscriber to engage. For example, it can be a discount coupon or some valuable educational material. Great if the email has an engaging title and even sender name. Think creative!
Domains which you use to send out emails, should be registered in Google Postmaster service. I am suggesting this because usually around 20% if not more of your subscribers use Gmail. Google Postmaster will show your domain’s approximate reputation. For Mailigen it’s also essential to authenticate your domain so you can send out emails using your domain and not shared domain.
If you notice that the re-activation campaigns you send have negatively impacted your domain reputation, start sending them less frequently. If you have sent out different re-activation campaigns for around six months using various methods to spike interest in inactive subscribers and some still have remained inactive, remove them from your email list. This way you won’t damage the reputation of your domain with low open rates and you won’t overpay for inactive subscribers on your list.
Improve engagement with your subscribers by sending them only emails which they want to see and have given permission to receive. If possible make your email so valuable that your subscriber would be willing to mark it as important or forward it. Learn more about email engagement or find out how your emails are delivered in this infographic .
Try to abide the best practices for emails as much as you can by using the guidelines mentioned in this article!
You must understand that regaining domain reputation could take up to six months and needs real determination. However, it will definitely pay off and your results will improve.
If you feel that you have let your domain reputation go astray and need help to get back on track reach out to us and we will do our best to help!
Feel free to comment and ask questions below!
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