Email deliverability is a top concern among small businesses. Quite simply, they want to send messages and know they are received by their prospects and customers. In light of this simple task, there are a few gaffes that can cost you when you send your next email marketing message. I’ll share a few real examples and how to prevent it next time.
A while back, our VP of Technology, Marc Chesley shared the three pillars of email deliverability. This is very important to understand because you will know who’s responsible for making sure your email messages are delivered. (Spoiler alert: email senders burden 33% of the responsibility in email delivery.)
To that end, email deliverability is important to us and we’ve worked hard to implement the best possible infrastructure and forge fruitful relationships with ISPs so our email messages are trusted. We’ve encountered a few more users than normal who have fallen outside of our guidelines and we’ve had to let them go. We hate doing that and we want to share a few key examples all users must consider when they launch their next email marketing campaign.
There are three common mistakes small business owners make when they engage in email marketing.
1. Sending to an Old List.
We know it’s tough to let go of people that you’ve previously emailed before. The consequence of sending to a group of people who haven’t heard from you in over six months is quite severe. If you sent an email to just 1000 people, if two people hit the “Report Spam” in their email software, you risk the odds of all users getting their emails properly delivered. Yes, it’s that serious! The 0.1% industry guideline is mandated from ISPs and burdened by email service providers.
To overcome this – do not email people you have not had recent contact with—we’re talking longer than six months. Email permission typically expires after about nine months and spam complaints go up exponentially after six months. Alternatively, you can use a reconnect campaign via direct mail like a postcard or letter to help “ignite” their permission again. Permission is key.
2. Sending the Wrong Message at the Wrong Time.
Over the years, small business users grow comfortable sending to their entire list. This can irritate recipients who don’t want every single announcement from your business. What do these people do when they receive a poorly-targeted/timed message? They unsubscribe and report spam. Tough love, eh? This isn’t the time for list scrubbing – it’s the time for targeted, segmented and truly relevant messages to be delivered to your recipients.
The solution is to narrow your broadcasts to smaller groups in your database. With Infusionsoft, you have the technology to segment the interest, needs and previous activity of your subscribers so you only send to the ones who expect your email and are interested in getting specific and targeted information from you.
3. Infrequent, Inconsistent Contact.
Similar to above, sending infrequent, unexpected emails to your subscribers can be just as damaging as sending too often. Email recipients often expect to be notified on a monthly basis, maybe more or less frequent depending on your expectations when they opted-in. You don’t have to write novels when emailing them. It’s important, outright required to exercise discipline when maintaining a quality email relationship with your subscribers.
To address this, a good tactic to employ is to have one message and one call to action for subscribers and spread it out over a period of time. If you plan on changing your email delivery schedule, let them know. One of Infusionsoft’s respected marketers, Perry Marshall, was able to have his list self-segment a “Daily,” “Weekly” and “Monthly” email sequence. He receives nearly zero spam complaints as a result and his recipients receive his messages when they want them. (Not when Perry does.)
I mentioned “cost” in the title, but I haven’t explained it yet. Cost will vary by the type of business you have and how you generate revenue from your contacts. Most universally, making these mistakes will often cost you valuable email relationships as people unsubscribe. The cost could also be that if you don’t heed the best practices in email marketing, your email service provider could drop you for spam. Later, we’ll talk about email marketing ROI.
There is a laundry list of to-dos and don’t-dos out there. I won’t get into those only because it comes down to one thing: respect. Respect your subscribers’ needs and interests and they will reciprocate. These top three mistakes small business email marketers do are often overlooked until after they’ve shot themselves in the foot. Consider this advice before you send your next email marketing broadcast.
[Image credit: kylemay]
Posted In: Email Marketing
