Inaccurate spam filter classification can dramatically affect open and click through response rates. Meanwhile, ensuring flawless delivery with opt-in email marketing to subscriber inboxes is becoming increasingly difficult to execute.
If you’re not using the best available practices, you not only run the risk of getting stuck in the bulk folder, but also risk damaging your long term sender reputation.
The following are 6 ways you can improve email deliverability.
1. Timing
Timing is everything. Even if you have the most amazing email newsletter known to man, if you send it out at the wrong time, you run the risk of it never being read.
Make an attempt to distribute emails during the window when your target audience will be most susceptible to reading it. Current research indicates that the ideal time for email distribution is right after lunch when general malaise starts to settle in. Leverage this to your advantage and distribute emails based on what works best for your recipients.
2. Sizing
Large email files are slow and suspicious to spam filters. They will be picked up and discarded by spam filter programs if there are excess images or if there are PDFs attached.
Shoot for sizing your files at around 20-40 kb. A smaller sized file typically coincides with the recipients’ attention span. Do not waste precious file space with bulky graphics and extraneous imagery.
3. Consistency
No one will want to read your emails or visit your website if it requires spending time on learning new navigations every week. No matter how innovative you may think it is, keep your designs minimal and use them consistently. Using the same template for your newsletters will drastically increase usability and improve branding.
4. Contact lists
Encourage subscribers to add your email address in their contact lists or email address book when they initially subscribe to your newsletter. This will ensure that your emails go directly to their inbox instead of running the risk of getting caught in a spam filter. In most cases, adding your address to their contact list is enough to bypass any isp filters as well.
Additionally, this will prevent people from accidentally clicking the spam button when they receive your emails. Certain isps will provide users the option to “never mark this email address as spam” when adding the contact information to their address book.
You can also remind subscribers to add your email to their contacts list by adding a header to the top of each email. An email header not only reminds recipients to add you to their contacts list, but is also good for branding. Subscribers will see the same header every time they open your emails, decreasing the probability that they will carelessly click on the spam button.
5. Minimize filter triggering language
Be aware of certain words and phrases that tend to trigger spam filters. Avoid using language and techniques that look like spam to content based spam filters. Check your from line, subject line, and email copy for spam filter triggering language and discard them from your newsletters while upholding the original meaning of your email.
6. Set up SPF records
SPF records stand for “Sender Policy Framework” and need to be set up if you are sending out emails from your own server. This system was put in place by the major isps to help owners of domains clearly identify themselves when sending out emails.
These records clearly identify that the email is from you and prevents someone else from using forged headers with your domain name to send out spam that tarnishes your reputation.
As with any betterment program, it’s important that you track progress as you attempt to improve delivery rates. Remember that it is critical to improve your methods in a way that best suits your audience.
