Get to the Inbox
GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 2
Introduction
It’s estimated that 70%* of all email is spam - not just unwelcome promotional
messages, but phishing scams, hoaxes and digital viruses too. So Internet Service Providers (ISPs, who take your message and place it into their customer’s inbox) take precautions to limit the amount of spam email that their customers receive.
In this eBook, you’ll find our top ten tips in three easy stages that will help you get more of your emails into the inbox.
* Spam Report: February 2014, securelist.com
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 3
Before launching
campaigns
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 4
1. Authenticate
your domain
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 5
2. Check your
sender reputation
Blacklists are used by ISPs to share information on suspicious senders, so they can block spam emails from being delivered. There are many free online tools that let you check whether the email or IP addresses you send from have been penalized. These tools tell you why you’re blacklisted and how you can be removed.
To make sure you’re not blacklisted, check
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 6
3. Gradually build
your reputation
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 7
4. Only send to
opted-in subscribers
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 8
Boost campaign
performance
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 9
5. Comply with
anti-spam regulation
Each country you send to will have distinct laws and regulation designed to limit the amount of spam that is sent. These guidelines usually mean being truthful about who you are and why you’re emailing.
• Make sure your subject lines are honest and clear • Allow subscribers to easily unsubscribe and honor those requests
• Be transparent about who the sender is
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 10
6. Code your
email for success
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GET TO THE INBOX – TEN TOP TIPS TO MAXIMIZE YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY | SMARTFOCUS PAGE 11
7. Be relevant,
every time
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Reach for the
stars!
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9. Actively monitor
bounce rates
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10. Identify
un-engaged subscribers
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If you follow these ten tips, you can improve the chances of your emails reaching your customer’s inbox. That means more opens, more clicks, and more revenue.
Following best practice won’t take much time or effort, but it will set you up for long-term success. Once you’ve completed the technicalities, you’re free to focus on creating relevant campaigns that engage customers, and you can monitor and discover deliverability trends as part of your normal reporting processes.
At SmartFocus, we help thousands of marketers worldwide to successfully deliver their email campaigns. We can take you through these steps, and help you send emails that get into the inbox.
• We can give you dedicated or shared IP addresses, help build your reputation, and ensure key ISPs recognize you as reputable
• We protect your sender reputation by monitoring bounces, spam complaints and unsubscribes • Our experts monitor deliverability results and maintain close relationships with ISPs to resolve issues before they escalate
• Our partnerships can help you avoid emailing invalid email addresses, and let you identify campaign deliverability issues before you send
You’re not on your own
Contact us today to find out how SmartFocus can help
you. Visit
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Email Deliverability Checklist
Before launching campaigns
Authenticate your domain Check your sender reputation Gradually build your reputation Only send to opted-in
subscribers
Boost campaign performance
Comply with anti-spam regulation
Code your email for success Be relevant, every time
Reach for the stars!
Enable spam complaint feedback loops
Actively monitor bounce rates Identify un-engaged
About SmartFocus
SmartFocus helps marketers make smarter decisions to acquire, grow and retain customers better than ever before. We partner with you to turn your fans into fanatics and grow the return on your marketing investment.
Our retail-focused cloud delivered solution drives revenue, loyalty and satisfaction. Every day, our software empowers smarter marketing decisions. Each year we execute more than five million marketing campaigns, manage more than five billion customer records, and deliver more than 55 billion personalized messages. We’re the only independent provider that gives you the ability to improve your business results across every channel to every customer every time.