Master Your Email Marketing: 10 Secrets from Top Retailers Tom Sather Sr. Director, Research Return Path @tom_sather @returnpath #EmailSecrets

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Over a Decade of Email Expertise • Worldwide leader in email intelligence • 400+ dedicated email professionals • Offices in New York, Denver, San Francisco, Toronto, London, Paris, Hamburg, Sydney, and Sao Paulo

Proven Data Infrastructure • More than 2.5 billion inboxes supported by our certification program

• 26 million IPs scored daily by Return Path • Nearly 300 ISP partners globally Delivering Measurable ROI • Over 13 years of shaping and driving the email ecosystem

• Serving over 2,000 leading brands across retail/eCommerce, publishing, social media and financial services sectors

#EmailSecrets

Let’s talk about goals

Marketing Sherpa, Email Marketing Benchmark Survey, 2013

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Why you won’t reach your goals: Your emails aren’t reaching your subscribers.

Deliverability de·liver·a·bili·ty n. To bring or transport to the proper place or recipient.

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83% How much email worldwide is delivered to the inbox, called the Inbox Placement Rate

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Delivered ≠ Inbox

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Delivered Rate = (Total Sent – Bounces) / Total Sent

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Inbox Placement Rate = ((Total Sent – Bounces) – Spam) / Total Sent

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Key Takeaway

If you’re not reaching the inbox, you’ll never have the confidence that your email strategies were a success or failure. Focus on your Inbox Placement Rate, not the Delivered Rate.

Your emails are being filtered because of your reputation

Your Reputation Tells Email Providers if You’re “Naughty or Nice”

List  Hygien

e  Complaint

s  

IP  Permanenc

e  Engag

ement  

Message  Qua

lity  

Infrastructu

re  

But how do I know what my sender reputation is? www.senderscore.org

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High Sender Score = High Inbox Placement Rate

Source: Return Path 2012 Sender Score Benchmark Report

Key Takeaway

Every business that sends email has a reputation score. Understand the factors influencing yours.

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Secret #1 Understand why your subscribers mark your emails as “spam”

Subscriber complaints can cause major reputation issues

2. Sign up for Feedback Loops

•  AOL http://postmaster.aol.com/Postmaster.FeedbackLoop.php

•  Bluetie http://feedback.bluetie.com/ •  Comcast http://feedback.comcast.net/ •  Cox http://fbl.cox.net/ •  Hotmail

https://support.msn.com/eform.aspx?productKey=edfsjmrpp

•  Open SRS http://fbl.hostedmail.com/ •  Rackspace http://fbl.apps.rackspace.com/ •  RoadRunner

http://feedback.postmaster.rr.com/ •  USA.net http://fbl.usa.net/ •  Yahoo! http://yahoofbl.senderscore.net/

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Analyze Complaints for Trends

49,112,414 144,446 0.29%WEEKDAY SENDS COMPLAINTS COMPLAINT RATE

SUNDAY 6,133,897 13,000 0.21%MONDAY 5,744,281 20,758 0.36%TUESDAY 7,386,666 20,538 0.28%WEDNESDAY 5,854,336 28,293 0.48%THURSDAY 7,361,944 26,942 0.37%FRIDAY 8,753,814 19,822 0.23%SATURDAY 7,877,476 15,093 0.19%

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Key Takeaway

Managing subscriber complaints is more than just signing up for feedback loops. Analyze complaints for trends based on date, time, vintage, source and demographics.

Secret #2 Avoid sending to these three email types

The Facts: •  Unknown User = Email address that has

been abandoned and is no longer is use •  Mailbox Providers tell you when you

send to an Unknown User via a message they return (bounce code)

•  Remove Unknown Users immediately •  Indicator of poor data practices •  Risk of being Blacklisted

#1 Unknown Users

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Reputation Impact

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The Facts: •  Spam Trap = Addresses created to

identify poor data practices •  2 Types

–  Recycled –  Pristine

•  Risk of being Blacklisted •  Aged or Inactive data is primary

source of traps

#2 Spam Traps

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Reputation Impact

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The Facts: •  Active = Email recipients who

regularly open, click, convert on emails received

•  Inactive = Email recipients who have not taken any action on emails received for some time - often the source of complaints or spam traps

#3 Inactive Recipients

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Best Practices: •  Quarantine new data – send a Welcome Message •  Make it easy for customers to update their information •  Send to permission-based lists •  Email your list regularly •  Consider utilizing an email list hygiene vendor •  Monitor the age and activity of your data – re-engage

and/or remove inactives

List Quality

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The Facts: •  Your subscribers are not homogeneous •  Subscribers behave differently at different points

of the lifecycle within every email program •  Segmentation helps break a large file into more

manageable chunks •  Segmentation makes analyzing campaign

performance, targeting specific content, and increasing customer engagement easier

Using segmentation to clean your email list

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Segmentation Ideas

Consumer Type Source Recent Activity

Recent Graduate Home Page Opens

Retired In Store Clicks

Married with Children

Banner Ads Website visits

Married with no Children

During online purchase

Site Login

Single Search Purchase

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Key Takeaway

Email providers look at active users from a different perspective, mainly asking “is this a real account? Are they actively logging in and exhibiting behaviors of a real person?” A win-back and reactivation strategy is key to a healthy and engaged list. Subscribers rescuing your promotional email from spam sends a strong signal to filters that your email is wanted.

Secret #3 Track Engagement Beyond Opens and Clicks

It’s All About Engagement

Email Engagement •  Opens •  Clicks •  Shares •  Purchases

Inbox Engagement •  Regularly logs-in •  Reads and sends email •  Files email •  TIS/TINS

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ACTIVE VS. INACTIVE MAILBOXES MATTER MORE

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Use a Recency-Based Segmentation Strategy to Identify Changes in Subscriber Response

Group A Group B

• 0-30 Days • 30-90 Days • 3-6 Months • 6-12 Months • 12-18 Months • 18+ Months

• 0-30 Days • 30-90 Days • 3-6 Months • 6-12 Months • 12+ Months

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A Retailer’s Case Study: Gmail Before Engagement Strategy

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A Retailer’s Case Study: Gmail After Engagement Strategy

Only  mailing  to  Gmail  users  0-­‐6  months  put  an  item  in  their  cart  or  clicked  on  an  email  

Mailing  only  to    Gmail  users  who  had  put  an  item  in  the  cart  or  clicked  on  an  email  in  last  30  days  

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A Retailer’s Case Study: Gmail From 30 Days to 6 Months

Expanded  Engagement  filtering  rules  and  only  mailing  ac?ve  Gmail  users  of  0-­‐6  months  who  put  an  item  in  their  cart  or  clicked  on  an  email  

Reverted  to  only  mailing  Gmail  users  showing  30-­‐days  of  ac?vity  

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Secret #4 Get rescued from the spam folder

“This is Not Spam” – Rarely used, But Highly Trusted

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“This is Not Spam” and Deliverability

Source: 2013 Return Path TINS Report #EmailSecrets

Key Takeaway

Subscribers rescuing your promotional email from spam sends a strong signal to filters that your email is wanted.

Secret #5 Keywords and Spam Filters

• FREE!!! • Only $ • Save • Save up to • Save $ • Sale • Trial • Deal • Gift Certificate

When writing subject lines, most marketers think they need to avoid…

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…But Avoiding These Keywords is Mostly a Myth

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BAD_CREDIT   HTTP_ESCAPED_HOST  DATE_IN_PAST_03_06   LOCALPART_IN_SUBJECT  FREEMAIL_FORGED_REPLYTO   PLING_QUERY  FREEMAIL_REPLYTO   RCVD_IN_NJABL_RELAY  FREEMAIL_REPLYTO_END_DIGIT   REMOVE_BEFORE_LINK  HTML_FONT_FACE_BAD   SUBJ_ILLEGAL_CHARS  HTML_FONT_SIZE_HUGE   SUBJECT_NEEDS_ENCODING  HTML_IMAGE_ONLY_12   T_KHOP_FOREIGN_CLICK  HTML_IMAGE_ONLY_28   TRACKER_ID  HTML_IMAGE_ONLY_32   URIBL_BLACK  

Top Spam Filter Reasons

Top Spammy Words

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Key Takeaway

Content filtering and keywords are only used when you have no, or a bad, reputation. Use a tool like Inbox Preview to test for potential issues.

Secret #6 Mobile is your secret weapon

70% How many Email Subscribers will delete an email if it doesn’t render well on mobile

Source: ExactTarget

62% of Email Opens on Mobile occurred on Christmas

Source: Return Path, Campaign Insight

Apple iPhones and iPads were the winners

Key Takeaways Mobile use trending points to heavier usage for the 2014 holiday season 51% email open rate for mobile (December, 2013)

Christmas day saw mobile open share at 62%

iOS has 86% share of opens, Android 14%

Focus on Email Design Whether you take a mobile-first or responsive design approach to email, use a tool like Inbox Preview to ensure your emails look great on any device, and people won’t delete your email.

Use Mobile Data for Segmentation & Targeting Leveraging data from Campaign Insight, a large on-line retailer targets iPad subscribers with furniture ads after 5pm

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#7 Use competitive data for testing

Mailchimp: Subject line length has little effect on opens

What works for your competitors?

• August 5 – 29 • Pizza Hut focused on their $6.55 pizza deal

• Deal valid Mon – Thursday only

• Carry-out only

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Better Subject Line Performance Using Competitor’s Data • $6.55 special promoted August 5 – 29 • 5 distinct subject lines and creative variations • “$6.55 of Absolute Greatness” had a 17% higher read rate than the worst subject line

110  

100  108  

117  108  

90  

95  

100  

105  

110  

115  

120  

Incredible  Savings  –  $6.55  Large  Pizza  

Early  Week  Steal:  Large  1-­‐Topping  $6.55  

Carryout  

Don't  Miss  Out!  $6.55  Large  

Pizza  

$6.55  of  Absolute  Greatness  

$6.55  Large  1-­‐Topping  Pizza  

Benchm

ark  =  100  

Read  Rate  

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Key Takeaway

Knowing your audience is extremely important for subject line testing. For better insights and faster testing cycles, look to your competitors to see what’s working for them.

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Secret #8 Monitor Blacklists

What time of year are blacklistings highest?

And they can last a long time

• Monitor for and remove spam traps • Collect clean data up front • Remove Inactive Addresses

To prevent a blacklist from happening

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• Use a blacklist monitoring system to be aware of issues before your customers or CMO does.

• Check email bounce codes for block reason and instructions for removal

• Before requesting removal, gather the right data, like: –  List acquisition sources –  List management practices –  Mailing practices

• Be Honest •  It helps to have a guide

But if it happens (and it always happens at the worst time)…

Key Takeaway

Blacklists affect your inbox placement rates in an extremely negative way. Prevention is key, but monitor and take action immediately if you find yourself on a major blacklist.

Secret #9 Get Whitelisted

Verify Whitelisting Status

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Verify you’re still on whitelists

Yahoo “Bulk Senders Form” http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/postmaster/bulkv2.html AOL Whitelist http://postmaster.aol.com/Postmaster.Whitelist.php

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Key Takeaway

Whitelists aren’t forever. Verify you’re still in good standing with AOL and Yahoo! Senders with great sending reputations even see inbox placement issues. Whitelisting services can, and do, help.

Secret #10 Email Frequency

#EmailSecrets

How Frequency Affects Placement for Top Retailers

Average  #  of  messages  sent  per  week   5+   4   3   2   1  Average  subscriber  spam  complaint  rate   0.005%   0.020%   0.026%   0.037%   0.571%  Average  retailer  Sender  Score   62   86   89   86   83  Average  "This  is  not  spam"  Rate   0.40%   0.22%   0.73%   0.89%   1.07%  Average  Inbox  Placement  Rate   71%   96%   98%   94%   92%  

Source: Return Path, Inbox Insight, October – December 2013

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Manage Frequency

TotalEmails Unique Total Unsub

Received Custs Unsubs Rate1 24,339 2,677 11.0% 2%2 22,473 2,586 11.5% 2%3 437,688 2,519 0.6% 40%4 71,438 1,377 1.9% 6%5 51,080 885 1.7% 5%6 7,337 522 7.1% 1%7 4,578 504 11.0% 0%8 14,973 526 3.5% 1%9 458,268 1,840 0.4% 42%10 10,694 42 0.4% 1%11 312 4 1.3% 0%

Total 1,103,180 13,482 1.2% 100%

Total

Key Takeaway

Frequency can be a major driver for complaints, but subscribers may tolerate more promotional emails during the holidays, but don’t go from 0-60 overnight.

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Let’s Connect!

Tom Sather Sr. Director, Research

@ReturnPath @Tom_Sather

Tom.Sather@returnpath.com

www.returnpath.com

Contact Us! http://www.returnpath.com/contact-us/