the art and science of email deliverability and optimization

The Art & Science of Email Deliverability & Optimization

Josh Aberant, Director of PrivacyShonal Narayan, Email Marketing Manager

© 2010 Marketo, Inc. Marketo Proprietary and Confidential

Goals

Understand -• How Marketo optimizes your deliverabilityp y y• How receivers make delivery decisions• How you can optimize your deliverability


B2B Deliverability Landscape


B2B Deliverability Landscape

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Deliverability Partners

B2B RequirementsEmail Provider SenderEmail Provider Sender

• Modern network compliant with receiverrequirements

• Permission• Opt-in

E t tirequirements• Advanced email

technology platform• Anti-spam and email

• Expectations• Data• List hygieneAnti spam and email

vendor relations (B2B)• ISP relations (B2C)• Best practices

• Targeting• Relevancy• Contentp

• Data automation tools • Best Practices• Trust

© 2009 Marketo, Inc. All rights reserved.

Deliverability Partners

Email providers take responsibility for providing theircustomers with the network, tool and know-how they needto achieve the deliverability they deserveto achieve the deliverability they deserve

Marketo NetworkCisco McAfee Return Path

SenderBase TrustedSource Sender Score

Highest score on all Trusted IPs –“Good”

Highest score on all Trusted IPs –“Minimal Risk”

98 average score on Trusted IPs (out of 100)

Good or Neutral score on all sending IPs

Minimal Risk score on all sending IPs

89 average score on all sending IPs


Shared, Trusted & Dedicated IPs

Receiver Relations

Anti-spam vendors & ISPs:• Connection requirements• Whitelistings• Feedback Loops (FBLs)• Bounce classifications• Tech troubleshooting• Block info• False positive issue escalation & resolution


Deliverability Tech

• IP and DNS optimization• Minimize DNS lookups• Reduce friction

• Connection optimizing• HELO/EHLOHELO/EHLO• Concurrency• MX routing

Adaptive bounce handling• Adaptive bounce handling• Classification & specification• Action & retry configuration

• Authentication• DKIM – Domain Keys Identified Mail• SPF – Sender Protection Framework

Protect your brand and online reputation against fraud and forgery


SPF Sender Protection Framework• SenderID

fraud and forgery

What is Deliverability?

Once the tech is solved, inbox placement is the result of a algorithmic score based on:

ContentSender Reputationp

You Are Master Of Your Deliverability


Content Filtering

• Spam words• Spam patternsSpa patte s• Spam signatures

Lots of opportunities for false positives


Sender Reputation

Receiving systems want to deliver message that subscribers want message that subscribers want.

How can a computer score how much a How can a computer score how much a subscriber wants a sender’s email?


Sender Reputation

Domain & IP ReputationThe Good The Bad

• Opens• Time open

• Inconsistent sending• Invalid email addresses p

• Images on• Clicks• Forwards

• Old• Malformed

• Prints• Save to folder• Archive

Add t dd b k

The Ugly• Complaints

• Spam button• Add to address book• Move to inbox

Spam button• Move to junk folder

• Spam trap hits


The Marketing Conversion Formula

The The TheTheRight Person

TheRight

Message

TheRight

MethodConversionSuccess

+ =+

Targeting& Analytics

Relevant Content

BestPractices

Action orAwareness


Deliverability Best Practices

P M M h dPPerson Message Method• Permission • Clear call-to-action • Timing

Person• Permission• Opt-in

• Set expectations• Capture preferences

• Focus on good dataP rge problematic data

• Scan-able• WIIFM (What’s In It For Me)• Branding

• SubjectFrom

• Calendar• Behavior• Preferences• Lead nurturing state

Freq enc

• Opt-in• Set expectations• Capture preferences

• Focus on good dataP rge problematic data• Purge problematic data

• In-actives• Non-engaged• Bounces & un-subs

• Score data sources

• From• Body

• Relevance• Personalization• Valuable content

• Frequency • Recency • Preview attraction

• Snipped text• Above the fold

• Purge problematic data• In-actives• Non-engaged• Bounces & un-subs

• Score data sources• Score data sources• Website• Search• Campaigns

• Score Engagement

• Valuable content• Company logo• Design best practices

• Well formed HTML• In-line CSS

• Above the fold• How does it look when

images are off?• A/B testing - Iterate your way there

• Score data sources• Website• Search• Campaigns

• Score EngagementScore Engagement• High, medium, low

• Target Relevancy• Demographic• Location

In line CSS• Alt tag images• Render testing

• Trust center• Company name

• Subject line• Call-to-action• Content• Design templates

O i i d

Score Engagement• High, medium, low



• Preferences• Behavior• Engagement

p y• URL• Privacy Policy

• Opt-in reminder • “You have received this

message because…”


Deliverability @ The Opt-in Form

• Create “Moments of Recognition”• Brand• Look & feel• Images• Previews

• Capture preferences• Frequency• Frequency• Areas of interest• Demographics

Set expectations• Set expectations• Make it clear what you have to offer• Attract potential customers


Deliverability @ The Opt-in Form

• Validate addresses• Check for syntax errors

• Confirm opt-in (COI/DOI)• Make some downloads/incentives available after confirmationMake some downloads/incentives available after confirmation

• Sync with CRM• Unified view of lead through nurturing stages


Deliverability Design of Opt-inBranding-Branding-

Moment of Value PropMoment of recognition

Easy

Relevancy

Easy Concise Form

Sample – Set Expectations

Privacy Policy –Builds

WIIFM –Incentive & M ti ti TrustMotivation

Product Info– Lead Nurturing


Test, test, and test some more – what works on

this page? (eg. No testimonials here)

Build deliverability quality into test analysis

Automating Deliverability

Inactive or Non-engaged

•Open

•ClickDATA

•Click

•Website activity

•Defined goals

EngagedSubscribers

Behavior Analysis

Defined goals


Deliverability: Lead Gen & List Building

• Track deliverability effects of your campaigns d i iti tiand initiatives

• How many of the subscribers bounce or hit report junk?j

• Did the campaign or data source cause blacklistings?• Don’t ignore this real cost

B ild d li bili i fi / • Build deliverability costs into your profit/cost analysis

Better Data = Better Deliverability


Example Cost Analysis

Lost revenue (one week) $10,000 $10,000 PPC t l d $1 $1 PPC cost per lead $1 $1 Bounce block threshold 500 500Campaign leads generated 1000 1000B t 0 5% 5%Bounces percentage 0.5% 5%

# of bounces 5 50B t $20 $20 Bounce cost $20 $20 Total bounce cost $100 $1,000 Bounce cost per lead $0.10 $1.00

Adjusted lead cost $1.10 $2.00

Behavioral ScoringWhat’s Relevant? To Whom?What s Relevant? To Whom?

Score their Engagement by their Behavior


Engagement Scoring How-to

Structure your engagement scores on the best behavior data you have available -• Data vintage• Openers• Clickers• Web site goals & page visited

• Marketo munchkin• Lead score

M k t • Marketo app


Engagement MailStream Example

Premium Product Packages

Industry Thought Leadership


Market Awareness & Business Benefit

Targeting - Always Be Relevant

Use All Your Targeting Know-Howg g

DemographicsLocation RelevancyLocationPreferencesBehavior

y

Engagement


Advanced Deliverability

Marketing process -Automate sending messages that

l t h th t thpeople want when they want them

• Who are they? (Demographics)y ( g p )• What did they say? (Preferences)• What did they do? (Behavior)

Wh t d th t? (R l )• What do they want? (Relevancy)• How ready are they? (Lead nurturing)


Advanced Deliverability

The key to great long term deliverabilityis a cycle of messages that people want y g p p

bringing them closer to conversion

SendingSending

B h iBehaviorTracking

Targeting

Analysis


Marketing Automation Enables This

P M M h dP M h d

Coming Soon

Person Message Method• Permission • Clear call-to-action • Timing

Person• Permission

Message• Clear call-to-action

Method• Timing




• SubjectFrom


Freq enc




• SubjectFrom


F • Purge problematic data• In-actives• Non-engaged• Bounces & un-subs


• From• Body



• Snipped text• Above the fold

• Purge problematic data• In-actives• Non-engaged• Bounces & un-subs


• From• Body



• Snipped text• Above the fold• Score data sources

• Website• Search• Campaigns





images are off?• A/B testing - Iterate your way there

• Score data sources• Website• Search• Campaigns





images are off?• A/B testing - Iterate your way thereScore Engagement

• High, medium, low• Target Relevancy

• Demographic• Location




O i i d

Score Engagement• High, medium, low





O i i d










Summary

• Deliverability factors:• Content• Reputation• Email Provider

• To optimize deliverability follow the marketing conversion formula• Send to the right person• Set expectations

F d d t• Focus on good data• Score engagementAl b l t


• Always be relevant

EXAMPLES

OMS Event – A Great SuccessSuccess Beyond OMS ‐ Social Media

A B

Open: 32% Open: 40%CTO: 50% CTO: 17%

CTO: 50% CTO: 17%

Testing – 3 Step Process

Determine what variable(s) to testCreate multiple versions of the email (A/B) Monitor and adjustj

My Findings - Opens

Subject line For event follow‐ups: Put the event name in the title For invites: Personalized, yet tempting hook (ex: thought you might be interested in xyz)you might be interested in xyz)

My Findings - Clicks

HTML template with graphics Use clickable email banner, buttons, and hero shots/images

# f li k# of links Linking the title or name of the offer works better than “click here”, The offer has to be obvious at first glance; above the fold Highlight the keys of the offer via bullet points, easier to read than a

block of text Doing a event recap blog post is a hot offer, especially after a

d htradeshow

Content length 3‐4 total paragraphs + bullet pointsp g p p Short content doesn’t always win, make the content compelling and

flow nicely into the call to action

Message style

Message style Personal touch beats out generic message (seems obvious): Use of

tokens; “forwarded” messages

Same Offer ≠ Same Results

August: 20% Open 72% CTO 580 new engaged 580 new engagedSeptember 18% Openp 28% CTO < 100 new engaged

My Findings – Conversion

Timing is Everything for C iConversion Keep your company name fresh in their heads

You only get one first impression make itimpression, make it count

What to Remember

To optimize deliverability follow the marketing conversion formula: Send the right message T th i ht To the right person

At the right time With the right method (best practices)g ( p )

Above all else…Stay Relevant!


the art and science of email deliverability and optimization

Technology

algorithmic score

neutral score

marketo proprietary

ips89 average score

trusted ips goodhighest

ipsminimal risk score

d score engagement high

deliverability best