Sutton University:Computers/Technical

Tips for Creating an Effective Direct Email Campaign

A bad mailing list guarantees bad results

No matter how catchy your subject line, how engaging the copy, or how compelling the offer, if your email list is bad you can pretty much guarantee the results from any email campaign using that list will be bad as well. One of the main tip offs to you that you are using a bad list is that you receive a high rate of ‘bounce-backs.’

A bounce-back is a message that has failed to be delivered, usually because the email address that the message was sent to was not valid. Sometimes the email address was simply never valid to begin with, while other times it is simply the case that the old email address is now non-existent as the intended recipient is now using a new email address. If you find that an address is consistently bouncing back, it is imperative that you remove it in a timely manner.

It is only natural (albeit incorrect) to assume that no harm comes out of these bounce-backs – they aren’t received by anyone, so what’s the problem? The problem is that Internet Service Providers watch for large bounce-back ratios. If you send an email campaign out with 250 email addresses attached, and 50 of your addresses bounce, you may be flagging yourself to the spam filtration systems used by different Internet Service Providers (ISP’s).

What is the result of being flagged? The result is that you might wind up being ‘spam filed’ or ‘black holed’ by these ISPs. Being ‘black holed’ means that in the future, whenever you send any message to any address associated with a particular ISP, all of your messages get automatically sent into a self-deleting folder – your messages no longer go to any address associated with that ISP, even if many of your addresses are valid.

Worse still, you will no longer receive notification that your messages are not being delivered. You will simply wind up with dwindling responses from your direct email campaigns. So rather than having the majority of your messages being rerouted into the ‘electronic shredder’ taking the time to cull invalid or non-existent email addresses from your list should be seen as a prudent course of action to pursue on a regular basis.

So what percentage of bounce-backs is likely to register with ISPs as constituting spam? The exact percentage will vary significantly between ISPs, but if you can keep your bounce-back rate down to about 5% you should be fine. The best way to avoid large amounts of bounce-backs to begin with is to create your own list of email contacts where you have received permission from the individual to mail them. These types of lists are fairly easy to accumulate over the regular course of your networking activities. Not only will you have far fewer bounce-backs as a result, but you will also have a much more targeted list that focuses on people who are far more likely to become your customers.

One other important suggestion for lowering your bounce-backs and avoiding ‘back holes’ is to steer clear of purchased or traded lists. These lists will frequently be full of dead or invalid email addresses. Avoid them.

Sutton University:Computers/Technical

Showing your Brand or getting ‘Branded as Spam’

Let’s say that you have taken the time to build your email list with valid email addresses (which of course you have received permission to use) and you begin to launch your direct email campaign. Surely now you should be safe from getting black-holed by ISP’s, right? Well, not necessarily…

Even if your messages are all targeting existing email addresses, you can still get pegged as spam. But wait a minute! Aren’t we talking about emailing to legitimate addresses where we have obtained consent to send mail? Sadly, yes we are. The problem is, even someone whom you have obtained permission to mail may choose to report you to their ISP as a source spam if they do not recognize the relevance and/or source of your message.

If you are being regularly reported as spam, you are running the risk of having your direct email campaign suffer the death of 1000 tiny cuts – each complaint could result in your mail getting ‘black holed’ with that particular ISP. When examined in isolation, being filtered out by a single ISP is not what many would consider to be a death blow to their email campaign, but over time, the effects of being filtered by multiple ISP’s can prove to be absolutely critical.

So, how do you stop your email from being reported as spam? The ugly truth is that you can’t actually stop this from occurring. The person you met at a golf tournament 5 months back who said they would love to receive your e-newsletter may no longer have a clue as to who you are, let alone remember that she actually gave her consent to you sending her email. And if this person is turned off by your message they may very well report your message as spam.

So what to do? Well for starters, keep your emails as relevant and useful as possible. While ‘relevant’ and ‘useful’ are both subjective terms, there is an inverse correlation to the perception of useful content versus the perception of spam, so opt for smaller, more targeted mail-outs with high relevance instead of one massive general mail-out with low relevance.

One of the ways that you can increase your direct email effectiveness is to have your brand featured prominently in your message. A message with a well-defined brand is less likely to be perceived as spam than a message with an unknown brand. With emails featuring a relevant content and a strong brand, your positive response rate can increase noticeably. Plus, even if a recipient decides they are no longer interested in receiving your emails, by having a strong brand presence within your message, people are more likely to simply unsubscribe, instead of reporting you as spam.

Email campaigns could very well be the most effective way of marketing your services if it is done correctly. Don’t run the risk of losing all your email marketing privileges; remember: keep your email list up-to-date and brand your emails to make sure that they are 100% relevant. By following these simple great tips, you can email your way to more business!