Improving email delivery rates
By Luc Vezina, Head - Campaigner email marketing

For online business, delivering our message is mission-critical. And with so many factors now affecting campaign delivery rates, it's no wonder that "email deliverability" has become such a hot topic. The following will provide you with an overview of email delivery, and what you can do to improve your delivery rates.

What is your delivery rate?

Your delivery rate is the number of emails that are delivered (i.e. NOT hard- or soft-bounced), as a percentage of the total number of emails sent.

What is a good delivery rate?

In general, a delivery rate of 80% or more is considered satisfactory; 90% is very good. You will never achieve a 100% delivery rate, as there will always be a few soft bounces (full email boxes) and hard bounces (invalid email addresses) on your list. Keep in mind that this figure does not factor in the emails that are automatically sent to the recipient's junk folder.

What can you do to improve your delivery rate?

  • Keep your list fresh.
    The fresher the list, the lower the bounce rate. Roughly 20% of all email addresses are retired each year. Campaigner automatically updates your contacts with every campaign, and suppresses hard bounced addresses from all future mailings - updating your list couldn't be easier!
  • Avoid content filters.
    It's easy to avoid content filters by following a few simple rules: Use a recognizable "From" name, address, and subject line; employ a good, clean email design (messy and garbled HTML is a red flag for some content filters); and choose your words carefully.
  • Work within the law.
    The CAN-SPAM Act went into effect on January 1, 2004. This U.S. legislation made it illegal for marketers to send unsolicited email, while providing legitimate email marketers with one simple set of rules. As an emarketer, you are required to build your contact list using a double opt-in process and are also obliged to include your physical mailing address on ALL outbound email campaigns. Abiding by these rules will help keep your name clean.

Finally, the most important thing you can do to ensure high delivery rates is to choose the right Email Marketing Service Provider. Leading providers - such as Campaigner - help take the guesswork out of delivery rates by ensuring that all users follow permission-based practices and by maintaining strong relationships with all the major ISPs.

Quick Tips & Tricks
A good subject line is key to getting recipients to open your email, so think carefully about these words. For a good subject line, make it relevant and beware of words that might trigger filters and block incoming messages:

  • Don't USE ALL CAPITAL LETTERS.
  • Don't use a lot of exclamation points, smiley faces or other symbols.
  • Don't resort to deception (i.e., don't use "Re: The Information You Requested" if your recipient didn't really request any information.)
  • Don't use the word "free," "adult" or any other "spam-like" word.

In general, choose subject lines that capture immediate interest and make people want to read more. Avoid vague subject lines like "Our December Newsletter." Instead, say something that engages your readers' attention with an interesting topic or headline from the newsletter, such as "Inside: Increase your delivery rates".

Email Marketing is a partnership between you and your Email Marketing Service Provider. If you do your part, and we do ours, delivery rates will be as high as they can be - leaving you to focus on your business.

About Campaigner
Campaigner™ offers Customer Relationship Marketing technology that allows organizations to move beyond traditional product-centric marketing to create relevant communications with customers, resulting in long term, profitable relationships.

About the Author:
Luc Vezina is Head of Campaigner Marketing. He monitors industry trends closely and has been instrumental in helping shape email marketing best practices for thousands of Campaigner's clients. Campaigner is a founding member of the Email Service Provider Coalition.

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