outbound email - 7 best practices to stay out of spam filters
TRANSCRIPT
Outbound Email – How To Stay Out Of The Spam Folder
And Generate Leads
What are we doing today?The Problem: Email Service Provider restrictions create a problem for outbound marketers
7 Best Practices To Keep You Out Of The Spam Folder
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
Putting on our legal hatsCAN-SPAM Act of 2003• Rules governing commercial
email• Requires unsubscribe link,
physical address, accurate from address, relevant subject lines & more.Terms of Service &
Acceptable Use Policies • Rules that email service
providers put in place to govern the use of their services.
Constant ContactWho You Can't Email • Any purchased, rented, or
appended list of email addresses from any source, no matter what the source claims.
• Any shared list of email addresses that haven't given you direct permission to email, such as a: trade show attendee list or affiliated company contact list
“Keep in mind that adding or importing names that go against the permission policy or anti-spam policy may result in the termination of your account.”
MailchimpMailChimp is a permission-based ESP. Everyone on your list should have opted in to receive emails from you, and their permission should be express and verifiable.
You won’t use purchased, rented, or third-party lists of email addresses.
If you violate any of these rules, then we may suspend or terminate your account.
HubSpotThe final step in importing a list is to confirm that your list is valid to respect the privacy of the contacts and to make sure you're not importing a list of people that don't have a current relationship with your business.
If you breach of this AUP (Acceptable Use Policy) we may immediately suspend your access to the HubSpot Service. We may also terminate your and our subscription agreement for cause if you breach this AUP.
Why? Deliverability ConceptsSpam Filters• Software deployed by
organizations that receive email to divert or block spam, viruses, etc.
• SpamAssassin, AppRiver, CloudMark, etc.
Sender Reputation• The standing of an email
sender. Measurement of email sending practices, designed to limit spam.
• Think of it like a credit rating. You build it over time.
• Recipients hitting “Spam” hurts
Inbound Marketing Takes Time
Problem Lead Gen ActivitiesSales Generated Email Addresses
• How did they get the email?• Did each lead give expressed
consent?Trade Shows, Conferences, Networking Events
• Cards collected• Scanned badges
Purchased Lists – even if they are opted in
• Publications• Opt In Websites
Trigger Warning• Has every lead in your
database has given “Expressed Consent”?• Can you verify the
consent of every member of your database?• Do you know exactly how
each salesperson generating leads goes about getting email addresses?
Do You Have Salespeople?
Outbound Email Platforms
Key Takeaways
Terms of Service & Acceptable Use – Boring But Important
Deliverability Issues Drive Restrictions
Common Lead Gen Activities Create Problems
7 Best Practices To Stay Out Of The Spam Folder
What’s a Marketer To Do?
7 Best Practices - #1Quickly Act On Bounces, Drops,
Unsubscribes
Suppress unsubscribes immediately• 10 Days Under CAN-SPAM• Next email after unsubscribe – 57%
higher rate of being marked SPAMRemove bounces & drops• SPAM Filters are watching for repeat
sends• 5% bounce rate – gets you in real
trouble
7 Best Practices - #2Clean Up Your List
Use Verification and/or Hygiene ServicesLists deteriorate at a rate of 2% per
month. The “Fat Finger Problem” is real – mobile form fills have 2x email error rates.
Verification – confirms the validity of email addresses prior to sending (Learn More Here)
Hygiene – removes “Spam Trap” & “Threatening” addresses prior to sending
7 Best Practices - #3Email Infrastructure - Keep It RealDomain• Send from a subdomain or vanity domain that uses
the brand name. Don’t send bulk mail from free email services like Gmail, Yahoo, etc.
Authentication• Set up custom SPF & DKIM records for your sending domains
to enable receiving servers to verify who you are. IP Addresses• Most small business email is sent from shared IP addresses.
Spend $$ on a dedicated IP to prevent others from spoiling your deliverability.
7 Best Practices - #3Email Infrastructure - Keep It Real
Click To Learn More About Domains & Authentication
7 Best Practices - #4Subject Line & Email Content: Don’t
use Spam Trigger WordsInnocuous words can trip you up.• Clearance• Sale• Credit• Profit• Click• Guarantee• 100% Free• Gift
Test Your Emails With a Service:• SpamAssassin• mail-tester.com• PostmarkappLearn More About Spam Testing
7 Best Practices - #5Make Unsubscribe Easy
Unsubscribes are better than Spam actions
50% of consumers have marked email as spam because unsubscribe not easy (Litmus/Fluent)
Unsubscribes don’t hurt sender reputation. Spam reports do.
Put a prominent link in the footer.
7 Best Practices - #6Send A Compelling Welcome Email
Welcome email read rate – 34% vs 24% average
Openers 64% more likely to respond
Say “Welcome %First Name%” – Personalized Subject Lines are opened 26% more (learn more about Personalized Subject Lines)
Set Frequency Expectations
Ask subscribers to add you to their “safe senders” or contact list
7 Best Practices - #7User Experience Matters
Use Mobile FriendlyEmails and Landing PagesKill “Pinch & Zoom”
Key Takeaways – 7 Key Tips• Act Quickly on Unsubscribes, Bounces• Clean Your List – before sends & every 6
months• Tech Infrastructure – Make it clear who you are• Test Subject Line & Content for Spam Triggers• Make Unsubscribe Easy• Send a Compelling Welcome Email• Create Mobile Friendly Emails and Landing
Pages
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
Boingnet Customer – Agency With B2B Software Company Client
Sales Contest Management Software
Needed Outbound Campaign to Augment Inbound Lead Gen
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
List Source – Merge of CRM data & purchased list – 8684 total4 Personas developed over 4 industry verticals3 Touch Email Campaign – Drive to PURL Landing Page• Goal – form submit (watch demo) that
kicks off HubSpot nurture workflows & alerts sales
• Emails & Landing Page with persona driven content
• All designed for mobile device
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
First – Cleaned the list with Briteverify
8684 Total Contacts• 87% Valid Emails• 1,125 Removed7559 Contacts in Campaign
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
Next – Built Mobile Friendly, Personalized Emails & LP3 Plain Text Emails
• Personalized Subject Line
• Perform in mobile or desktop
• Persona Driven Variable MessagingResponsive PURL Landing
Page• Pre-filled form• Tracks each lead• Sends alert on form
complete
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
Confirmed Subject Line & Content
Case Study – Outbound Email Success
Results – nearly 200 new, qualified leadsSub $15 Cost Per Lead – vs. +$30 averageBuilt Sender reputation on new domainBuilding 8 touch campaign for Q4
Key Takeaways – Case StudiesOutbound Email & Landing Page Feeds Into Existing Marketing Automation
Persona Development & Personalization - Key Messages Mapped
Use Automation To Clean Up List & Test For Spam Triggers
Quick Word on Boingnet• Rockland, MA SaaS provider of Direct Marketing
Automation• Affordable, easy to use, fast to implement• White Label Version for Agencies (learn more -
White Label Marketing Automation)• Feature Set (click feature for more):• Landing Pages• Microsites• Email Marketing with Drips/Lead Nurturing• Direct Mail PURLs• SMS/Text Messaging
Takeaways, Questions, Thoughts?
