If you want to include images, videos, branding or a color scheme in your emails, you have to create them with HTML. Some people don’t want to do that (and that’s okay). They don’t want to learn HTML or hire a designer; plus, they believe sending HTML emails will bring down their delivery rates. If [...]

Some experts will tell you that email deliverability is based on what you write in your subject lines or how you design your messages. In reality, deliverability is more involved than that. Deliverability is increasingly influenced by how your readers engage with your emails: Do they open your messages or delete them as soon as [...]

Email marketers are the authors of a very particular story: the story of their email’s deliverability. Your own story starts when you turn on your computer screen and open the message editor in your web browser. So begins your email’s quest for the inbox. ISPs, spam filters and your subscribers themselves all stand between your [...]

Thursday, Yahoo! released an email visualization tool. Updated every second, it shows the volume of email being delivered through Yahoo! users across the globe. Click on the map, and it’ll zoom in to a breakdown of emails in that area (with all emails anonymized). Keep clicking, and it’ll display fascinating facts about Yahoo!’s user base. [...]

Inbox filters aren’t just about emails ending up in the spam folder anymore. Subscribers are now creating folders for more valuable emails, helping them to sort out the emails they want to read from the others in their cluttered inboxes. As more tools for inbox control become available, “email filtering” will become a more desirable [...]

Email marketing is much easier and more effective when all the information you need is in one place. What if you had one source that analyzed all the techniques that were working for over 1,000 of your fellow email marketing professionals? Enter MarketingSherpa’s annual Email Marketing Benchmark Report. It’s one of the top resources for [...]

Have you ever used a link shortener on any of your email marketing campaigns? They’re a handy way to send a long URL to someone using just a few characters. And while they’re nothing new (TinyURL turns 10 in January 2012), they’ve become particularly popular since the rise of Twitter, Facebook and other communication mediums [...]

You have a message you want to get out to all of your contacts NOW. You’ve been meaning to get an account with an email marketing service provider, but haven’t done so yet. What do you do? Are you just going to use that carbon copy (cc) option your email service has? Stop! Using cc [...]

Email marketing tactics and food have a few things in common. There’s the good, the bad, and the people that try to make the bad look good for you.

The food industry has resources like the Eat This, Not That book to guide you, but what about email marketing? With all the different tactics out there, it’s hard to know what will help you and what will hurt you.

That will be changing today with AWeber’s “Do This, Not That” approach to Email Marketing.

We’ll kick it off with some of the worst list management mistakes that could be hurting your email deliverability, and what you should be doing instead.

Send Only to Those Who Requested Your Information

What this is: You cannot did NOT request YOUR information, and you don’t even know how their email addresses were originally obtained. You’d be spamming them.

Another danger is obtaining stale or invalid email addresses. Your message may be filtered because of this, reducing your deliverability rate.

Do this instead:

• Build your list organically.
  You can put up a web form on your website so subscribers can sign up if they want to be on your mailing list. You can also include links to sign up on social media sites like Facebook. And don’t forget if you have a store to include a sign up sheet at the register!

Check out how we invite people to subscribe on Facebook:

Don’t Assume Permission- Ask For It!

What this is: Subscribers skip the confirmation message and just start getting your emails.

There are some worries that confirmed opt-in makes the sign up process harder for the subscriber. But if you don’t have confirmed opt in on, you run the risk of again getting bad email addresses on your list. You’ll also open yourself up to more spam complaints, and subscribers who aren’t as interested in your company.

Do this instead:

• Send a customized confirmation message.
  Set up a customized confirmation that explains to subscribers what’s going on. You’ll have a list of subscribers who want your information and are much less likely to complain.

Here’s what a good confirmation message looks like:

Don’t Ignore Your Complaint Rate

What this is: A complaint is recorded when a subscriber marks one of your broadcast messages as spam.

A subscriber who complains will be automatically unsubscribed from your list in AWeber, which may lead to an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. However, consistent complaints hurt your reputation and your deliverability rate will go down.

Occasional complaints may be inevitable, but that’s never an excuse to look into what you could be doing better.

Do this instead:

• Make sure you are properly setting expectations.
  Does your web form clearly state what they are signing up for? Do you have a welcome message that details your email plans? You can lower your complaint rate by ensuring subscribers know what they will be getting from you and how often you will be sending them messages.

Here’s an example of a form that sets expectations:

Don’t Push Down the Unsubscribe Link

What this is: Using space or unnecessary text to push down the unsubscribe link. This makes the unsubscribe link hard to find.

If subscribers want to leave your list, you should let them! Otherwise you will run into spam complaints which can hurt your reputation and deliverability.

It will also mean your list contains subscribers who aren’t really interested in your emails. If they’re not interested, they won’t be interacting with your emails.

Don’t fall for the idea subscribers may “accidentally unsubscribe”. It’s not going to happen. The unsubscribe link takes subscribers to a new page where they will need to actually choose the unsubscribe option. Hiding the link is just not worth the risk.

Do this instead:

• Put a link to unsubscribe at the TOP of your message.
  Including some text such as “If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click here to unsubscribe” is a much better approach. Subscribers will appreciate that you respect their time and attention.

Here’s what it can look like:

Coming Up Next: The “Do This! (Not That)” Approach to Creating Emails

In the next part of the series, you’ll learn the worst mistakes you can make when creating and sending emails. Find out if you’re doing one of these mistakes, and what you can do to fix it!

Want Us To Tell You When The Next Email In This Series Is Online?

Fill out the form below to join our blog newsletter and we’ll drop you a line when the next part of the “Do This, Not That” series is online.

We’ll also periodically send you the other email marketing tips we publish here. The blog newsletter goes out twice per week.

Naturally, as a permission-based email marketing company, we respect your privacy.

Tweet This

“Twenty percent of email in the United States and Canada is still not making it to the inbox while 3% of email goes to the “junk” or “bulk” folder and another 16% goes missing.” – Return Path (2010)

That’s a scary statement for email marketers. And the stats are similar worldwide:

In Asia, 3% hits the junk folder while 10% goes missing. In Europe, 3.6% gets junked, 11% disappears.

And this is legitimate email, sent to those who’ve opted in. So, yes, this can (and probably sometimes does) happen to your email.

Let’s talk about how to prevent that, shall we?

Here, I’ll Demonstrate

These are emails from marketers I’ve opened from before. I’ve clicked a few of their links. I never added them to my contact list, though, just to see what happens.

So. You see what happens?

Here’s What You Can Do About It

Learn the Nuts and Bolts

Yes, AWeber handles the technical side of deliverability for our customers. But to make sure you’re doing everything you can do yourself, you may want to get familiar with the back end of things.

Get Started Here

Aim To Be a Priority With Your Readers

Major email providers now offer ways to sort email as you get it – for example, Gmail’s Priority Inbox. Bad news for spammers, but it could be good news for you…

Find Out How

Protect Against Malicious Sign Ups

You’d never intentionally spam someone. But malicious sites crop up. And they would use your web form to sign people up for unwanted mail. So make sure you’re protecting against them.

Use This Technique

Prevent Spam Complaints

You can be doing everything right, and some people will still click the “spam” button. But don’t think there’s nothing you can do to prevent it. We have 5 solutions for you to try.

See Them

Don’t Purchase a List

For goodness sakes. Do you want emails from random brands you’ve never heard of? Of course not. Neither do the people on that list. And as for what it’ll do to your reputation…

Well, Find Out

Stick With One “From” Address

Switch the address your email is “from,” and subscribers may be surprised (especially when they have to re-opt to open your images and re-add you to their address books. If you MUST switch, at least follow this example…

See the Example

Get Whitelisted

If your readers say you’re okay, their email providers will believe them. So ask them to put in a good word for you.

3 Ways to Ask

Choose Confirmed Opt-In

We know, we know. You want as many subscribers as possible, and some of them aren’t going to bother to confirm their interest. But that may actually be a good thing.

Find Out Why

Use an Unsubscribe Header

If you’re an AWeber customer, we handle this for you. If not, you may want to check into this – it’s a good solution for subscribers who don’t trust standard links to unsubscribe.

Read More

One Last Thing About Deliverability

It’s dynamic.

Technology changes, subscribers get more savvy and the email industry evolves. And this effects your delivery rates.

So if you don’t already get updates for the AWeber blog, you may want to sign up for them now. You’ll get emails twice a week with tips for creating emails that get delivered – and get results.

Email:

Tweet This