- October 31, 2018 -
Bonus points if you knew that the 1981 movie is a remake of the 1946 black and white film with Lana Turner.
No...I've never watched the '46 version. I'm no spring chicken but I'm not quite that old, people.
And no...we're not chatting about the Postal Service today.
We're talkin' email delivery...currently one of the hottest topics.
There's a lot of blame flying around:
...Infusionsoft has crappy email deliverability.
...Mail Chimp has better Open rates.
...my list is telling me my emails end up in their Spam boxes.
...what the heck? How hard can it be to get a darn email into an inbox?
Well, lemme tell ya.
Without getting super techy (because my brain can't process technical gibberish) - when an email is sent from a 3rd party like Infusionsoft, it has to pass muster twice to get to you.
First, it has to get accepted by the recipient's ISP...that would be Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail, Comcast, etc.
Only two reasons why an email won't make it through the first security gate:
1) The ISP can't tell whether the 3rd party sender is authorized to send emails on your behalf. Think of it like showing your photo ID or passport at the airport to prove you're the same person listed on your airline ticket.
To fix that, you've got to set up SPF and DKIM...this is where my eyes glaze over so go here instead on see how to set them up. And if you really want to kick butt, knock yourself out with something called DMARC.
Ours is done, not by me though...tech and me don't mix well. Yes, I know I harp on this!
2) The email bounced. Either the email is no good (typo or doesn't exist) which is a HARD bounce.
Or the recipient's inbox is full...how dare they go on vacation.
Or the email is too large.
Or it contains spam triggers in the copy...if I list the words that throw a red flag, you won't get this email, duh 😉
Or the dreaded SPF thing again. All are SOFT bounces.
Even if your email gets past the ISP (call that the 1st ring...or in geek speak "delivery"), it doesn't mean it will get to their inbox (the 2nd ring...or in geek speak "deliverability."
I could write a whole book about this (in fact, one of our colleagues has - so keep reading) but here's the skinny on primo deliverability:
...the stuff you email can't be boring or irrelevant 'cause nobody will open 'em.
...and if your emails don't get opened by a good portion of your list, the ISP's make an executive decision not to clutter their customers' inboxes with your email.
Sure glad the US Postal Service doesn't work that way!
...and if one ISP makes that executive decision, they blab to other ISP's and you've got one big ole mess on your hands.
...because now your overall reputation as an email sender takes a hit.
Kind of like a credit score.
Your sender reputation (or credit score) looks at open rates, click-rates, unsubscribes, bounces, spam complaints, etc.
It comes down to...does your list like you or not?
Or have you been having one long conversation...for a party of one...yourself?
Marketing is kinda, sorta like a popularity contest.
Or maybe more like a Rotten Tomatoes review.
I got you covered...here's (no optin required) the best resource on Email Deliverability out there in my opinion.
(Adrian Savage is a respected colleague of ours and knows his stuff. It references Infusionsoft but the principles work no matter what 3rd party email platform you use.)
So what's your Tomatometer reading at these days?
Later,
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