The answer to that is almost obvious: yes, it is possible. But... how? And here comes the surprise: just do the basics well. It is not necessarily complex, but it is certainly demanding. And the results are worth it!
According to various research studies, tests, experiments, and related sources, email marketing is a high-performance, high-ROI instrument. Great, I agree.
However, I still notice a certain difficulty among professionals managing this channel when it comes to extracting the best possible results. In many cases, this happens due to a lack of awareness or disregard for certain details. Regardless of the reason, some basic factors that ensure the channel's efficacy and efficiency are essential for achieving the best results. I will try to help with that.
✉️ EMAIL ADDRESSES
1. Establish syntax validation for recipient email addresses. Tip: preferably, act at the data capture touchpoints, ensuring that email addresses are entered correctly into your CRM.
2. In the same way, establish and regularly run existence and activity checks on recipient email addresses. Tip: bounce management policies (soft and hard) can help a great deal.
3. Make sure email addresses were collected with the recipients' full awareness and proper consent. Tip: if you were unable to guarantee that at the time of collection, you can still do it now.
4. Establish AND RESPECT privacy and opt-out policies. Sending emails to people who have already made it clear they no longer want to receive them is fatal. The tip here is to use it as a learning opportunity: why do they no longer want to receive your emails?
📩 DELIVERABILITY AND INBOX PLACEMENT
1. BE CAREFUL with content. Misleading or clickbait subject lines, as well as low-relevance messages, can be flagged as spam.
2. BE EVEN MORE CAREFUL with content that violates spam policies or is considered inappropriate, such as pornography, violence, hate speech, and similar material. These can result in blocks and/or spam classifications.
3. AVOID EXCESSIVE USE of images and links. One image speaks a thousand words, but ten images do not multiply that proportionally. Be aware that excessive use of images or links can also be flagged as spam.
4. CONSTANTLY CHECK the domain of the email address used as the sender: if it is included in anti-spam lists, that will certainly affect deliverability. Tip: when in doubt, make full use of well-known tools for the appropriate validations.
5. ENSURE the proper technical configuration is in place: missing SPF/DKIM authentication and DMARC policies can be fatal.
I find it unfortunate that, even today, there are situations where professionals are unaware that the emails they send are not reaching recipients' inboxes. Even more unfortunate is the approach of relying on requests for recipients to manually "whitelist" the sender's domain as a solution.
It is important to build a culture of using tools and technology in favor of the channel, which can be established through intensive and ongoing monitoring of the right performance indicators. Tip: volume of emails sent is NOT a performance indicator.
Adriano Pereira Passionate about Technology, Marketing, Data, Results, and People. Partner at AdvisorTips. The original publication that inspired this article can be found on LinkedIn
