The success stories about the unbelievable impact of email campaigns encourage you. Tutorials, websites, mentors, and YouTube channels claim to get new followers and buyers is a piece of cake. Reality differs significantly. Emails are sent but fail to reach recipients. You try your test emails, and they almost go through. Then someone says they saw your letter in the “Spam” folder. It is a sad story about spent working hours and time.
But why did it happen this way?
One thinks your fascinating and accurately designed email campaigns are reaching your subscribers. High open rates in their statistics (like GetResponse, Klaviyo, or Mailerlite) confirm that. However, the issue is about their email reputation. Whether the box is old or new, it makes the difference. Let’s learn what is going on here.
Why Is Reputation Important in Email Marketing?
Unlike reputation in human relationships, email reputation has measurable parameters. It is not something undefined. It is not about the content or designed images inside the letter. It is spam complaint rates, email openings, content engagement, and contact list cleanliness.
Theoretically, letters with worse stories than the ones you wrote are delivered to people, while yours attract only your team. The reason is that their email has nothing to hide, as it does not have a spot on its reputation.
But what are the reasons for a bad email reputation?
- High Spam Complaints: Users intentionally or by mistake put the marker “SPAM” on the emails you sent. It damages your reputation if many recipients put the mark. Thus, over time, people might not have a choice to see your letter.
- Low Open Rates and Engagement: Your email is delivered but not opened. Besides, recipients ignore the attached links. Or they do not reply. Email services consider this user behavior as they got an irrelevant letter.
- Lack of Double Opt-In: Ask your users to confirm their subscription. If they have never done it but keep receiving letters, it is the source of trouble in the future. Praise the double opt-in process.
- Using Outdated or Unverified Contact Lists: Before you start the campaign, check and verify the emails. They must be active and relevant. Thus, you decrease the chance of bounces.
- Incorrect SPF/DKIM/DMARC Settings: You should configure your domain or servers to authenticate the sender. If you did not do it in the first place, email services may reject your emails. No one wants to cooperate with strangers.
- High Bounce Rates: It is when emails are sent a few times but not delivered due to incorrect or non-existent addresses. Your reputation will suffer.
The worst thing that may happen is that after a series of spam flags on your email, your domain will go to the blacklist. What then? Should I create a new email, migrate to another CRM, or start another campaign? Every situation is different. It depends if your emails are not received due to a low reputation associated with your domain or IP address.
The solution is to track the email account’s reputation.
You may use the following tools:
- Google Postmaster Tools – Get insights into your email deliverability and reputation issues. There, you will find tips on how to adjust for better performance.
- SenderScore (Return Path) – Rate your IP’s reputation. A score of 80 or higher indicates a healthy IP. The metrics below are signals of potential problems.
- Mailgun – Analyze deliverability based on your data and get working recommendations.
- Postmark – improves deliverability for transactional emails and offers monitoring and optimizing tools for your email reputation.
These tools help you identify where problems lie and guide you on how to fix them.
Why Email Open Rates Are Inaccurate
It is another problem that makes things get tricky. Sometimes, we can not trust the analytics on the screen tab we check.
Apple Update (2021) – Apple changed its data collection methods. It was done to improve statistics and make usage more handy. However, the idea was ruined by automatically downloaded emails. They went to Open even if a user had not opened them. This occasion led to inflated open rates for iPhone and Mac users.
Quick Deletion – Someone opens an email and deletes it in a second. However, the tracker counts it as Read. Provider’s statistics don’t reflect real engagement. And you or your team keep working in vain.
However, click-through rates on links within emails remain accurate. This metric shows whether subscribers are engaging with your emails.
Rules to Improve Email Deliverability
There are simple rules to follow to get a good deliverability level.
1. Resend Settings
Check if your email platform resends letters to those who have not opened the first email. Many services have the setting to operate this way. However, open rate statistics are not accurate. That is why you should make your decisions based on clicks. Resend the email if your readers have not clicked the link from the previous one.
2. Segment Your Audience
It is common sense to split subscribers depending on your offer for different age groups, locations, etc. Also, you can split your subscribers into active groups (those who click links) and passive groups (those who ignore emails). You may try to communicate with passive subscribers with interactive elements in your letters:
- Surveys like “How long are you with us?”
- Quizzes. People like games and quizzes to distract from the routine.
- Discounts or gifts. Create eye-catching calls to action (CTA).
Segmentation is the feature that every email platform suggests. For the details, check your manual or talk to your support team. Anyway, you will find the solution. Do not be afraid to test your theories.
3. Check Your IP Reputation
Email services monitor your IP reputation. In case you use a shared IP, your risk of going to the blocklist increases.
What to Do if Your IP Gets Blocked?
It is an undesirable thing. However, there is a way out!
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Contact the Blocklist Operator
Write a request to have your IP removed from the block list. Usually, this requires providing guarantees that it won’t happen again.
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Follow Their Guidelines
Some operators may ask you to send a re-confirmation request to your subscribers, asking them to reaffirm their consent to receive your emails.
How to Avoid Blocking
The best thing is to think in advance and do everything to reduce the chance of being blocked.
1. Use a Dedicated IP Address
A dedicated IP ensures control over your reputation. Providers like Mailchimp, Pabbly, or Klaviyo offer this option for an additional fee.
2. Clean Your Database
Remove inactive or error-prone email addresses to improve your delivery metrics.
3. Set Up Double Opt-In
The double opt-in feature requires a new subscriber to confirm their consent by clicking a link in the email. It signals to services like Gmail that your emails are welcome.
4. Warm-Up Your Database
If your list has been inactive, create small campaigns for active subscribers. Use email verification tools like Pabbly Email Verification to avoid errors.
Reputation Protection Tools
After learning about the risks of getting blocked, I decided to take every step possible to avoid this unpleasant situation. I searched for affordable email marketing software that allowed the use of dedicated IP addresses. It would give me complete control over my campaign’s reputation.
By following simple steps and using the right tools, you can protect your email campaigns and avoid falling into the spam trap.
For example, Constant Contact offers a dedicated IP option to ensure better control over your delivery. Similarly, GetResponse lets you purchase a unique IP for an additional fee, which can significantly improve your chances of landing emails in the inbox rather than the spam folder.
For users working with Campaign Monitor, the platform provides shared IP addresses for new users, but its monitoring system quickly removes unreliable senders. However, the risk of damaging your reputation remains.
When it comes to ActiveCampaign, their shared IPs are also monitored. Remind that a shared reputation is a shared responsibility. Even if your email practices are flawless, if other users of the same IP send spam, it harms your campaigns.
To avoid these risks, invest in a dedicated IP. It ensures consistent delivery and protects your reputation as a sender.
To Wrap It Up
Regularly send valuable content that resonates with your subscribers. Before sending, double-check your email addresses to prevent reputation issues and ensure your emails land in the inbox, not the spam folder.
References and Further Reading:
https://selzy.com/en/features/email/dedicated-ip-for-email-marketing/
https://sendgrid.com/blog/shared-and-dedicated-ips-which-should-you-choose/
https://www.benchmarkemail.com/blog/ip-gets-blacklisted/
Jen Ribble
A marketing expert with extensive experience in B2B SaaS and content creation.
