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Casual Articles - E-Marketing Deliverability Issues
Does the thought of speaking in front of others send you running in the opposite direction? You??™re not alone. Many people avoid public speaking at all costs ??“ and there is a cost. Public speaking is one of the quickest, most efficient ways to market yourself, your message, business, or cause. Those who are willing to make presentations immediately stand out from the majority who are not. Whether it??™s an audience of five people or 500, it??™s worth it to invest in your skills.After coaching hundreds of clients in presentation skills, I??™m convinced that anyone can improve and gain confidence by following a few simple techniques:Know Your Audience. Most presentations fail because the speaker never took the time to find out anything about his audience. Knowing your audience means finding out as much information as pos
1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc)
2: Manages ISP relations
3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality
4: Provides Copy advice or tools
5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle
6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else’s i.e sends them separately
7: Monitors delivery outcomes
8: Check blacklists often
You should also ensure that:
* Your recipients want to receive your emails
* You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose
* You are explicit-what, when, how often
* You provide easy to use unsubscribe links
* You invite recipients to add you to known sende
Challenging conventional wisdom...what a concept! How few of us are willing to risk moving out of our comfort zone, learning to push conventional wisdom aside and grow. Why is it called conventional wisdom anyway? Why; Perhaps, because the very idea of it is associated with being safe and secure. Is that where we really want to be?In today's fast-changing and ever-shrinking world, new ideas, methods, and processes are being conceived, installed and operated at breakneck speed like never before. There is little room for conventional wisdom anymore, unless of course you are content with living in a bubble, with little direction or growth intentions. I like the old adage, "if you are not growing, you are dying." Marketing and sales, as well as many other fields, require constant movement and adjustment.The term “conventional wisdom
Where: There are 3 places your email can go once you have hit ‘send’ on your latest e-marketing campaign:
1. The Inbox. Safely delivered (and hopefully read!)
2. Junk Mail Box. This has negative implications on:
a: Brand image
b: Decreased profile
c: Inaccurate campaign reporting
3. Undelivered. (…or are they?)
Why: The 3 main reasons why your statistics show less recipients are opening your campaigns:
1. Filters.
2. Fallen out of favour.
3. Statistics not accurate.
How: Let’s talk about how we can improve both the deliverability and the statistics of your campaign:
1. Filters. When an email is wrongly filtered out as Spam, this is known as a “False Positive”. Here is a list of the most commonly used filters.
a) Community: This is based on the community joining together and installing the filters, then reporting any occurrences of Spam. False Positive occurrences should be low, but in reality they aren't. This is due to a couple of reasons: The first being the weed theory. What one person regards as a weed, another may regard as a flower. We all have different opinions. The other is that many people are now reporting once wanted email as Spam instead of unsubscribing.
b) Blacklisting: ISP's generally use their own proprietary lists of known Spammers, created by themselves. Third party blacklisting companies also publish databases of Spam senders. False Positive's are extremely high, as these third party blacklists have no accountability. In fact anyone can report an IP Address as a Spammer and do not have to qualify their reasons.
c) Address recognition: Sender's email address is in the recipient's address book or the server's/gateway's acceptable list. Email senders must earn their position within these lists.
d) Trapping: The filter company plants email addresses all through the Internet to attract Spam Harvesters. Once the false addresses receive Spam, the source of the Spammer is identified; the sender is then blocked immediately across all users of the filter. False positives are extremely low.
e) Challenge-Response: This white listing concept is based on all emails being Spam and the sender having to prove otherwise. Before an email is delivered, the ISP or PC that uses the filter challenges that a human sent the email. The sender has to then manually click the link and then they are added to the subscriber's permissible list. Any auto-responses such as Double Opt in responses do not work well with this type of filter.
f) Rule-Based: This is the most commonly used type of filter on a server. It catches Spam by rejecting/accepting messages based on predetermined rules of what is acceptable.
g) Bonded Sender: Email markers gain status as a non-Spammer through these bonder senders and are therefore permitted through the filters.
h) Volume Blocking: Spammers are known to send high volume emails without thought to speed, volume or list cleanliness. The ISP sees the large amount as well as the other problems and terminates the connection.
i) Probability: Using rules, this filter "learns" the user’s definitions of Spam and decides what may be regarded as Spam. False Positives increase as rule-based Spam is reduced.
To combat these filters and to work towards not being a “False Positive”, you should make sure that your Email Service Provider:
1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc)
2: Manages ISP relations
3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality
4: Provides Copy advice or tools
5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle
6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else’s i.e sends them separately
7: Monitors delivery outcomes
8: Check blacklists often
You should also ensure that:
* Your recipients want to receive your emails
* You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose
* You are explicit-what, when, how often
* You provide easy to use unsubscribe links
* You invite recipients to add you to known sender
Ask yourself what readers or a reporter will be interested in.Are you launching a web site?Is there an issue you can protest?Do you offer an apprenticeship or internship?Do you have an employee that is retiring?Have you won an award, contest or special certification?Are you introducing a new product or service?Are you making a major change to your products or services?Have you been mentioned in a book or article?Have you become a member of an association?Are you making a change in pricing --especially reductions?Are you offering a new training program for employees?Can you take part in a controversy?Can you write about a customer's success story?Is there something new or unique about your company or organization?Can you release a testimoni
a) Community: This is based on the community joining together and installing the filters, then reporting any occurrences of Spam. False Positive occurrences should be low, but in reality they aren't. This is due to a couple of reasons: The first being the weed theory. What one person regards as a weed, another may regard as a flower. We all have different opinions. The other is that many people are now reporting once wanted email as Spam instead of unsubscribing.
b) Blacklisting: ISP's generally use their own proprietary lists of known Spammers, created by themselves. Third party blacklisting companies also publish databases of Spam senders. False Positive's are extremely high, as these third party blacklists have no accountability. In fact anyone can report an IP Address as a Spammer and do not have to qualify their reasons.
c) Address recognition: Sender's email address is in the recipient's address book or the server's/gateway's acceptable list. Email senders must earn their position within these lists.
d) Trapping: The filter company plants email addresses all through the Internet to attract Spam Harvesters. Once the false addresses receive Spam, the source of the Spammer is identified; the sender is then blocked immediately across all users of the filter. False positives are extremely low.
e) Challenge-Response: This white listing concept is based on all emails being Spam and the sender having to prove otherwise. Before an email is delivered, the ISP or PC that uses the filter challenges that a human sent the email. The sender has to then manually click the link and then they are added to the subscriber's permissible list. Any auto-responses such as Double Opt in responses do not work well with this type of filter.
f) Rule-Based: This is the most commonly used type of filter on a server. It catches Spam by rejecting/accepting messages based on predetermined rules of what is acceptable.
g) Bonded Sender: Email markers gain status as a non-Spammer through these bonder senders and are therefore permitted through the filters.
h) Volume Blocking: Spammers are known to send high volume emails without thought to speed, volume or list cleanliness. The ISP sees the large amount as well as the other problems and terminates the connection.
i) Probability: Using rules, this filter "learns" the user’s definitions of Spam and decides what may be regarded as Spam. False Positives increase as rule-based Spam is reduced.
To combat these filters and to work towards not being a “False Positive”, you should make sure that your Email Service Provider:
1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc)
2: Manages ISP relations
3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality
4: Provides Copy advice or tools
5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle
6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else’s i.e sends them separately
7: Monitors delivery outcomes
8: Check blacklists often
You should also ensure that:
* Your recipients want to receive your emails
* You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose
* You are explicit-what, when, how often
* You provide easy to use unsubscribe links
* You invite recipients to add you to known sende
If you are determined to find a new job, then do it in a manner that will garner you a larger income, more responsibility, better title, or whatever it is you seek in a new job. You can obtain such advantages by organizing your job interviews to focus on why you deserve them and how you can deliver the results sought by the employer. After all, those are the two primary reasons employers offer such amenities. Follow a few simple rules relating to job interviewing and you will begin to prepare yourself and your prospective employers for your career enhancement. It’s really a simple matter of preparing yourself to answer job interview questions in a solutions oriented manner, and present yourself as the person who understands the issues and how to resolve them. In short, how to sell yourself in a job interview.If you can know in advance
c) Address recognition: Sender's email address is in the recipient's address book or the server's/gateway's acceptable list. Email senders must earn their position within these lists.
d) Trapping: The filter company plants email addresses all through the Internet to attract Spam Harvesters. Once the false addresses receive Spam, the source of the Spammer is identified; the sender is then blocked immediately across all users of the filter. False positives are extremely low.
e) Challenge-Response: This white listing concept is based on all emails being Spam and the sender having to prove otherwise. Before an email is delivered, the ISP or PC that uses the filter challenges that a human sent the email. The sender has to then manually click the link and then they are added to the subscriber's permissible list. Any auto-responses such as Double Opt in responses do not work well with this type of filter.
f) Rule-Based: This is the most commonly used type of filter on a server. It catches Spam by rejecting/accepting messages based on predetermined rules of what is acceptable.
g) Bonded Sender: Email markers gain status as a non-Spammer through these bonder senders and are therefore permitted through the filters.
h) Volume Blocking: Spammers are known to send high volume emails without thought to speed, volume or list cleanliness. The ISP sees the large amount as well as the other problems and terminates the connection.
i) Probability: Using rules, this filter "learns" the user’s definitions of Spam and decides what may be regarded as Spam. False Positives increase as rule-based Spam is reduced.
To combat these filters and to work towards not being a “False Positive”, you should make sure that your Email Service Provider:
1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc)
2: Manages ISP relations
3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality
4: Provides Copy advice or tools
5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle
6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else’s i.e sends them separately
7: Monitors delivery outcomes
8: Check blacklists often
You should also ensure that:
* Your recipients want to receive your emails
* You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose
* You are explicit-what, when, how often
* You provide easy to use unsubscribe links
* You invite recipients to add you to known sende
Multiple income streams is a big topic in the affiliate marketing arena. Everyone talks about having multiple income streams. I am a firm believer in multiple income streams and think that you should implement additional streams of income, but I don’t believe you should do it all at once. My view is that you should build one income stream first to the point where it is producing consistently for you. Then continue to add another and then another.With that being said, let’s talk about why it’s important to have multiple income streams. Multiple income streams provides you with some degree of safety in the even that one affiliate program goes bust you will have several others working for you. This is the general idea of multiple income streams.For example you can build an affiliate income stream in the niche of “gardening”. Once y
f) Rule-Based: This is the most commonly used type of filter on a server. It catches Spam by rejecting/accepting messages based on predetermined rules of what is acceptable.
g) Bonded Sender: Email markers gain status as a non-Spammer through these bonder senders and are therefore permitted through the filters.
h) Volume Blocking: Spammers are known to send high volume emails without thought to speed, volume or list cleanliness. The ISP sees the large amount as well as the other problems and terminates the connection.
i) Probability: Using rules, this filter "learns" the user’s definitions of Spam and decides what may be regarded as Spam. False Positives increase as rule-based Spam is reduced.
To combat these filters and to work towards not being a “False Positive”, you should make sure that your Email Service Provider:
1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc)
2: Manages ISP relations
3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality
4: Provides Copy advice or tools
5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle
6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else’s i.e sends them separately
7: Monitors delivery outcomes
8: Check blacklists often
You should also ensure that:
* Your recipients want to receive your emails
* You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose
* You are explicit-what, when, how often
* You provide easy to use unsubscribe links
* You invite recipients to add you to known sende
In most of the articles on the web, probably 97% - 99%, you will read about the technical aspects of building a profitable business online. Most of the information I cover deals with that arena...but what most people forget to mention to you is that the technical aspects are ONLY half of the equation to your success on the internet.When you really get down to the nitty-gritty of making money online, it all starts with your strategy. Even if you know exactly how to achieve top positions on the search engines or know exactly how a link campaign should be done, it still won't let you achieve the level of success you want if you don't know how to develop the strategy for your site.To put it simply, tactics are your day to day actions in building your website. A strategy is your overall plan and goal for exactly what you would like t
1: Manages delivery list hygiene and opt outs (or provide tools for you to do so and automate opt outs etc)
2: Manages ISP relations
3: Provides Anti Spam tools and testing functionality
4: Provides Copy advice or tools
5: Provides Copy rework and testing cycle
6: Separates your campaigns from everyone else’s i.e sends them separately
7: Monitors delivery outcomes
8: Check blacklists often
You should also ensure that:
* Your recipients want to receive your emails
* You only send emails meeting the permissioned purpose
* You are explicit-what, when, how often
* You provide easy to use unsubscribe links
* You invite recipients to add you to known senders list
2. Fallen out of favour, but not unsubscribed. An unfortunate trend nowadays is for recipients to report as spam or assign to the junk box, rather than to unsubscribe from the newsletter. For this reason alone, make sure your unsubscribe action is easily achieved. According to Jakob Nielsen’s Newsletter Usability Report, the 3 main reasons for newsletters falling out of favour are:
1) Too frequent
2) Irrelevant Content
3) Not signed up
If your statistics are showing less openings, then reviewing your list, your content and your frequency maybe applicable.
3. Statistics not accurate. This can be caused by 3 main reasons:
1) An increased amount of text only recipients. Most ESP’s deliver using MIME Technology, which ensures the recipients receive the correct format for their requirements. Increasingly more recipients are able to receive HTML, although with “text only” email providers such as Gmail coming on this scene, the balance maybe maintained.
2) Delivered to Junk mail box. Emails that are read by the recipient in the junk mail folder may not produce any response or statistical information and so can affect the accuracy of the campaign report.
3) Image blocking, which means that the campaign ‘opens’ cannot be tracked, hence giving you an incomplete report. This is one reason to educate users about the need to add trusted senders to their address books, as AOL and MSN (Hotmail etc) don't display images in e-mail from unknown senders by default. However, if you can convince your recipient to add you to their address book, thereby ‘whitelisting’ you, the images will display by default and they will receive your HTML email as it was intended to be seen.
A solution to this is to run an "Add to Address Book" campaign. The aim is to get subscribers to add senders to their address books. Add this text to the Thank You page after a new subscription is collected, add it to a Confirmation Message and the Welcome Message, and add it to the top of the HTML and Plain Text versions of the email. Make it part of your template, add it near the top of your template as well as near the unsubscribe link. Some examples are: "Want to unsubscribe? Click here!" "Want to make sure that you keep receiving our valuable publication? Be sure to add [insert your sender address here] to your address book!").
Hopefully these hints and tips will better equip you in getting your campaigns delivered into your recipient’s inboxes.
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