forbes.com
Email Deliverability: How to Stop Losing Money to Spam Filters
Poor email deliverability, caused by factors like outdated email lists, lack of authentication, and inconsistent sending, leads to lost sales and customer engagement; businesses must improve list hygiene, authenticate their emails, and send emails gradually to reach inboxes.
- What are the primary causes of poor email deliverability and its immediate consequences for businesses?
- Poor email deliverability significantly harms businesses by preventing marketing emails from reaching recipients' inboxes, resulting in lost sales and customer engagement. This is due to factors like email blacklisting and low sender reputation scores, which are determined by metrics such as bounce rates and spam complaints.
- How do email authentication protocols and list hygiene practices affect sender reputation and inbox placement?
- Email deliverability issues stem from several factors, including outdated email lists with inactive or incorrect addresses, lack of email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and inconsistent or excessive email sending frequency. These issues negatively impact sender reputation scores, leading to emails being filtered into spam or promotions tabs.
- What long-term strategies can businesses implement to improve email deliverability and mitigate the risks of lost revenue and customer engagement?
- To improve email deliverability, businesses must prioritize consistent list hygiene (regularly removing invalid addresses), implement proper email authentication, and adopt a gradual email sending approach to avoid sudden volume spikes. Failure to address these factors will continue to result in lost revenue and decreased customer reach, impacting long-term business growth.
Cognitive Concepts
Framing Bias
The article frames email deliverability problems as a major crisis for businesses, emphasizing potential financial losses and using strong emotional language to heighten concern. While the importance of deliverability is valid, the framing may exaggerate the issue for some businesses. The headline "Email deliverability is destroying your business" is a strong example of this framing.
Language Bias
The article uses emotionally charged language, such as "destroying your business," "losing customers you never knew you had," and "costs you everything." These phrases are designed to create urgency and anxiety, potentially influencing reader perception beyond a neutral presentation of facts. More neutral alternatives would include phrases like "negatively impacting your revenue," "limiting your customer reach," and "affecting your email marketing ROI.
Bias by Omission
The article focuses heavily on the technical aspects of email deliverability but omits discussion of the broader marketing strategy and the potential impact of email content quality on open and click-through rates. While acknowledging the importance of technical aspects, a more holistic approach encompassing content strategy would provide a more complete picture.
False Dichotomy
The article presents a false dichotomy by suggesting that email deliverability issues are the sole reason for poor marketing email performance. While deliverability is crucial, other factors like email content, targeting, and overall marketing strategy also significantly impact results. The article oversimplifies the problem by focusing almost exclusively on deliverability.
Gender Bias
The article doesn't exhibit overt gender bias in its language or examples. However, a more diverse range of examples showcasing successful email marketing practices from various industries and business owners would enhance inclusivity.
Sustainable Development Goals
The article directly addresses email deliverability issues that significantly impact businesses. Improved email marketing results in increased sales and revenue, contributing to economic growth and job creation within the marketing sector and related industries. The article provides actionable steps to improve email deliverability and thus improve business performance and economic output.