This post was originally written by Omer Navaid, Online Marketing Specialist at Apartments.com
Here are three quick tips to help your email messages reach your subscribers’ inboxes, avoid spam complaints and maintain your status as a reputable sender:
1) Ensure you are sending relevant messages to subscribers who have expressly opted in to receive your emails. For example, if a prospective renter signs up to receive property listings, the last thing they’ll want to see is an advertisement in their inbox about the latest weight loss trick! There are many people out there who want to receive promotional emails, provided that you give them exactly what they’ve asked for.
2) Don’t send to lists that are too old. While a subscriber may enjoy reading your emails when they first sign up, there often comes a point when they simply no longer wish to hear from you — and that’s okay! Perhaps they no longer have a need for your service or your message doesn’t apply to them anymore. If you send to subscribers who signed up for your program years ago, you’ll have a much higher likelihood of spam complaints and bounces. You may find many of these folks are no longer using the same email address or have completely forgotten they opted into your program way back when.
3) Send your messages at an expected rate. While you don’t necessarily need to tell subscribers exactly how many emails they should expect to receive, a little common sense and the golden rule can go a long way. You don’t want to bombard them with multiple emails a day. If your message is extremely relevant, one email a day is certainly acceptable. Just be sure to keep an eye on your open and unsubscribe rates – they’ll clue you in as to whether you might be sending a bit too frequently.
As an email marketer, your sender reputation is your most valuable asset. The minute your emails are perceived as annoying or spammy, all of your hard work goes down the drain. Send to only those who want to receive, because those who don’t are of no value to you anyway. Follow these steps and you will have your best shot at reaching subscribers who are engaged, not irritated.
Have you ever had trouble with your email deliverability? How did you solve the problem?
