We spend hours crafting subject lines, assembling templates, segmenting a list of engaged and relevant contacts and then we hit send to deliver our latest big campaign. But how do we know whether our email got delivered to the primary inbox or to the spam folder? To be honest there isn’t any reliable way to know what happens to our emails once it gets delivered.
When an individual sends a message to the recipient, a simple mail transfer protocol is opened between them. Then the sender’s mail server looks up at the “@domain.com” portion of the recipient’s email address in a DNS server to determine which destination it should contact to deliver the message.
Once this exchange has taken place the connection between the two individuals is cut. Inbox providers won’t report to senders on how the mail was handled or filtered after it has been accepted. No Email Service Provider can report accurately on the placement of the mail, as this data is not transferred from any receiver.
So how do I monitor my campaign?
The best way to monitor the success of your email campaign is by measuring your engagements, which can be accessed in the HubSpot’s email marketing tool.
Open rate is the best metric which can help us understand whether the emails make it to recipients ' primary inbox or not. If the open rate is above 25% it indicates that your brand’s sender reputation is healthy, and your email is hitting the primary inbox! Open rates between 15-25% indicate that your email may not arrive in the spam folder, but might require some optimization.
If the Open rates are below 15% then, your email could have hit the spam folder. Open rates of 10% or less is a strong indication that your emails are affected by graymail and most of your messages are likely to be delivered into the spam folders.
Wondering how to improve the declining open rate? Here are a few best practices you need to follow in order to ensure your emails reach your recipient’s inbox.
Do’s
- Regularly update your email list:
Make sure you send emails only to those people who want you in their inboxes. Don’t send your emails to people who wouldn’t open them. There is nothing worse than an unwanted email.
So a constant update to your email list will help you stay in touch with people who actually want your emails and eventually helps avoid bounced emails.
- Track your sender reputation:
The low sender score is another reason for your emails to not hit the inboxes of your audience. The sender score is a grade you get on a scale of 0 to 100 which basically shows how your mailbox providers view your IP address and sender reputation. It is always better to keep the sender score close to 100. You can check your sender score with tools like senderbase.org or ReputationAuthority.
Dont’s
- Do not purchase Email lists:
The first rule to avoid the spam folder is to never buy an email list. Buying an email list might look like an easy option, but it is never a good idea. A good email list would never be available for sale, so using this kind of email list will either result in placing your emails in the spam folder or simply turning them into hard bounces.
- Do not use subject lines that sound spammy:
The first thing your recipient would judge you on is your subject line, Nobody would want to look spammy at first sight. Not only your subscribers might mark you as spam the ISPs also filter spammy subject line. Have a look at this article to better understand the spam filter flagging keywords and avoid using them in your subject line.
At BlueOshan, we have developed specific expertise in Email Deliverability. Click here to set up a time to talk to one of our senior consultants.
