Deliverability & The Realities and Demands of Today’s Market
Presented by:
David Fowler | Act-On Chief Privacy & Deliverability Officer
[email protected] | #AOWEB
David FowlerChief Privacy & Deliverability Officer@ActOnSoftware
#AOWEB
The Realities: State of the email state Email and the law
The Demands: Email performance realities Authentication Reputation Engagement Your path to the Inbox: The barriers to ROI
Deliverability Feud – The game show for marketers! Receiver changes and expectations Final thoughts
Deliverability Wake Up
Marketing Used to Be So Simple
Private and Confidential
But Not Anymore
Private and Confidential
Private and Confidential
Source: Smarter Tools
3 Times as many email accounts as FB and Twitter accounts combined Total posts on FB and Twitter add up to 0.2% of all email traffic Total number of searches on Google, Yahoo and Bing equals just 1.1% of all email traffic 4X as much email is sent as web sites are visited inclusive of social sites, search sites and
internet page views combined
The Value of Email
Source: Smarter Tools
The Realities
THEY SEE YOU SEND
State of the Email State
Email Deliverability = Brand Management Brand Management = Email Reputation Good Email Reputation = Better Deliverability Email Authentication is a Requirement User Engagement is now Paramount for Senders More aggressive filter implementation More streamlined industry organization/cooperation Continued legal | privacy | technology issues remain More informed clients as access to information is available There are still No Guarantees for delivery to any inbox
Email and the Law
All major countries have some form of email / online regulation and compliance obligations
Canada to enact the CASL legislation in Q1 2013 Not all privacy barriers are created equal:
Privacy standards today are reverse in the US -vs- ROW Consent (opt-in) versus non consent (opt out)
USA: You have several compliance issues to consider: CAN-SPAM | States Laws | Child Registries | FTC | FCC
UK: Privacy & Electronics Communication & Regulation The FTC has prosecuted the behavior of an organizations
partners recently: Affiliate Marketers Privacy bill of rights release earlier this year
Performance Considerations
MAILING SYSTEMS
Dedicated IPShared IP
Authentication Volume & Frequency
Management RFC Compliant
BUSINESS POLICIES
Legal Compliance
Affiliates, Advertisers & AdvertisingPermission Practices
Outbound & Inbound
Processing
REPUTATION
Public & Private Blacklists
URL BlocklistsAbuse Boards
Spam Complaints
Collaborative FiltersUser
Engagement Web Site
Transparency
DESIGN & CONTENT
Design & Text Elements in SL &
BodyRendering
W3C Compliant HTMLLink
Configuration RFC Compliant
Headers
DATA MANAGEMENT
Frequency Data Collection &
HygieneBounce
ManagementFeedback Loop Management
Unsub Management
Deliverability: Are the messages received in the inbox? Renderability: Are images in emails viewable; do links work? Credibility: Do your customers trust the mail is from you? Brand Management: Does the email reflect your brand strategy?
Deliverability is YOUR Responsibility
The Demands
EMAIL AUTHENTICATIONEstablishes YOUR Email Identity
Email Authentication
Email Authentication
Proof of identity is achieved through the following authentication protocols: SPF: Sender Policy Framework Sender ID DK/DKIM: Domain Keys / Identified Mail DMARC
Reputation & Engagement =
Engaged Customer | Maximum Deliverability | ROI
Email Reputation
20% of legitimate email never reaches the inbox Blame the ISPs and then look in the mirror Your sending reputation plays a MAJOR role It’s your sending practices that drive deliverability And reputation is all about YOUR NUMBERS
Email Reputation
Majority of deliverability issues are based on reputation Your data that affects YOUR reputation:
Authentication Email volume Complaint rates Your “Hard Bounce” rate Spam trap hits Consumer engagement – Very Important!
To protect your reputation: MONITOR your sends
To repair your reputation: FIX THE PROBLEMS – data integrity / confirmed opt-in
18
ISP Reputation vs. Content Filtering
Source: Return Path
Email Reputation
20
Engagement
Means the degree to which your email subscribers are interested in and acting on your email messages
In the ways you want and expect, including: Add to the address book | safe sender lists Clicks & opens Sales conversions Frequency of mail Email folder management
Hotmail’s engagements metrics include: Messages read, then deleted by the subscriber Messages deleted without being read Messages replied to, a tough one in the email marketing space Frequency of receiving and reading a message from a particular
"From" address
The Barriers to the Inbox
22
• DELIVERABILITY • Myths or Realities?
DELIVERABILITYFEUD
with your charming host, David Fowler
Common Myths and Realities
Let’s startthe show...
24
There is an ISP “Bat Phone” to call.
Authentication gets me delivered to the inbox.
There’s a magic list of words you can’t use in your content – like free.
Confirmed opt-in members won’t hit the spam button.
Definition of spam as abusive email.
I’m on a blacklist, is my deliverability going to be poor?
Being CAN-SPAM compliant will keep me from being considered spam.
There has NEVER been a bat phone.
Authentication is a first step in building your identity.
Reputation has more influence today than your content.
CAN-SPAM is a minimum threshold of compliance. Has no impact on reputationor deliverability.
As opposed to unwanted email.
It depends on which blacklist you are on. Some are more serious than others.
Everyone hits the spam button sometime. If you are confirmed opt in it could be more unlikely.
25
I mail at night because the ISPs do not watch during those hours.
Send more mail: Increased mail frequency will increase your metrics.
My sales will decrease if I use “confirmed opt-in”.
My list is different so I don’t need “confirmed opt-in”.
I have signed up with a third-party reputation service so all my problems are solved.
My ESP is responsible for my performance and results.
I scrub with a third-party service so my list is problem free.
These decisions are being made computationally and not by humans.
Incorrect in 2012; engagement is more important than quantity.
As you build relevancy, you build consumer engagement, which leads to greater ROI.
The principles of permission don’t change based on list type.
This may eliminate one-time issues, but if your data collection practices are poor, you’ll have continued issues.
These services are based on complaints and user feedback = a work-in-progress.
Your ESP is your partner and not responsible for your performance.
ISP Changes and Expectations
Major headcount reduction and consolidation Outsourcing postmaster duties, delivery management and functionality
(FBLs)
ISPs Have evolved: They don’t consider themselves ISPs Creating features that allow the user to control their in-box Offering additional filtering options for inbox management Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! have enhanced user experience options User control equates to engagement = This is good (ROI)
Authentication is a REQUIREMENT now Deliverability decision making is a reality No authentication: do not pass go straight to the junk folder
27
Deliverability ROI Insurance Client Onboarding IP Warming Reputation Execution FBL Management Whitelisting Execution Management Ongoing Management
ISP Remediation Proactive Outreach ISP Troubleshooting Blacklist Resolution Re Ramp Planning
and Execution Reputation Repair
Deliverability vs. ISP Remediation
Final Thoughts
The song remains the same Deliverability is your ROI protector Deliverability services are insurance services You are still “guilty until proven innocent” with the receivers Retention vs. Acquisition email have separate issues and
challenges associated with their respective models Deliverability and ISP Remediation are two separate areas of
management It takes time to solve ISP issues and they can be very complex
The road to the inbox will evolve as messaging strategies change Your mailing reputation cannot be ignored - it WILL follow you!