Master Your Email Marketing to boost your marketing sales

1. Master Your Email Marketing:
10 Secrets from Top Retailers
Tom Sather
Sr. Director, Research
Return Path
@tom_sather
@returnpath
#EmailSecrets

2. The Global Leader in Email Intelligence
Over a Decade of Email Expertise
• Worldwide leader in email intelligence
• 400+ dedicated email professionals
• Offices in New York, Denver, San Francisco,
Toronto, London, Paris, Hamburg, Sydney,
and Sao Paulo
Proven Data Infrastructure
• More than 2.5 billion inboxes supported by
our certification program
• 26 million IPs scored daily by Return Path
• Nearly 300 ISP partners globally
Delivering Measurable ROI
• Over 13 years of shaping and driving
the email ecosystem
• Serving over 2,000 leading brands across
retail/eCommerce, publishing, social media
and financial services sectors
#EmailSecrets

3. Let’s talk about
goals

4. Marketing Sherpa, Email Marketing Benchmark Survey, 2013
#EmailSecrets

5. Why you won’t
reach your goals:
Your emails aren’t
reaching your
subscribers.

6. Deliverability
de·liver·a·bili·ty n.
To bring or transport to the proper
place or recipient.
#EmailSecrets

7. 83%
How much email worldwide is
delivered to the inbox, called the
Inbox Placement Rate
#EmailSecrets

8. Delivered ≠ Inbox
#EmailSecrets

9. Delivered Rate
= (Total Sent – Bounces) / Total Sent
#EmailSecrets

10. Inbox Placement Rate
= ((Total Sent – Bounces) – Spam) /
Total Sent
#EmailSecrets

11. Key Takeaway
If you’re not reaching the inbox,
you’ll never have the confidence
that your email strategies were a
success or failure.
Focus on your Inbox Placement
Rate, not the Delivered Rate.

12. Your emails are
being filtered
because of your
reputation

13. Your Reputation Tells Email Providers if You’re
“Naughty or Nice”
List
Hygiene
Complaints
IP
Permanence
Engagement
Message
Quality
Infrastructure

14. But how do I know what my
sender reputation is?
www.senderscore.org
#EmailSecrets
#EmailSecrets

15. High Sender Score = High Inbox Placement Rate
Source: Return Path 2012 Sender Score Benchmark Report

16. Key Takeaway
Every business that sends email has a
reputation score.
Understand the factors influencing
yours.
#EmailSecrets

17. Secret #1
Understand why
your subscribers
mark your emails
as “spam”

18. Subscriber complaints can cause major reputation
issues

19. 2. Sign up for Feedback Loops
• AOL
http://postmaster.aol.com/
Postmaster.FeedbackLoop.php
• Bluetie http://feedback.bluetie.com/
• Comcast http://feedback.comcast.net/
• Cox http://fbl.cox.net/
• Hotmail
https://support.msn.com/eform.aspx?
productKey=edfsjmrpp
• Open SRS http://fbl.hostedmail.com/
• Rackspace http://fbl.apps.rackspace.com/
• RoadRunner
http://feedback.postmaster.rr.com/
• USA.net http://fbl.usa.net/
• Yahoo! http://yahoofbl.senderscore.net/
#EmailSecrets

20. Analyze Complaints for Trends
49,112,414 144,446 0.29%
WEEKDAY SENDS COMPLAINTS COMPLAINT RATE
SUNDAY 6,133,897 13,000 0.21%
MONDAY 5,744,281 20,758 0.36%
TUESDAY 7,386,666 20,538 0.28%
WEDNESDAY 5,854,336 28,293 0.48%
THURSDAY 7,361,944 26,942 0.37%
FRIDAY 8,753,814 19,822 0.23%
SATURDAY 7,877,476 15,093 0.19%
#EmailSecrets

21. Key Takeaway
Managing subscriber complaints is more
than just signing up for feedback loops.
Analyze complaints for trends based on
date, time, vintage, source and
demographics.

22. Secret #2
Avoid sending to
these three email
types

23. The Facts:
• Unknown User = Email address that has
been abandoned and is no longer is use
• Mailbox Providers tell you when you
send to an Unknown User via a message
they return (bounce code)
• Remove Unknown Users immediately
• Indicator of poor data practices
• Risk of being Blacklisted
#1 Unknown Users
#EmailSecrets

24. Reputation Impact
#EmailSecrets

25. The Facts:
• Spam Trap = Addresses created to
identify poor data practices
• 2 Types
– Recycled
– Pristine
• Risk of being Blacklisted
• Aged or Inactive data is primary
source of traps
#2 Spam Traps
#EmailSecrets

26. Reputation Impact
#EmailSecrets

27. The Facts:
• Active = Email recipients who
regularly open, click, convert on
emails received
• Inactive = Email recipients who
have not taken any action on emails
received for some time - often the
source of complaints or spam traps
#3 Inactive Recipients
#EmailSecrets

28. Best Practices:
• Quarantine new data – send a Welcome Message
• Make it easy for customers to update their information
• Send to permission-based lists
• Email your list regularly
• Consider utilizing an email list hygiene vendor
• Monitor the age and activity of your data – re-engage
and/or remove inactives
List Quality
#EmailSecrets

29. The Facts:
• Your subscribers are not homogeneous
• Subscribers behave differently at different points
of the lifecycle within every email program
• Segmentation helps break a large file into more
manageable chunks
• Segmentation makes analyzing campaign
performance, targeting specific content, and
increasing customer engagement easier
Using segmentation to clean your email list
#EmailSecrets

30. Segmentation Ideas
Consumer Type Source Recent Activity
Recent Graduate Home Page Opens
Retired In Store Clicks
Married with
Children
Banner Ads Website visits
Married with no
Children
During online
purchase
Site Login
Single Search Purchase
#EmailSecrets

31. Key Takeaway
Email providers look at active users from a different
perspective, mainly asking “is this a real account? Are they
actively logging in and exhibiting behaviors of a real person?”
A win-back and reactivation strategy is key to a healthy and
engaged list.
Subscribers rescuing your promotional email from spam sends
a strong signal to filters that your email is wanted.

32. Secret #3
Track Engagement
Beyond Opens and
Clicks

33. It’s All About Engagement
Email Engagement
• Opens
• Clicks
• Shares
• Purchases
Inbox Engagement
• Regularly logs-in
• Reads and sends email
• Files email
• TIS/TINS
#EmailSecrets

34. ACTIVE VS. INACTIVE MAILBOXES MATTER MORE
#EmailSecrets
#EmailSecrets

35. Use a Recency-Based Segmentation Strategy to
Identify Changes in Subscriber Response
Group A Group B
• 0-30 Days
• 30-90 Days
• 3-6 Months
• 6-12 Months
• 12-18 Months
• 18+ Months
• 0-30 Days
• 30-90 Days
• 3-6 Months
• 6-12 Months
• 12+ Months
#EmailSecrets
#EmailSecrets

36. A Retailer’s Case Study: Gmail Before
Engagement Strategy
#EmailSecrets
#EmailSecrets

37. A Retailer’s Case Study: Gmail After
Engagement Strategy
Only
mailing
to
Gmail
users
0-­‐6
months
put
an
item
in
their
cart
or
clicked
on
an
email
Mailing
only
to
Gmail
users
who
had
put
an
item
in
the
cart
or
clicked
on
an
email
in
last
30
days
#EmailSecrets
#EmailSecrets

38. A Retailer’s Case Study: Gmail From 30 Days
to 6 Months
Expanded
Engagement
filtering
rules
and
only
mailing
ac?ve
Gmail
users
of
0-­‐6
months
who
put
an
item
in
their
cart
or
clicked
on
an
email
Reverted
to
only
mailing
Gmail
users
showing
30-­‐days
of
ac?vity
#EmailSecrets

39. Secret #4
Get rescued from
the spam folder

40. “This is Not Spam” – Rarely used, But Highly
Trusted
#EmailSecrets

41. “This is Not Spam” and Deliverability
Source: 2013 Return Path TINS Report
#EmailSecrets

42. Key Takeaway
Subscribers rescuing your
promotional email from spam
sends a strong signal to filters that
your email is wanted.

43. Secret #5
Keywords and
Spam Filters

44. • FREE!!!
• Only $
• Save
• Save up to
• Save $
• Sale
• Trial
• Deal
• Gift Certificate
When writing subject lines, most marketers
think they need to avoid…
#EmailSecrets

45. …But Avoiding These Keywords is Mostly a Myth
#EmailSecrets

46. BAD_CREDIT
HTTP_ESCAPED_HOST
DATE_IN_PAST_03_06
LOCALPART_IN_SUBJECT
FREEMAIL_FORGED_REPLYTO
PLING_QUERY
FREEMAIL_REPLYTO
RCVD_IN_NJABL_RELAY
FREEMAIL_REPLYTO_END_DIGIT
REMOVE_BEFORE_LINK
HTML_FONT_FACE_BAD
SUBJ_ILLEGAL_CHARS
HTML_FONT_SIZE_HUGE
SUBJECT_NEEDS_ENCODING
HTML_IMAGE_ONLY_12
T_KHOP_FOREIGN_CLICK
HTML_IMAGE_ONLY_28
TRACKER_ID
HTML_IMAGE_ONLY_32
URIBL_BLACK
Top Spam Filter Reasons

47. Top Spammy Words
#EmailSecrets

48. Key Takeaway
Content filtering and keywords are
only used when you have no, or a bad,
reputation. Use a tool like Inbox
Preview to test for potential issues.

49. Secret #6
Mobile is your
secret weapon

50. 70%
How many Email Subscribers will
delete an email if it doesn’t render
well on mobile
Source: ExactTarget

51. 62% of Email Opens on Mobile occurred on Christmas
Source: Return Path, Campaign Insight

52. Apple iPhones and iPads were the winners

53. Key Takeaways
Mobile use trending points to heavier usage for the 2014 holiday season
51% email open rate for mobile (December, 2013)
Christmas day saw mobile open share at 62%
iOS has 86% share of opens, Android 14%
Focus on Email Design
Whether you take a mobile-first or responsive design approach to email, use a tool
like Inbox Preview to ensure your emails look great on any device, and people won’t
delete your email.
Use Mobile Data for Segmentation & Targeting
Leveraging data from Campaign Insight, a large on-line retailer targets iPad
subscribers with furniture ads after 5pm
#EmailSecrets

54. #7
Use competitive
data for testing

55. Mailchimp: Subject line length has little effect on
opens

56. What works for your competitors?
• August 5 – 29
• Pizza Hut focused on
their $6.55 pizza deal
• Deal valid Mon –
Thursday only
• Carry-out only
#EmailSecrets

57. Better Subject Line Performance Using
Competitor’s Data
• $6.55 special promoted August 5 – 29
• 5 distinct subject lines and creative variations
• “$6.55 of Absolute Greatness” had a 17% higher
read rate than the worst subject line
110
100
108
117
108
90
95
100
105
110
115
120
Incredible
Savings
–
$6.55
Large
Pizza
Early
Week
Steal:
Large
1-­‐
Topping
$6.55
Carryout
Don't
Miss
Out!
$6.55
Large
Pizza
$6.55
of
Absolute
Greatness
$6.55
Large
1-­‐
Topping
Pizza
Benchmark
=
100
Read
Rate
#EmailSecrets

58. Key Takeaway
Knowing your audience is extremely
important for subject line testing.
For better insights and faster testing
cycles, look to your competitors to see
what’s working for them.
#EmailSecrets

59. Secret #8
Monitor Blacklists

60. What time of year are blacklistings highest?

61. And they can last a long time

62. • Monitor for and remove spam traps
• Collect clean data up front
• Remove Inactive Addresses
To prevent a blacklist from happening
#EmailSecrets

63. • Use a blacklist monitoring system to be aware of issues
before your customers or CMO does.
• Check email bounce codes for block reason and
instructions for removal
• Before requesting removal, gather the right data, like:
– List acquisition sources
– List management practices
– Mailing practices
• Be Honest
• It helps to have a guide
But if it happens (and it always happens at the
worst time)…

64. Key Takeaway
Blacklists affect your inbox placement
rates in an extremely negative way.
Prevention is key, but monitor and take
action immediately if you find yourself
on a major blacklist.

65. Secret #9
Get Whitelisted

66. Verify Whitelisting Status
#EmailSecrets

67. Verify you’re still on whitelists
Yahoo “Bulk Senders Form”
http://help.yahoo.com/l/us/yahoo/mail/postmaster/
bulkv2.html
AOL Whitelist
http://postmaster.aol.com/Postmaster.Whitelist.php
#EmailSecrets

71. Key Takeaway
Whitelists aren’t forever. Verify you’re
still in good standing with AOL and
Yahoo!
Senders with great sending
reputations even see inbox placement
issues. Whitelisting services can, and
do, help.

72. Secret #10
Email Frequency

73. #EmailSecrets

74. How Frequency Affects Placement for Top
Retailers
Average
#
of
messages
sent
per
week
5+
4
3
2
1
Average
subscriber
spam
complaint
rate
0.005%
0.020%
0.026%
0.037%
0.571%
Average
retailer
Sender
Score
62
86
89
86
83
Average
"This
is
not
spam"
Rate
0.40%
0.22%
0.73%
0.89%
1.07%
Average
Inbox
Placement
Rate
71%
96%
98%
94%
92%
Source: Return Path, Inbox Insight, October – December 2013
#EmailSecrets

75. Manage Frequency
Total
Emails Unique Total Unsub
Received Custs Unsubs Rate
1 24,339 2,677 11.0% 2%
2 22,473 2,586 11.5% 2%
3 437,688 2,519 0.6% 40%
4 71,438 1,377 1.9% 6%
5 51,080 885 1.7% 5%
6 7,337 522 7.1% 1%
7 4,578 504 11.0% 0%
8 14,973 526 3.5% 1%
9 458,268 1,840 0.4% 42%
10 10,694 42 0.4% 1%
11 312 4 1.3% 0%
Total 1,103,180 13,482 1.2% 100%
Total

76. Key Takeaway
Frequency can be a major driver for
complaints, but subscribers may
tolerate more promotional emails
during the holidays, but don’t go from
0-60 overnight.
#EmailSecrets

77. Let’s Connect!
Tom Sather
Sr. Director, Research
@ReturnPath
@Tom_Sather
Tom.Sather@returnpath.com
www.returnpath.com
Contact Us!
http://www.returnpath.com/contact-us/