You know your firm reputation matters, but have you given much thought to your email sending reputation? Right, most people haven’t, and probably just as many have never even heard the phrase. However, it’s something that is coming up more and more with my clients these days. Your email sending reputation is worth understanding if email marketing is an important part of your marketing strategy because it’s critical if you want your emails to actually be seen by your contacts.

How your email sending reputation is determined, and why it matters

Essentially, the people on your list teach your email sender what to do with your emails. The percentage of bounces (undeliverable or nonexistent addresses), unsubscribes and spam reports paint a picture of your list for your email service. Too many people marking your emails as spam or deleting your emails without opening them hurt your email sending reputation so Google/Outlook may start putting your messages into spam folders even though people chose to be on your list.  

Additionally, the service you use for your marketing emails (HubSpot, Constant Contact or MailChimp are a few examples) cares about their own email sending reputation and are becoming increasingly sensitive to high bounce rates and low open rates. These numbers could indicate the contacts on your email list did not choose to receive communications from you. This is a big no-no and could result in your account being put in time-out by your service provider. While it’s not an exact science, minimizing bounces and spam reports, and increasing your open rate will lead to a better email sending reputation - and better deliverability of your emails.

How to preserve and improve your email sending reputation

Not only does a strong email sending reputation improve your deliverability, but it’s probably a good indication that your contacts are engaging with your emails, which is ultimately why you’re sending them in the first place. Here are a few steps you can take to make sure you’re getting your content in front of your contacts:

• Only send emails to recipients who have indicated they are willing to receive email from you. When someone fills out a form to download a PDF on your site, registered for an event or signed up for your email list, always make it clear that they are opting in to receive communications from your organization. If you really want to be sure, consider implementing a double opt-in to ensure people are actively consenting to receiving your email.
• Target your emails. Yes, surely all of your email content is fabulous, but if you are constantly blasting your entire list messaging that is very pertinent to your bakery customers, but not very useful to the dog groomers, well, you can imagine how that might turn out. Instead, segment your lists and create content for specific audiences.
• Regularly clean your lists. Remove bounced email addresses, contacts who have not engaged with your content in over a year and review any contacts your email service provider marks unengaged or with low engagement. Consider running an opt-in campaign, asking those unengaged contacts if they would like to continue to receive emails from you and what kind of content they are interested in. Offer a free download or some other incentive for participating.
• Add people who want to receive your emails! While obvious in theory, sometimes this one is difficult in practice. Create an internal process to make sure new clients and referral sources are added to appropriate email lists sooner rather than later. Ideally, these contacts will help increase your engagement rate.

Avoid these common missteps

Even if you think you’ve got it all figured out, it’s easy to fall into some of these traps.

• Valuing quantity over quality. A big list isn’t necessarily better. If your contacts aren’t opening your emails, or worse, marking your messages as spam, those big numbers aren’t going to do you much good. You’re better off with a smaller list of contacts with whom you have a relationship. It’s best in the short term when it comes to your email reputation, and it’s so much more rewarding in the long run when you see those contacts actually purchase your product or service.
• Purchasing email lists. Just don’t do it. See above about not needing a huge list. Add to that the side-eye most email services lay on those lists and it’s really not worth it. Here’s why. Those individuals did not choose to receive email from you and are more likely to delete, mark as spam and possibly even complain. So you may end up spending a good amount of money for a list with little to no return. Your email provider can tell when you’ve purchased a list and could shut you down until you run an opt-in campaign. 
• Not letting subscribers choose what type of content they receive. You already know you should segment your list, but you can earn some bonus points by letting people choose what they want to receive from you. This will help you further tailor your email content, and feel more confident about avoiding the trash folder. A few suggestions: Monthly newsletter, compliance alerts, and event invites.

While your email sending reputation may not be one of the more glamorous parts of your marketing efforts, maintaining it is becoming increasingly important. The good news--If you’re thoughtful with your email marketing efforts, and following best practices, a strong email sending reputation will surely follow. If you’re ready to get more strategic with your email marketing, improve your open rates and slow those unsubscribes, contact me today.