Email marketing's effectiveness and ROI have been proven time and time again, but concerns about spam have left many marketers and business owners wary. Will my email messages get through to the inbox? How do I avoid being lumped in with spammers?

    Email service providers （ESPs） have done much to allay these concerns by automating many CAN-SPAM and deliverability requirements and building strong relationships with internet service providers （ISPs） to support better email marketing deliverability and take care of the nitty-gritty technical details that marketers shouldn′t have to worry about.

    But some ESPs have gone too far, asserting that they can provide email deliverability rates as high at 99.99 percent. This is misleading and frankly not possible. You′ll want to choose an ESP that offers a number of important email deliverability features and services -- something we′ll get into briefly later in this article -- but much of email marketing deliverability is in the hands of marketers themselves, and it all starts with following email marketing best practices.

    Before we get into the practical aspects and tips for implementing best practices to improve email deliverability, let′s first take a look at some important research findings from Aberdeen Group that provide a roadmap for better deliverability.

    The attributes of best-in-class marketers

    Aberdeen Group conducted a study earlier this year called "Demystifying Email Deliverability," which surveyed 517 companies using email marketing and identified the top performing organizations （called "best-in-class"）, as well the factors that affect email marketing deliverability.

    Several findings do indeed point to the importance of ESPs. More than three-quarters （76 percent） of the best-in-class marketers said they rely on ESPs for services that affect deliverability such as email certification and deliverability monitoring. More than 70 percent of the businesses surveyed said that one of the main reasons they use ESPs is to ensure deliverability.

    But the study doesn′t stop there. Aberdeen also identified the specific practices and attributes that help best-in-class marketers achieve some of the highest deliverability rates in the industry. Best-in-class email marketers who take their cues from customer behavior by segmenting email messages achieve an average email deliverability rate of 90.2 percent.

    These email marketing leaders, who represent the top 20 percent of businesses using email to market goods and services, have seen a 9 percent year-over-year improvement in deliverability, compared to average industry performers, who saw no growth in deliverability scores.

    Among the success metrics identified are segmentation, personalization, list hygiene, and opt-in strategies, all best-in-class practices businesses must master to meet marketing goals.

    How you can become a "best-in-class" email marketer

    Thanks to the Aberdeen study, businesses of all sizes can follow the example of best-in-class marketers and aim for deliverability in the 90 percent range. The key is to take a close look at your current email marketing campaigns and begin following some of the best practices outlined in the report. The following tips provide practical steps marketers can implement over time to boost their deliverability rates.

    Make sure you have permission. Many consumers today are fed up with receiving spam or unwanted email. The following guidelines will protect you from gaining the stigma of a spammer and help your emails get delivered to your recipients:

    · Be sure to ask permission to send mail, and then confirm email addresses during this process. Asking for permission is a great time to set expectations, ensuring your customers know how often, and under what conditions, they will receive email communications from you.

    · Make it easy to opt out by implementing requests to unsubscribe from your list within 10 days. You can leverage technology to include a preference center driven unsubscribe link.

    · Don′t change your mailing frequency unexpectedly; you could alienate your customers. If you wish to make a change, simply let the customer know why. Transparency is always the best policy.

    · Monitor hard bounces and ensure you obtain complaint feedback from your ISP.

    · Make sure you understand CAN-SPAM regulations and follow its guidelines. Check the FCC′s website if you′re unsure of the fine points.

    Make sure your content doesn′t trigger deliverability red flags. Emails that have a poor text-to-graphics ratio or use a "from" name that isn′t recognized are less likely to be delivered. To ensure deliverability, follow these guidelines:

    · Use an email provider that has tested templates that support a good balance of text boxes and graphics.

    · Make sure your messages contain less than 60 percent HTML or graphics.

    · Test your emails before issuing an entire campaign to ensure your graphics/text balance won′t create deliverability problems.

    · Use a recognizable and consistent email address and "from" name for all of your emails. Encourage your recipients to white-list this address. This will usually trump all other anti-spam checks in delivering mail to large ISPs.

    · Know your audience. For instance, in B2B, it is important to include keywords in your content and test these keywords periodically to ensure they remain relevant. Your audience will judge your mail based on the content. It plays the biggest role in influencing whether someone will click or complain.

    Know your stats. Leverage as much data as possible in order to figure out your version of "normal" performance. Knowing where you stand makes it much easier to avoid serious issues, as you can react to potential problems quickly. It also makes it easier to pat yourself on the back when you improve your results. Having an intimate knowledge of your stats is critical in helping you differentiate between suspected delivery issues and poor client response.

    Guard your reputation as a good email marketer. With email marketing, reputation is everything, and it′s key to keeping your deliverability rates high. To a large degree your reputation will be affected by how many spam reports are filed against you. To avoid spam notices:

    · Send relevant emails. The more relevant the mail, the more likely it is to be delivered and opened. Leverage the use of technologies such as dynamic content, email automation （"workflows"）, and segmentation, in order to provide the most timely and relevant content to the recipient.

    · Make sure your emails are easy to recognize. Use subject lines that carry a consistent theme that recipients will associate with your brand.

    · Ensure content is clean and professional.

    · Treat each email deployment as a million-dollar commercial. Use a mission control style checklist process to minimize deployment mistakes.

    · Monitor your open rates, click rates, and other key indicators. If they′re declining, revisit the relevancy of your campaigns and tweak content and subject lines to be more appealing.

    Know your customers′ interests. No matter how good your message is, if it′s not relevant to the interests of your customers, it′s a failed campaign. Knowing your audience is the best way to ensure your email campaigns connect with your customers. Base your campaigns on what they want and like, aligning their interests with what you have to offer. Here are few tips that will help you get to know your customer better:

    · In exchange for contact information, offer your customers something of value: a newsletter, a free seminar, or more information about your products and services.

    · When gathering contact information, gather only the demographic information you really need. Asking for unnecessary information annoys people and may discourage them from signing up.

    · Manage your contact lists so you can respond quickly and efficiently to requests for more information or requests to unsubscribe.

    · Since email addresses can change frequently, maintain the integrity of your email list by carefully tracking the number of bounce-backs or undeliverable emails after every campaign. Monitoring lack of response to your campaigns is an important aspect of knowing your audience.

    Use transactional emails to your advantage. Transactional emails are highly relevant and personalized communications and therefore are more likely to be opened than regular email campaigns. Transactional emails can be as simple as:

    · "Welcome" and "Thank you" notices

    · Password reminders

    · Invoices

    · Shipping notifications

    Since the customer is expecting these emails, you′ve already reached a level of personalization that opens the door for you to learn even more about them. Include additional promotions based on their preferences while also asking for feedback or suggestions. The more information you gather, the more personalized you can make your email communications.

    What to look for when choosing an ESP

    You should consider an ESP that goes above and beyond basic compliance management.

    The ESP should have:

    · Dedicated deliverability staff whose sole responsibility is to constantly improve technology and services to help ensure that your emails get to the inbox.

    · Strong familiarity with the top-tier internet service providers and third-party spam scoring services.

    · Demonstrated industry leadership, through participation in the shaping and promotion of email marketing best practices with industry organizations such as the Email Sender and Provider Coalition and the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group.

    Whether you′re a big box retailer or small business owner, much of your email marketing campaign success and deliverability performance is under your control. Find the right ESP that is a fit for your business, follow email marketing best practices, and enjoy the rewards and ROI of one of most effective tools for marketing your business online.

    大多數電子郵件營銷的成功與郵件的可送達性都在你的掌握之中。找到適合的ESP,遵循以下電子郵件營銷的最佳實踐，就能享受這種營銷帶來的收益和投資回報。

    電子郵件營銷的有效性和投資回報（ROI）已經一次次地得到驗證，但是對垃圾郵件的憂慮，令許多營銷人士和企業老板保持謹慎。我的電子郵件信息是否能到達用戶的收件箱？我如何避免被列入垃圾郵件制造者的行列？

    電子郵件服務供應商（ESP）已經付出了大量努力減輕這些憂慮，通過自動設置許多CAN-SPAM以及郵件輸送的要求，與互聯網服務供應商建立強大關系，以更好地支持電子郵件營銷的可送達性，并處理那些營銷人士本來無需擔心的具體技術細節問題。

    但某些ESP做得過猶不及，聲稱他們能夠保證電子郵件的送達率高達99.99%.這是誤導的，坦白而言也不可能。你希望選擇一家提供大量重要的電子郵件送達功能與服務的ESP,但其實，電子郵件營銷的送達掌握在營銷者自己手中，可以從以下最佳電子郵件營銷實踐做起。

    我們在分析實施提高電子郵件送達率的最佳實踐之前，先來看看亞伯丁集團（Aberdeen Group）的一些重要研究結果。

    一流營銷者的特征

    今年早些時候，Aberdeen Group開展了一項名為"揭秘電子郵件送達"的研究，訪問了517家開展電子郵件營銷的公司，確定了表現最佳的企業（一流企業）以及影響電子郵件營銷的送達率的因素。

    一些研究結果的確證實了ESP的重要性。超過四分之三（76%）的一流營銷者表示，他們依賴于ESP提供營銷郵件送達的服務，例如電子郵件認證以及送達性監控。超過70%的受訪企業表示，他們使用ESP的一個主要原因，是確保電子郵件可送達至收件人。

    但研究結果并不止于以上。Aberdeen還發現了一流的營銷者實現行業中最高的郵件可送達率的具體實踐和特征。一流電子郵件營銷者通過將郵件訊息進行細分，從客戶行為中獲得啟示，從而實現了平均為90.2%的電子郵件送達率。

    這些電子郵件營銷的佼佼者，在利用電子郵件推銷產品服務的企業中排名前20%,而且與普通的企業相比，前者的電子郵件送達率以每年9%的幅度增長，而后者的送達率則毫無增長。

    研究確立的一些成功標準有細分、個性化、列表清潔（list hygiene）以及許可營銷（opt-in）策略，企業必須掌握以上所有最佳實踐以實現營銷的目標。

    如何成為"一流的"電子郵件營銷者？

    Aberdeen的研究，各種規模的企業可以遵從一流營銷者的范例，設定達到90%的郵件可送達率為目標。關鍵是仔細分析你現在進行的電子郵件營銷活動，開始遵循這份報告里列出的一些最佳實踐。以下的建議是實用的步驟，營銷者可采取這些步驟逐步提高電子郵件的可送達率。

    確保獲得用戶的同意。如今，許多用戶已經受夠了收取廣告郵件和垃圾郵件。以下步驟將讓你免于獲得垃圾郵件制造者的惡名，使電子郵件送達收件人。

    ● 確保獲得用戶同意才發郵件，然后在此過程中確認電子郵件地址。獲得應允是設定預期的好時機，可以保證你的用戶知道他們收到你的電子郵件的頻率以及條件。

    ● 簡化自愿退訂的流程，讓用戶可以在10日內退訂。你可以啟用技術，在郵件中加入一個退訂鏈接。

    ● 不要突然改變發郵件的頻率，這樣會令客戶疏遠。如果你希望做出改變，應該讓客戶知道原因。保持透明度總是最好的辦法。

    ● 監管硬性彈出廣告，確保從ISP處收到投訴反饋。

    ● 確保自己懂得CAN-SPAM規則及其方針。如果有不確定的地方，可查詢FCC的網站。

    確保郵件內容不會觸碰郵件送達的危險地帶。文本與圖表的比例不當或使用一個無法辨認的"來自"姓名的電子郵件，被送達的可能性更低。要確保郵件的送達，需遵循以下步驟：

    ● 選擇一個提供測試過的模板、這種模板支持文本框與圖形之間的平衡分配的電子郵件供應商。

    ● 確保自己的訊息里包含少于60%的HTML或圖形。

    ● 在開展整個營銷活動前，測試你的電子郵件，以確保郵件中的圖形/文本平衡不會帶來郵件送達方面的問題。

    ● 所有的郵件均使用可以辨認的、一致的電子郵件地址以及"來自"姓名。鼓勵收件人將你的地址列入可信任名單，這樣就能通過所有反垃圾郵件的排查。

    ● 了解你的受眾。例如，在B2B案例中，重要的是在內容中包含關鍵字，并定期測試它們，以保證關鍵詞的相關性。受眾會根據內容判斷你的郵件，這在影響某人是會點擊查看還是投訴時發揮最大的作用。

    清楚數據。利用盡可能多的數據，以了解自己的"正常"表現程度。了解自己的情況，令你更容易避免犯錯，可以迅速應對潛在的問題。而且當你知道自己的成績提高時，也更容易感到寬慰。在區分是懷疑郵件沒有送達還是客戶不予回應的情況時，掌握深入的情報非常關鍵。

    捍衛自己作為優秀電子郵件營銷者的聲譽。在電子郵件營銷當中，聲譽就是一切，保持自己的高郵件送達率很關鍵。在很大程度上，你的聲譽會受到自己獲得多少次垃圾郵件報告的影響。要避免收到垃圾郵件的通知，應該：

    ● 發送相關的郵件。郵件相關度越高，其被送達和打開的可能性越高。可利用動態內容、電子郵件自動化（工作流）和細分等技術，向收件人提供最及時、最相關的內容。

    ● 確保郵件容易辨認。主題欄應該使用讓收件人聯想到你的品牌、一致的主題。

    ● 確保內容整潔、專業。

    ● 對待每一次電子郵件發送，就如一次斥資千萬美元的廣告一樣。使用一個任務控制模式的一覽表，將郵件使用的錯誤減至最低。

    ● 管理自己郵件的打開率、點擊率及其它重點指標。如果郵件被絕收，應重新分析營銷活動的相關性，調整內容和主題欄，讓其更加吸引。

    了解客戶的興趣。無論你的郵件訊息多好，如果不符合客戶的興趣，那么這次營銷就是失敗的。了解受眾，是確保電子郵件營銷活動觸及客戶的最佳途徑。以客戶的所需和興趣為基礎開展活動，將其興趣與你的產品聯系起來。以下的建議將有助于你更好了解客戶：

    ● 作為獲得對方聯系信息的交換，為客戶提供一些有價值的東西：新聞通訊、免費研討會或更多關于你的產品服務的信息。

    ● 在收集聯系信息時，只需收集你真正需要的人口特征信息。詢問不必要的信息會惹人反感，阻礙他們注冊收取郵件。

    ● 管理你的聯系人列表，以便迅速、有效地回復索取更多信息或退訂的請求。

    ● 由于電子郵件地址可能經常變化，應該在每一次營銷活動后仔細追蹤退回或不能寄送的電子郵件數量，維持郵件列表的完整性。對活動未獲得回應進行監管，是了解受眾的一個重要方面。

    利用交易類郵件為自己服務。交易類郵件是高度相關、個性化的通訊郵件，因此比一般的電子郵件更可能被打開。交易類電子郵件可以很簡單：

    ● "歡迎"和"謝謝"通知。

    ● 密碼提醒。

    ● 發票。

    ● 運貨通知。

    由于這類郵件是客戶期待的，因此你已經實現了一定程度的郵件個性化，為你了解客戶的更多情況打開大門。可以根據客戶喜好加入更多促銷內容，同時請他們給予反饋或建議。你收集的信息越多，你的電子郵件通訊的個性化程度就越高。

    選擇ESP時的標準

    你應該考慮選擇超越基本的合規管理之上的ESP.ESP應該：

    ● 擁有專業的郵件送達人員，他們的惟一職責是不斷地改良技術和服務，以確保你的郵件發送到用戶收件箱中。

    ● 非常熟悉最高層次的互聯網服務供應商和第三方垃圾郵件評定服務。

    ● 與行業組織，如Email Sender and Provider Coalition 以及Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group等，一起參與了電子郵件營銷最佳實踐的確立與宣傳，從而確立了行業領導地位。

    無論你是大零售商還是小企業老板，大多數電子郵件營銷活動的成功與郵件的可送達性都在你的掌握之中。找到適合你的企業的ESP,遵循電子郵件營銷的最佳實踐，就能享受這種在線業務營銷的最有效工具所帶來的收益和投資回報。