Three Ways to Improve Email Deliverability to Get a Higher ROI

Intro

When you take email marketing seriously, focusing on ROI is natural. After all, profit is always the end goal.

However, getting a good ROI is more like pulling freshly baked bread out of the oven. First, you must make the dough. Email marketing is a lot like that – there are prerequisites to successful email marketing before you make money.

There are no positive outcomes if the people who sign up to get your emails never see them.

Wait, won’t all my subscribers see the emails I work so hard on?

That’s a typical assumption for newcomers to email marketing. Before anyone makes that mini-decision to click one of the buttons or links in your email, it must first land in the inbox.

Below, we’ll show you how to significantly increase the likelihood of that happening.

Improving email deliverability amplifies ROI and reduces costs

The metric many marketers primarily focus on is email delivery, which is understandable. We want our promotional emails to be delivered. But by definition, even landing in the spam folder qualifies as “delivered.”

More than one in four people only check their spam folder a few times a year. 15% say they don’t ever bother to look in spam. What does that mean for you? Ending up in the spam folder represents money and time slipping through your fingers.

Email marketers who really want to meet goals should hone in on a more important metric: email deliverability. Although _email delivery _and email deliverability sound similar, the concepts they describe are quite different.

Email deliverability is the rate at which your emails hit the inbox.

Eventually, some of the email addresses on every list will sour. Keeping them on the email list results in bounces, which in turn means deliverability goes down all around. Getting bounce-backs taints your sender reputation. Even contacts who open your emails may stop seeing them because Internet service providers (ISPs) have deemed you a spammer.

You’ll also reduce costs when you get a handle on email deliverability. Email service providers (ESPs) charge based on the number of addresses in your list. Ignoring email best practices becomes a compound risk. Your deliverability will plummet, driving up costs and disintegrating the whole reason you send emails in the first place.

How to improve deliverability and email marketing ROI

Boosting your email deliverability requires a holistic approach. You want to be in great technological shape, send emails your audience wants, and send them regularly.

Let’s look at the three most important steps to getting your campaigns in the inbox and increasing email marketing ROI.

#1. Keep a standard for email addresses you add to your list

Good email results begin with a high-quality email list. You should only email the people who legitimately want to hear from you. That means they should be willing to opt-in to confirm they want to get your emails. They enter their email address on the sign-up form, and an automatic email with a unique link is sent. To subscribe, they must click the link.

But why should you put them through an extra hassle? Only sending emails to interested subscribers increases email deliverability. That means buying a list is out. Just because you have a customer’s email address does not mean you add them to your list without consent.

Some of those subscribers will slip away, too, and that’s to be expected. Don’t continue to email subscribers who don’t bother to open your emails. Instead, only keep people who engage with your emails in your database. If they’re not responding, they won’t lead to any positive outcome. Having high standards for your list is key to increasing email deliverability and in turn earning a higher ROI.

#2. Regularly check your email list for damaging data

It’s wise to rethink the notion that your email list being a success comes down to having many email addresses. It’s quality, not quantity, that matters in email marketing. That’s never been more accurate than when it applies to email list health. Email lists are like so many other assets. Your list needs ongoing maintenance.

List maintenance means you have to remove any corrosive data. Some people abandon their email addresses, meaning they gradually or abruptly stop signing in. There are even more nefarious types of bad data lurking on lists. Formerly legitimate email addresses become spam traps in order to lure and block anyone who sends an email to them.

So, how often should you prune bad data off your list? At a minimum, verify your database quarterly. Eliminating harmful or invalid email addresses will boost your email deliverability. Furthermore, you’ll prevent your list from unraveling. An unchecked list will inevitably catch up to you. It’s far easier if you just stay on top of things.

#3. Create emails that inspire subscribers to open them quickly

If you’ve followed all the prerequisites of email list hygiene and careful permission-based marketing, you’ll earn a vibrant list. Now, the ultimate question is: What are you going to do with it?

That’s the other part of the email marketing equation – the creative part. Although it’s more stimulating to think about, it’s also the most challenging – the actual reason why people subscribe to get your emails in the first place!

The content and utility of your emails are one of the chief ways to improve email deliverability. Your sender reputation will see a boost, and great content inspires subscriber interactivity. If you’re struggling with your content strategy, go back to the beginning. Ask yourself:

• What is my unique value proposition?
• What are my audience’s pain points and desires?
• How can I address them in a compelling manner – and make my audience’s life easier?

The most successful email marketing programs stick to their niche and find ways to be useful to their subscribers. Focus on educational content as it’s the most effective tactic to draw ideal customers towards your brand – and get reactions.

Opens, clicks, and replies play a vital role in your email deliverability. Strive to boost your engagement rates because that will help your emails get to the inbox.