The deliverability problem

Direct Marketing tips by Mediapost Hit Mail

#6

Message Received

A key to success in DM

It doesn’t matter how good is your product or service, how alluring is your price offer, how ingenious is your letter or e-mail copy if you cannot deliver your message to your customers or prospects.

All your activities should be planned in accordance to the specific deliverability of the medium you are using for your campaign. Improper delivery could quickly ruin each very well planned and organized direct marketing campaign.

List hygiene

Database is crucial again (surprised?)

When referring to “good list hygiene,” we’re

actually asking you about the accuracy of your database. How it has been gathered, are validation procedures ran against the records it contains, are addresses real. All these questions are a must and you cannot ignore them, otherwise your business will suffer.

It also has financial implications. If you’re currently renting poor database or you’re using your own which is ‘dirty’, certain percentage of your messages won’t be delivered and it will negatively affect your ROI.

Issues you could have...

Direct mail campaign: Very slow/ delayed delivery;

Wrong/ incomplete/ missing addresses;

Not accessible addresses;

Recipient moved to another address.

E-mail campaign: SPAM filters block your message

Incomplete e-mails (like name@yahoo.co)

E-mails starting with “www.”

ESP’s (e-mail service provider) name is wrong (for example “gmeil.com” instead of “gmail.com”.

SMS campaign: Wrong/ incomplete number;

Missing prefix.

... and some ways to avoid them

1. Direct mail: update your database on a regular basis by removing/ editing wrong, undelivered or incomplete addresses; have a Yes/No reply option - this way you will increase response and you will be sure that more addresses are valid.

2. E-mail: When first collecting addresses, you need to have a syntax validation in place and also send a triggered opt-in confirmation e-mail to that address. This gives you an opportunity to reinforce the opt-in, confirm what the recipient can expect to receive from you and verify that the address is valid.

3. SMS: Have a validation procedure for phone numbers (prefix length, number of digits and provide a sample on how phone numbers should be registered when you acquire them

(like 08xx xx xx xx or +359 8xx xxx xxx).

B2B campaigns

An important factor you should consider

are the “live filters” -–usually business

secretaries, personal assistants or office

managers.

You should try to overcome the natural

resistance they have to b2b mailings.

After all, they are just doing their job.

So play with their curiosity or have a

sense of urgency in your message. Clear

and strong benefits are also working

good.

E-mail campaigns

Fact: No email campaign reaches 100% of its target!

No matter how good you are as an e-mail marketer, your messages

may still get blocked. In fact, 20% of marketers’ opted-in messages

were blocked or sent to junk folders in 2009 (DM News, 2010)

You can blame your internet service providers (ISPs), blacklists, or

even your email service providers (ESPs) for deliverability issues, but

the truth is, successful e-mail delivery is in the hands of the marketer

However, attaining very good delivery rate is possible if

you follow some guidelines...…

Online reputation maintenance

Few people consider their online reputation as an important factor in email delivery, but the truth is, it’s critical.

Your online reputation is built over time and includes all of your online activities: email marketing, banner campaigns, social media, blogs, search engine marketing, advertising and so on.

Everything associated with your company is used for or against your reputation in the online world and summed up in your reputation score.

If not managed properly, your online reputation can not only damage your brand integrity, but keep your email from reaching your customer’s inboxes.

Our five deliverability tips:

1. Take care of your e-mails’ content: ISPs filter each and every email they

send on your behalf looking for the following SPAM triggers: high graphics to

content Ratio, including video; SPAM language: FREE, ALL CAPS, excessive

punctuation; over use of hot links; sloppy coding; sending attachments with the

email; use of CC: or BCC: in your email; irrelevant content based on subject line.

2. Always get opt-in permission: happy and engaged subscribers, even if

fewer, lead to quite strong delivery rates.

3. Meet expectations on content, frequency and value: it’s important you

provide options for preferences regarding content, type and frequency of contact.

4. Format and test emails across all major email clients: HTML emails

with pictures, colors, graphics can look and behave very differently when viewed

in different email clients like Abv.bg, Mail.bg, Gmail, Yahoo or Outlook.

5. Use couriers for premium products/ services campaigns: It will bring

stronger credibility to the message. But always have an eye on the courier’s job

and request on time and detailed reports on delivery and not found addresses.

A point to remember

Anti-SPAM laws provide the ultimate

definition of spam by outlining what is

(and is not) permissible when sending

unsolicited messages.

In the digital age, however, spam is

defined by the user. If a user classifies a

message as spam by putting it on their

blocked senders list, or drops it in their

spam folder, it will be considered spam

by the ISPs.

In a recent study by Marketing Sherpa,

over 20% of recipients said they use the

“report spam” button to unsubscribe.

More to come:

1. Why Do You Need Your Own Database?

2. How to Build a Database?

3. How to Manage Your Database?

4. How to Segment Your Customers?

5. Tests - How to Run and Analyze Them?

6. The Deliverability Problem

7. Personalization

8. Online & SMS Promotions

9. Useful Direct Marketing Tips

10. How to Launch Your CRM Program?

11. The Advantages of Direct Marketing (Summary)

two more slides...

Our contacts:

9 Sveti Sedmochislenitsi Str.,

Sofia 1421, Bulgaria

Phone: (+359) 2 962 86 29

Fax: (+359) 2 962 86 29

Mobile: (+359) 885 360 715

E-mail: office@mediaposthitmail.bg

Web: www.MediapostHitMail.bg

just one more...

Hello,

Delivering your message properly is a task of big importance in our business. That’s why we included this topic in the sixth presentation of our “Direct Marketing Tips” set.

Share your opinion on it to us via e-mail at

office@mediaposthitmail.bg,

or call us (+359 885 360 715). In case you’ve missed the previous ones, this way you will get all the presentations in our set as soon as they are available.

Thanks!

Hristo Radichev

Country Manager, Mediapost Hit Mail

P.S. Please, don’t forget to deliver this file to a friend or colleague who you think would like these materials, or send us their contacts. A polite invitation will be sent (which they can decline) and we can help them ensure proper delivery of their DM campaigns.