The direct marketing industry is always improving upon itself; I suppose that’s why I like it. Yet despite this constant evolution, the principles of successful DM remain true.
If you put the right offer…in front of the right person…at the right time…through the most effective channel, you’ll gain a new customer!
With testing, modeling and analytics all of these elements are getting easier to identify.
But what happens if you can’t put the offer in front of the right customer? The deliverability of direct mail is a no brainer; if the address is clean and updated, then it will be delivered. The same stands true for a telemarketing campaign. Opt-in email however is an entirely different animal.
When you couple real-time results with the economical and environmental benefits, the power of an effective email marketing campaign is undeniable. The challenge is deliverability. There are many factors that effect the penetration of the message:
The List:
- Clean list – weed out bounces and traps
- Ensure subscribers have added sender to their safe list
- White listing with the ISP of your list subscribers
- Reasonable list usage, do not overmail or undermail your list
- Respect all opt-out requests
Mailing Techniques:
- Untilze Domain keys
- SPF (Sender Permitted Framework)
- Fast and accurate DNS
Reputation:
- Bonded sender programs (useful after list cleanup)
- White listing and feedback loops (AOL)
Message Content:
- Healthy text to image ratios, too many images is a killer
- Keywords or phrases commonly used in spam (Free, Offer, $, !, Stock, Hot, etc.)
- Proper grammar, punctuation and capitalization
- Formatted for subscribers anticipated email client (key messages above the fold, etc.)
In today’s environment hitting the inbox is a constant challenge. What works today, may not work tomorrow. The key to ongoing success is constantly maintain your lists and monitor your deliverability by ISP so adjustments can be made quickly to ensure consistent response from your list.
Comments