Here at EcoSend, we’re always looking at ways we can help email marketers send better emails. ✉️ 💰

Using our own experience as customers is no exception, especially if we can use our insights to help you succeed. 

This week’s post is inspired by the fact that every time I (hello, content writer at EcoSend) book an appointment at this one spa - the confirmation email goes straight to my spam folder.

That’s a real shame when so much effort goes into running a business, especially when you get to know the owners and team who work there.

Emails heading to the spam folder is a common problem, and one which can have huge consequences for any business.

After all, if customers aren’t receiving basic communication (let alone marketing campaigns) from you, that will seriously impact your email ROI and ultimately your business profits.

So let's put a stop to that, so that your emails land in the inboxes of your customers where they belong!

(Costly!) Problems Your Business Can Avoid By Getting Out Of The Spam Folder:

⬆️ 😬 Nooo: you never want your emails ending up here!

🤷‍♀️ - Customers not seeing booking confirmation emails - Appointments are more likely to get forgotten about which means less profit for the business when people don’t turn up. Or, more time and money spent on admin trying to chase up clients.

💸 - Poor email ROI - The average ROI for email marketing is $42 for every $1 spent. If campaigns aren’t even reaching inboxes, this figure will be seriously reduced.

📉 - Low open rates - Users get notified when a new email lands in their inbox. But nobody rushes to check their spam folder.

🚫 - Being blacklisted by email servers - Being frequently associated with sending spam email can be very difficult to recover from, and may tarnish your email domain for good. This also includes if you didn’t realise emails were ending up in spam.

So let's get to work on fixing the above for your business.

Make Sure You’re Using A Reputable Email Platform

Not all email marketing platforms are created equal. Some have terrible deliverability rates, and others may automatically be filtered out as spam just by association.

Naturally, many businesses are drawn in by low prices when choosing an email marketing platform. But if the reputation of that platform isn’t great, the chances are this will impact the deliverability of your emails. This could actually cost far more in the long run if campaigns aren’t reaching your customers properly.

In the case of my spa, my hunch is that they are using the email platform built into their website or salon booking software. If your business uses similar technology for email marketing, it’s worth checking your email analytics to ensure deliverability and open rates are high, otherwise there could be an issue with your setup.

P.S: We offer a free trial of EcoSend which offers sustainable email marketing and customer engagement tools for businesses.

Build High Quality Email Lists

While using email scraper tools or buying lists might seem tempting - spam will be the least of your problems if user information hasn’t been provided with consent. 

When a customer books an appointment or service through your website, you can give the option for them to sign up to your mailing list. 

Likewise, you can also include a form on your website to collect email signups. A double opt-in can ensure these signups are genuine.

Either of these methods represent authentic ways to build healthy email lists full of engaged subscribers. This also means open rates are likely to be higher, which will reduce the chances of your emails being flagged as spam.

Complete Sender Details With Genuine Information

No offence to anyone genuinely called ‘John Johnson’ - but we can all spot fake names on emails a mile away. Inbox servers are also wise to fake sounding information, or when incomplete data (i.e. a lack of address) is associated with an account.

Most email service providers (including EcoSend) require you to include real names, as well as a physical address as a sender. This information will be displayed on any emails you send.

Doing so helps your business to remain compliant with the CAN-SPAM act. Using real information also appears genuine to mailbox servers and users alike. Hence, your emails are less likely to be flagged as spam when you come across as a real human.

Email senders must also remember to include a link to unsubscribe, and honour any opt-out requests promptly to remain compliant with various spam and data protection laws.

Authenticate Your Email Addresses 

Whenever you sign up to a new email platform, you will receive a request to authenticate your account. This is your chance to prove you are a genuine sender, and that you’re compliant with various anti-spam laws. 

Authentication may involve the likes of:

• Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI)

• Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC)

• DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM)

• Sender Framework Policy (SFP)

Be sure to follow any authentication instructions from your email provider before attempting to send emails with the account.

That way, you’ll get off to the best possible start where avoiding the spam folder is concerned. 

Send Relevant Content

Once you’ve taken all the steps to authenticate your account and remain compliant with privacy laws, avoiding the spam folder once and for all comes down to sending quality and relevant content.

As a business, you should know your subscribers better than anyone. For instance, when signing up to your mailing list, did you ask them what type of content they are interested in receiving from you?

It’s also good to make use of segmentation, which will help avoid sending too many emails, or emails which don’t fit where the user is within the sales funnel.

Whatever you do - don’t be one of those businesses that sends 4 emails a day (every day) to subscribers. In the world of email marketing, less really is more!

EcoSend - Switch To Our Sustainable Email Marketing Platform Today

Like the sound of our advice to help you succeed at email marketing?

With our free migration assistance from Mailchimp (or any other email tool you may be currently using), there’s plenty more where that came from!

Sign up for your free trial of EcoSend today to give us a try. We’ll switch your email marketing over to our renewable energy powered servers, and plant a tree on your behalf just for signing up. 🌳 ✉️

You can also let us know about any other hurdles you’re experiencing with email marketing or your current service provider by filling out our contact form.