12 Steps to Ensure a Successful Email Campaign

Because email marketing is so underutilized, many people don’t realize that, more often than not, your email may not even get delivered. Now, this list isn’t for the faint of heart. These methods are for those who wish to utilize email marketing to its full extent and want to make sure that they are not wasting their time.

OK – I digress. Even if you’re new, you can make use of everything you see here. In fact, by doing this from the very beginning, you can make sure that your email campaigns are worth it.

Let’s get started.

1. Make Sure Your IP Address Is Trustworthy

Make sure your IP address is trustworthy. ISPs have email filters that are designed to block emails from untrustworthy addresses and sources. The easiest way you can prove your trustworthiness is to start your email campaigns small. As more and more people open your emails, your IP address will gain trustworthiness.

2. Register a Subdomain and Use It Only for Email Activity

This one may backfire – if you don’t do it right. People will eventually come to view your subdomain as trustworthy. However, that’s not the primary benefit.

The main benefit is that you will be able to bypass domain-specific monitoring techniques performed by ISPs monitoring your IP address reputation. You’ll also be able to avoid domain-based certification filters simply by becoming trustworthy.

3. Implement a Sender Policy Framework

A sender policy framework (SPF) increases your trustworthiness from the receiving email server. These servers are trained to crosscheck between a domain name and an associated IP address. Without an SPF in place, your email may get rejected.

4. Check Your Sender Reputation

Having a low sender reputation is the No. 1 reason your emails may get rejected. On a scale from 1 to 100, the higher your sender reputation, the higher chances that your email will get delivered.

5. Check Feedback Loops

Check feedback loops frequently. This is where you can find out information about people who have complained about your email as the sender. Almost every major free email service has one including Gmail, AOL, Microsoft and even Yahoo.

6. Stick to a Consistent Send a Schedule

One reason you may have a lower sender score and possibly even IP rejection is seemingly random activity. By maintaining a regular schedule, you can avoid, “sending spikes,” which can lower your sender score.

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7. Use a Double Opt-in or Confirmed Opt-in Marketing Method

Utilizing double opt-in methods to grow your email list does two things. One, it significantly reduces the amount of spam complaints. Furthermore, it ensures that only the people who want to be on your email list are actually on your email list. This leaves a pool of people who are genuinely interested in what you have to say. The term for this is a “high-quality list.”

8. Manage Your List

Manage your list by purging it of people who are nonexistent. If you’re sending emails to people who don’t exist or people who gave you a spam email box, your bounce rate will skyrocket your credibility will be destroyed. Many people create a special spam box to satisfy email requirements without revealing their real email address.

9. Manage Your List Even Further

If you’ve ever created a giveaway, then you’ll have experience with this one. People will enter multiple times using invalid or nonexistent email addresses. They don’t care about your email list. They care about their chance to win a free iPad. Once again, purge your list of people who don’t exist. If you have a high bounce rate, your IP address will lose credibility.

10. Send Emails at Just the Right Frequency

Don’t be the overzealous email marketer who sends emails several times a day trying to elicit a response from your list. How do you maximize the deliverability of your campaigns? Start by sending the right number of emails. The best we can do this is by testing but that’s not always easy. If you want an easy rule of thumbs, a good benchmark to go by is about once a week.

11. Utilize Branding in Your Sending Address

Don’t use some do-not-reply email address in the email that you’re sending from. Utilizing your brand name directly in your email address and make sure that people can respond to it. People will be more likely to open the email once it is delivered.

12. Check for Blacklistings

Finally, if you’re having trouble trying to get your email to to reach your list, check to see if you’ve been blacklisted. The lists are created based on DNS servers and are designed to protect people from IP addresses that have received a high number of spam reports. Your job is to make sure that you’re not on this list.

Emails have to be delivered. Otherwise, your email marketing is ineffective. And that, my friends, is step one to making sure that your email gets delivered. Next, you need a create killer headlines and powerful content.