This document provides an overview of email deliverability, including trends and tips to improve deliverability. It discusses how deliverability refers to an email's ability to be delivered instead of blocked by spam filters. Poor deliverability can result from undeliverable addresses or spam filters. Tips to improve deliverability include being recognizable, setting expectations, keeping content relevant and valuable, including opt-out links, and monitoring reports to remove invalid addresses. Authentication standards like SPF and DKM help prove the sender's identity. Subscriber engagement through opens and clicks also impacts deliverability.

1. Email Deliverability Overview Lori Ely, eMarketing StrategistFebruary 19, 2010

2. Just a little housekeeping .... To ask a question, please enter it into the Question section of the tool bar to the right. advisor@informz.com

3. Agenda The Basics of Email Deliverability Trends in Deliverability Tips to Improve Deliverability Questions and Answers

4. The Basics What is deliverability? The word deliverability refers to your email message’s ability to be delivered to your recipients, instead of being blocked by spam filters or bounced because of bad email addresses or technical problems. The Basics of Email Deliverability

6. Hard Bounce

7. Repeated Bounce

9. ISP’s may not always tell the truth! We can only rely on the data they give us.

10. The Basics 2. Spam Filters Spam filters are sophisticated and have many different methods of filtering: Blacklisting = Poor reputation means blocked IP address Address Recognition = Blocking by individual email address Trapping = Catching spammers by planting false addresses Challenge Response = Identify who you are before entering Rule-based = Rules are used to determine access to inbox Probability = Learns from recipient and automatically rejects Volume blocking = Sender + high volume of emails = rejection Content based = scanning email for content that looks like spam

11. The Basics In addition, many of the most popular email clients have filters of their own to determine what makes it through

13. A high percentage of messages being sent to trash without being opened.

14. Inconsistent mail volume – Sudden increases in mail volume from an IP address can look like spam, so try to maintain a consistent mail volume. If an increase is needed, do so gradually.

15. Inconsistent subject lines – Yahoo, for example, suggested that senders should not customize the subject line by merging in personal information.

19. Members are opening messages.

21. Tips for Improving Deliverability Tips to avoid becoming Unrecognized, Unexpected, or Unwanted: Be easily recognizable- maintain branding consistency- re-enforce branding in subject lines and from address Set expectations and fulfill promises- use opt in forms and welcome messages to set expectations about frequency and content- be consistent with and balance frequency Keep your content relevant and valuable- make sure messages reflect the reasons why your subscribers first signed up- segment your groups and target your messages for true personalization

23. Modify profile link

26. Common spam words, excessive capitalization and punctuation

27. Written out URLS Wrong Visit www.informz.com for more information. Right Visit the Informz Website for more information.

28. Tips for Improving Deliverability Deal with your inactive subscribers 1. Define what inactive is for your organization 2. Routinely identify inactives 3. Try and win them back 4. Remove them if they don’t respond

29. Tips for Improving Deliverability Monitor reports and remove repeated bouncers

30. Tips for Improving Deliverability Test your emails before you send to uncover potential deliverability problems. The Informz Virtual Inbox allows you to test your email from your Informz account.

32. Checking blacklists often

33. Monitoring delivery outcome

34. Managing blocks and challenge response messagesYour Email Know-How The key to success is to focus on is creating content that will bring value to subscribers. In the end, this will lead to an increase in engagement, an increase in reputation and assure your emails get delivered to the inbox.

35. Questions and Answers Helpful websitesSender lookup sites: http://www.mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspxwww.senderscore.orghttp://www.barracudacentral.org/lookupsEmail Authentication: DKIM Info: www.dkim.orgSPF Info: http://www.openspf.org/ SPF Info: http://www.microsoft.com/mscorp/safety/content/technologies/senderid/wizard/ For more information on any of the topics covered today contact your eMarketing Advisor. Thank you for joining us!