How Hotmail users will control graymail

The primary change to Hotmail’s handling of graymail is that newsletters will be automatically marked as such by the email service. This designation will enable Hotmail users to perform tasks such as:

• Scheduled Sweeps—Designate an expiration date for mail from specified senders, with automatic deletions when the message expires. This action also allows Hotmail users to sweep newsletters directly to a subfolder or to delete them altogether

• Inbox Unsubscribes—Unsubscribe from a mailing list directly from Hotmail’s inbox. Hotmail will handle the unsubscribe process for you, or simply block the email

• Instant Actions—Delete, flag, mark read, or sweep messages to a subfolder simply by hovering over the message in your inbox

What this means for marketers

While news of Hotmail’s new graymail controls may cause initial panic for email marketers, the truth is that the success of your email marketing campaign will continue to depend on the same thing it always has: value for the subscriber. Your customers wanted your email once; by making each email communication relevant to your subscribers, you can continue to keep them engaged with the marketing emails you send.

Keeping subscribers happy

The knee-jerk reaction to an announcement like Hotmail’s is often,“How can I get around the system?” But that’s the wrong question to ask. Instead, you should be asking, “How can I keep my subscribers happy so they continue to value the messages I send?” Start with these foundational principles for successful email marketing:

• Get Permission—Use double opt-ins whenever possible. A quality subscriber list will yield far better results than quantity

• Communicate Expectations—Will the subscriber receive a message daily? Weekly? Monthly? Don’t flood his inbox with unwelcome messages

• Cut the Fluff—Every email you send should provide value for the subscriber. A discount, a special sales announcement, an informative newsletter—just make sure your emails are worth opening

eConnect Email can walk you through the e-mail creation process from start to finish in order to ensure that each message you send communicates value to your subscribers. In addition, every client receives the benefits of our stellar deliverability program which includes white-listing, permission-based list building, and human reviews.

Naughty: Ramping up email frequency without fair warning.

Your subscribers have come to expect messages from you at a consistent frequency. Start increasing that frequency without telling them and they’re likely to dump you in the spam folder.

Nice: Ask for permission if you plan to change sending frequency.

Or better yet, give subscribers the option to set preferences. Segment your list so that those who opt in can receive daily holiday reminders, while other subscribers can still receive emails at the intervals they’re used to.

Naughty: Sending fluff emails, just because.

Your subscribers already have to wade through more email than normal at this time of year. Don’t waste their time with holiday greetings that provide no benefit.

Nice: Include a clear benefit and call to action in every email.

Make sure the subject line communicates the benefit and that customers can take action directly from the email.

Naughty: Ignoring mobile users.

As the number of people using mobile devices to check email increases, so does the frustration caused when your email doesn’t display properly on the subscriber’s iPhone or other smart device.

Nice: Design your email for mobile screens.

Include a call to action that can be viewed without enlarging and make sure subscribers can easily access a mobile version of your website.

Naughty: Failing to communicate shipping policies.

Shipping makes a big difference for most online holiday shoppers, and failure to communicate can result in lost sales.

Nice: Promote special holiday shipping offers in your email subject line or state clearly in the body of the email.

Free shipping can make the difference between a lead and a completed sale, so highlight it if you have it. If you don’t, it’s still a good idea to provide a clear link to your shipping policy.

Naughty: Failing to follow through post-holiday.

Don’t leave subscribers hanging on December 26^th. Post-holiday needs should comprise an essential part of your holiday email campaign strategy.

Nice: Communicate post-holiday specials clearly and promptly.

Return policies, clearance sales, and New Year’s resolution targeting can all be appropriate elements of your late December and early January email strategy.

Let eConnect Email help you keep your email campaign on the nice list this year by taking advantage of our customizable templates, list segmentation, deliverability, and tracking data. Eggnog, anyone?

What Information Is Available?

Perhaps the most interesting pieces of information for email marketers are the trending keywords and the email verification criteria.

• Trending Keywords

Click on the green box on the left side of the map to view keywords showing up most often in the subject lines of emails that make it to the inbox. Click the “Show Spam Keywords” box at the bottom of the graph to see keywords appearing in messages that land in the spam folder.

• Email Verification Criteria

This information is buried a little deeper, but can be found by clicking on a continent on the main page, then on a point within that continent. Click on one of the envelopes labeled either “Junk” or “Inbox” to see a list of five criteria used to determine which emails go where, as well as a pass or fail designation for each.

What Does This Mean for Email Marketers?

Sure, it’s interesting, but can it really impact your email marketing strategy? We think it can, by offering some valuable information we could only guess at before.

• The subject line isn’t as important as you might think when it comes to spam determination. So you can forget your list of approved or banned subject line words (like “free”) as well as those odd variations that attempt to fool the filter (f.r.e.e.; f*r*e*e; f-r-e-e). The trending keyword feature demonstrates that previously anathema words like free actually show up in delivered messages a high percentage of the time. They also show up in junked messages, suggesting that subject line words might not play as important a role as once thought.

• Spam filters look at the email as a whole to determine in-box worthiness. Criteria such as a verified IP address, links, sender, and message content all play a part in determining which messages get marked as spam and which ones reach the inbox.

The bottom line? Stop trying to game the system and instead work towards creating engaging, useful emails that build relationships with your subscribers—the kind of emails we help clients create every day at eConnect Email.

To all of our current, past and future client we’d like to extend a warm thank you for your support! We hope you like what we’ve done. If you have any questions, suggestions, or feedback we would love to hear from you.

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For This Month’s Email Marketing Tips & Tricks – CLICK HERE

As always, let us know if you have any questions or suggestions, we are always happy to hear them!

For This Month’s Email Marketing Tips & Tricks – CLICK HERE

Also, included in this months newsletter is our email marketing recap for 2010.   As always, let us know if you have any questions or suggestions, we are always happy to hear them!

For This Month’s Tips & Tricks – CLICK HERE

1.     Craft Your Welcome Letter as a Marketing Email

Don’t settle for a run-of-the-mill boring welcome letter. Instead, use it as an opportunity to start building a solid relationship with your subscribers.  Invite your subscribers to connect with you via social media and include links to additional content about your products/ services. Need help?  We’d be happy to give you some pointers or help you craft and design an effective welcome email.

2.     Use Emails to Follow Up on Cart Abandonment

Cart abandonment rates are astonishingly high, but you can draw some of that lost business back by using emails to follow-up with customers who bailed out before buying. Remind them of their selections and use the email to cross-sell or up-sell. You can also give them the opportunity to leave feedback or offer an incentive for them to come back and complete the purchase.

3.     Use Split Tests to Achieve Higher Open and Click Rates

If you don’t test various options, then you’re essentially guessing what will entice readers.  Split Testing allows you to choose the most effective subject line, call to action, images, and copy for every email campaign.

4.     Give your Subscribers Options

Give your readers the chance to unsubscribe, modify details, or change email preferences without jumping through hoops. Making this process easy leaves a sweet taste in their mouth even if they choose not to remain on your mailing list.  With eConnect Email’s list management options, you can stay on top of subscriber information and make sure your emails reach their intended destinations.

5.     Integrate Social Media with Your Email Campaign

With the rise of social media you’ll want to make sure you adapt your email campaign to the new landscape. You can increase your overall reach by giving your subscribers the opportunity to share your campaign on the various social networking websites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.).

As you rethink your email marketing initiative, take advantage of the tools and solutions available with eConnect Email in order to further engage and interact with your subscribers.  If you have any questions or there is ever anything we can do to help you out let us know!

1. Consumers want real-time value.

The ability to post instant updates, tweets, and comments have trained consumers to expect those things from marketing campaigns as well.  You can begin incorporating real-time value into your email marketing by tracking customer behavior on social networks and using that data to create automated campaigns that deliver relevant messages based on triggers and auto-responders created with eConnect Email.

2. Mobile versions increase in popularity.

Some experts predict that 2011 will see mobile device sales outperforming PC sales for the first time in history.  Because people check email on mobile devices more frequently than ever before, you’ll need to make sure your email templates/ campaigns are designed to accommodate these users.  Curious how your email campaign will display within a specific email system or mobile devices?  We’ve got you covered, check out Inbox & Mobile Previews, a premium feature available within eConnect Email.

3.     Social media takes center stage.

2010 was the year social media came into its own, and 2011 will be the year that it takes center stage in a wide variety of marketing efforts, including email marketing. You can incorporate you social media efforts into your email marketing campaign by including links to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites within your email campaigns. You can also include eConnect Email’s built in social sharing tools which will allow your subscribers to share your email campaigns via Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Buzz (talk about expanding your reach).  Now also available is a feature that allows you to integrate a Facebook “Like” option into your email campaign, the whole process takes less than 10 seconds!

4.     Social media gives back.

Not only can you use email to help promote your social media efforts, but you can also begin using social media to increase email opt-ins. By placing opt-in opportunities on your Facebook fanpage and in your Twitter posts, you can increase the number of overall subscribers.

5.     Dynamic content becomes the norm.

As people share their opinions and product review information, they’ll become more likely to expect businesses to incorporate this data into their marketing campaigns. Using eConnect Email’s Dynamic Content tools will allow you to create a one-to-one email marketing experience which will keep your subscribers engaged!

As email marketing sets sail in 2011, businesses will need to embrace social media and look for tools that will enhance and engage your subscribers like never before.  eConnect Email can help you stay on course by giving you the tools you need to meet and exceed user expectations every time.

• Customer expectations constantly change.

Because customers can now interact in real time with businesses, they expect faster responses to their concerns and requests. For your email marketing campaigns, this means staying on top of customer interests and providing real-time value. eConnect Email can help you achieve these goals through email automation by the implementation of email triggers and auto-responders.

• Social media is here to stay.

While no one knows what the next big “thing” in social media will be, we do know that social media as a technology is not going anywhere anytime soon. While that idea can be intimidating to some businesses, social media actually provides excellent opportunities to grow both your email marketing list and also engage your social media followers online.  This being said, we have embraced social media and have actually integrated with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Buzz.  Click here for information about the integration of social media with eConnect Email.

• Customers expect stellar service.

While customer service has always been a top priority for successful businesses, customers now expect even greater attention to be paid to their needs due to increased interaction online. This means staying on top of subscriber’s preferences and making sure each email arrives at its intended destination.   eConnect Email ensures that your mailing lists stay up to date by using list cleansing, suppression lists, list segmentation as well as giving your subscribers the ability to manage their mailing list subscriptions through the online preference center.

• What works for someone else may not work for you.

It’s easy to put together a list of best practices and slap them up on a website for others to emulate, but building a truly successful email marketing program takes a little more planning and insight. The truth is that what works for one company may not work for another, so it’s vital that you incorporate testing into your email marketing strategy. That’s why I would recommend that you A/B Split Test each and every email campaign.  Split Testing will help ensure that you deliver only the most effective messages to your audience.

With 2010 in the past, businesses will need to take the lessons learned over the past twelve months and build on them to create a strategy that will effectively meet the challenges of 2011. eConnect Email stands ready to help you accomplish this goal with a vast array of tools and features that will help keep your email marketing strategy on the cutting edge.  If you have any questions about the capabilities of our application we’d love to hear from you!