Email Deliverability issues? Here are 7 checkpoints to review first…
Review Your Email Reputation.
Resources like TalosIntelligence.com can let you know if your sending email domain is in good standing, whether or not it exists on any Block lists, and even give you an idea of your volume history. For more information on tools to monitor your deliverability, check out what guest blogger Chris Arrendale had to say.
How Often Are You Cleansing Your Database?
Maybe your emails aren’t being delivered because the emails aren’t reachable to begin with.
Eloqua’s Contact Database Health Dashboard & Insight reporting can help you figure out which contacts are Active and Reachable. Oracle defines an Unreachable contact as “one without a valid email address and/or has a bounceback.” If you can’t email them, why include them in your Segments? Consider cleansing your database of invalid or unreachable contacts on a regular basis and set up a monthly, quarterly, or annual review schedule.
Why Are Your Bouncebacks Bouncing?
Hard Bounceback email addresses aren’t reachable for permanent reasons, while soft bounceback email addresses may be unreachable for temporary reasons. Take advantage of Eloqua’s Email Bounceback History With Messages Report to get to the bottom of the Why’s. See if there is a common reason popping up based on the messages. Maybe your sending domain isn’t approved for a certain organization’s server? Or you have contacts with full mailboxes since they have left the company? The Bounceback History report is eye opening!
Are You Throttling Your Email Sends?
Are you configuring your emails to be sent in small batches vs. all at once?
Eloqua allows you the ability to send your emails in batches over a number of hours. Some email servers like Outlook or Office 365 will soft bounce an email if too many of them are sent all at once.
Spread the love and experiment using Eloqua’s batch sending functionality. Test your campaigns to find the sweet spot of number of hours you can batch your emails over.
What Is Your Email Content Like?
Are you using any popular spam trigger buzz words in your email or subject line like ‘chance,’ ‘save,’ or ‘get’? Are you embedding your whole email into one image to upload? Are you using a mix of text and visuals in your email? Consult with your content creator for emails and raise awareness of potential spam filter triggers.
Clean Up Your Contacts
Maybe your emails aren’t being delivered because the emails aren’t reachable to begin with.
Exclusion Filters
Do your Segments include templated, standard Exclusion filters? Here are a couple of ideas for some:
- Hard Bouncebacks & Globally Unsubscribed
- Be sure to exclude contacts who have been marked as a hard bounce as of now OR contacts who have been globally unsubscribed.
- Inactive Contacts
- Take your exclusion filters a step further and consider excluding contacts who haven’t taken an action in the last 3 to 12 months. Utilize the action filters Eloqua makes available. Example below.
We have a dedicated team of deliverability specialists at Relationship One that can offer more ideas for solutions. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you want to discuss any troubles you’re encountering with emails sends; Relationship One is happy to help!
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