Many companies in the email marketing space have learned a simple rule: if your email isn’t being opened, it’s because the subject line isn’t doing the work.
I admit, I’ve been an advocate of that thinking myself – subject lines and email previews are extremely important, as I say here.
However, as systems get cleverer and users do more to avoid emails they don’t want, there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that can also get between your beautifully written email and the target reader. And, while these are more technical problems than email marketing in the strictest sense, it’s a subject that deserves coverage. Let’s dive in!
The Broad World of Spam Rejection
We all hate spam. As a user, I hate it when spam emails turn up and clog my inbox, and as a marketer, I hate it when spam emails threaten my more-valuable communications from being seen. In the old days, spam was bad enough, with the odd faraway prince promising you a cool $1,000,000 if you’d just share your bank details to get it… Today, however, it’s multitudes worse but – and here’s the good thing – you’re hardly seeing it.
In the background, email providers and software are working hard to sift the junk from the real emails, rejecting spam before it even gets as far as the user’s email inbox. It’s great… until you’re the one being rejected.
And no amount of stamping up and down saying ‘but my email is a real, valid one’ is going to convince. These are robots; they don’t get swayed by your passionate argument. What they have are rules to help them determine if you should get through the net. Follow the rules, and all is good.
SPF - The Sender Policy Framework
The first rule for us to look at is SPF. This is a record on your domain server that says ‘yes, this server is allowed to send email saying it’s from us’.
It stops unauthorised servers sending email pretending to be you – that’s a good thing.
But it also stops your email marketing sending as you if you haven’t put the required records in place properly.
- The Fix: Your email service provider (ESP) can provide you (or your IT person) with the information you need to paste into your DNS settings. Once there, emails from the ESP will be valid.
DKIM - DomainKeys Identified Mail
This is a cryptographic signature added to your email that says you are you. It works alongside SPF to ensure the email genuinely came from you and without it – rejected again.
- The Fix: Your ESP generates a public/private key pair. Part of that gets added to your DNS settings, just like SPF, and the other will be affixed to the emails they send out.
DMARC - Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance
This is a policy that tells the system what to do if SPF or DKIM fail. It can tell the software to::
- Do nothing
- Send the email to spam
- Reject it outright
In addition to this, DMARC also provides reports for your use.
- The Fix: Once SPF and DKIM are in place, a DMARC record can be added to satisfy this policy.
Sending From the Right Email
Once these three key factors are dealt with, what next? The truth is, you can still make mistakes, and one of those is sending from the wrong domain. Your ‘from’ address must match the SPF and DKIM domain, otherwise it’s not valid.
This can happen all the time: you have multiple domains and send out ‘[email protected]’ but it should have come from ‘[email protected]’.
The rules are clear.
- The Fix: Check that your ‘from’ domain matches exactly the SPF and DKIM information.
Warming the Domain
Even if everything else is perfect, it’s still possible that the system just doesn’t trust you. Over time, domains build reputation, but on day one, you’re an unknown – and an unknown company sending out 50,000 emails should probably be looked at.
- The Fix: You have to build up and ‘warm the domain’. Start small with a few hundred and build up over time, scaling gradually and monitoring the results until you can get 50,000 out there in a single afternoon with no problem.
Who is Responsible for All This?
That’s a question that stumps a lot of people. Just who is the person in charge of sorting it all? Well, if you’re reading this, there’s a high chance that answer is ‘you’.
For small businesses, the business owner often is the person who sorted out the website and the domain. If you remember doing that, then this is an extension of that. Maybe you’ve grown or are in a bigger company with its own IT department – if so, it’s their job. Or maybe you outsource your web stuff, in which case, give them a ring.
If you’re using an email marketer to help you with your emails, then they should be able to get this set up correctly (with a little help from your IT guy).
Getting Your Emails Read with Nathan Littleton
I’m Nathan Littleton, an email marketing specialist with technical knowhow, and I can help you get everything working so your emails sail past the checks.
If you’re struggling with getting your emails read, why not give me a call and we’ll go through everything from the top to the bottom.
