Email marketing remains a vital tool for businesses of all sizes, but it’s becoming increasingly important to navigate the ever-changing landscape. Three key areas to focus on are Authentication and Email Design and Email Clicks.
Authentication: The Key to Deliverability
Authentication is the process of verifying that an email is coming from who it claims to be. This is important because it helps to protect against spam and phishing attacks.
There are three main email authentication standards: DKIM, SPF, and DMARC. All three standards work together to create a digital seal of approval that helps email providers to identify and trust legitimate emails.
The three major email providers (Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook) have recently made some big changes and will soon require ALL senders to authenticate their domains. The ones who do are much more likely to have their emails delivered to the desired inbox. Simply because email providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook are more likely to trust your emails if they are authenticated.
So what are these strange-looking email authentication stamps?
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is like a digital signature for your email. It adds a special code to your email header that proves that the email came from you and that it hasn’t been tampered with along the way.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is like a whitelist for your email domain. It tells other email servers which servers are authorized to send email on your behalf. If an email comes from a server that’s not on the whitelist, it’s more likely to be spam.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is like the boss of DKIM and SPF. It tells email servers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM authentication. DMARC can tell email servers to quarantine, reject, or even delete the email.
Although this might sound a bit complicated it’s crucial for your business. Reach out to us if you would like help with your email domain!
Design: Capturing Attention in a Fast-Paced World
Email design is also important for email marketers. People have shorter attention spans than ever before, so it’s important to create emails that are visually appealing, easy to read and most importantly ENGAGING.
Here are some tips for improving email design and interaction:
- Keep messages clear and concise.
- Craft compelling subject lines.
- Optimize for mobile devices.
- Establish a clear visual hierarchy.
- Use engaging visuals and personalization.
- Include interactive elements.
- Prioritize readable typography.
- Utilize whitespace for clarity.
- A/B test different designs.
- Create compelling, accessible CTAs.
- Analyze performance for improvement.
Email marketers who follow these tips can create emails that are more likely to be opened, read, and engaged with.
Speaking of engagement? Let’s not forget the importance of getting clicks in your emails!
How clicks improve your sender reputation
Your sender’s reputation is a measure of how reliable and trustworthy you are as an email sender. Email servers use sender reputation to determine whether to deliver your emails to your subscribers’ inboxes. A high sender reputation means that more of your emails will reach your subscribers.
Clicks improve your sender’s reputation in a few ways:
- Clicks show that your emails are relevant and engaging. When people click on links in your emails, it tells email servers that your emails are relevant to their interests and that they’re worth opening.
- Clicks reduce the number of complaints and unsubscribes. If people are clicking on your emails and finding them useful, they’re less likely to complain about them or unsubscribe from your list.
- Clicks show that your emails are coming from a legitimate sender. When people click on links in your emails, it tells email servers that your email address is legitimate and that your emails are not spam.
Overall, clicks are a good indicator of the quality of your email campaigns. When you have a high CTR, it shows email servers that your emails are relevant, engaging, and coming from a legitimate sender. This can lead to a significant improvement in your sender reputation.
Putting It All Together
By authenticating their domains and creating engaging emails, email marketers can navigate the changing landscape and achieve their marketing goals.
Reach out to us if you would like to get help with your email marketing. We can’t wait to hear from you!
