1. Set up for Sender Policy Framework (SPF)
SPF is an essential part of your email marketing toolkit. It's essentially a DNS (Domain Name
System) record that tells receiving mail servers which IP addresses are authorised to send
emails on behalf of your domain. In simpler terms, it helps confirm the authenticity of your
emails by letting ISPs (Internet Service Providers) know that you're the legitimate sender.
The importance of SPFs and what they allow for you and your business cannot be
underestimated: improved email deliverability, enhanced reputation, reduced spoofing and
phishing, better analytics, and—most importantly—stronger email marketing results.
If you’d like a more in-depth discussion and advice regarding setting up an SPF, read the article
we’ve written here.
2. Warm Your Domains
"Warming domains" in the context of email marketing refers to the practice of gradually and
systematically sending a series of emails to a new or relatively inactive email domain or IP
address to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs and improve the chances of your emails reaching the recipients' inboxes rather than being rejected or marked as spam.
When you start sending emails from a new domain or IP address, ISPs like Gmail, Yahoo, and
Outlook don't have any previous data about your sending behaviour; this lack of history can
raise red flags and make it more likely for your emails to be rejected or placed in the
recipients' spam folders. To avoid this, you should use a domain warming strategy to build
trust with ISPs.
ZoomMail’s 'MaxDelivery' package takes the weight off your shoulders because we take care
of your domain reputation for you! Our MaxDelivery both warms your sending domains and monitors delivery to ISPs. If you’d like a more in-depth discussion and advice regarding warming domains, book a time with us using the link at the bottom of this article.
3. Alt Text
Alt text is a text-based representation of non-text content, such as an image. Alt text for an
image presents the content and function of the image—this is critical for web accessibility
and email delivery.
When someone receives an email, the client they are with scans it before it is delivered into
their inbox. A part of this process is to crawl through any images present and read their Alt
text (if present); this allows for the client to deem whether the content is relevant to the
recipient and, additionally, if it is safe. Emails which contain lots of images and no
accompanying Alt text are often placed into the spam folder—accordingly, to improve the
success rate of your email delivery, images should always include an Alt text which is accurate
and succinct.
Moreover, providing an Alt text description within your email allows for the accommodation
of people with varying needs; content is read by screen-reader software so that people with
visual or cognitive disabilities can access and understand the non-text content.
4. Hyperlinks
Hyperlinks, often simply referred to as "links," are clickable elements in a digital document,
such as a webpage or an email, that direct users to another location or resource, either within
the same document or on a different website or page. Hyperlinks are essential in emails for
several reasons: navigation to and throughout your website, thereby generating traffic; call
to actions (CTAs), examples of which include making purchases or downloading resources;
content organisation, creating a well-rounded and polished look to your emails; and tracking
and analytics, such as calculating click-through rates—allowing for you to see in real-time how
well your email campaign is performing.
5. Test Your Campaigns
Don't send blind, test your emails. Testing your email campaigns before you send them can
give you an idea of your deliverability, the quality of your email from point of view of the
recipient, CTA functionality, an idea of the mobile experience among and other formats, and
your own peace of mind.
ZoomMail has inbuilt test integrations with IsNotSpam.com and Mail-Tester.com services, so testing your email is quick and easy. Ensuring your email marketing gets the best results.
With over 20 years in the field, for people of all email marketing experience, we're on hand
to get you right on track. Take the next steps in utilising your email marketing by booking a
time with the ZoomMail team using the link here
-
David Hazzard - 13-10-2023
