Warning: There are lots of so-called email “best practices” being passed around that are just plain false. Putting them to use can spell doom for the customer experience, revenue projections and future email deliverability.
We’re here to “out” the four worst email myths:
Myth 1: Opt-in subscribers won’t mark you as spam
Some companies believe that opt-in customers have some allegiance to them as the sender. So even if those customers eventually want to bow out of an email program, they’ll do so respectfully — by opting out.
Nope. The truth is, if you stray from the promises you made when they opted into your email program — or provide a poor customer experience — opt-in subscribers are just as likely as anyone else to hit the spam button.
Myth 2: Making it difficult to opt-out, minimizes opt-outs
First of all, CAN-SPAM requires that you have a one-click opt-out.
But even if you wanted to ignore the law, increasing opt-out difficulty is a sure-fire way to get your email marked as spam. And it sends up immediate red flags about the customer experience you’re offering.
Bottom line: If a subscriber wants out, they’ll find a way to get out — whether it’s through a proper opt-out channels or the spam button.
Myth 3: Words like ‘Free’ or ‘Sale’ get you flagged as spam
Spam filters are pretty smart these days. They now take into account the entire contents of an email, not just the subject line.
As a result, using these terms can actually help improve opens. In fact, a study by the email marketing firm Adestra found subject lines with “Sale” generated open rates 14.4% above average.
Myth 4: Sending more email improves deliverability
Deliverability is all about quality, not quantity. The more opens and clicks your email generates the better the Sender Scores you receive from mail servers will be.
Increasing frequency without lifting clicks can actually hurt your scores.
