How to repair a damaged sender reputation
Introduction
Sender reputation is an essential factor when it comes to email marketing. It serves as a measure of how trustworthy an email sender is based on the recipient's feedback and actions. A good sender reputation score means that your emails are being delivered to the recipient's inbox, whereas a bad reputation puts your emails in the spam folder.
In this article, we'll be discussing how to repair a damaged sender reputation. We'll look at possible causes of a bad sender reputation, how to identify a poor reputation score, and the steps you can take to repair it.
What causes a bad reputation score?
Several factors could lead to a bad sender reputation score.
- High Spam Complaint Rates: If you send emails that recipients deem as spam, they might click the "this is spam" button. This action can have a severe impact on your reputation score.
- Irrelevant Content: Sending content that is not relevant to your subscribers could increase the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.
- Unengaged Subscribers: If a recipient has not engaged with your emails for a while, spam filters assume they are uninterested in your content, potentially placing your emails in the spam folder.
- Poor List Hygiene: A poor list is one that contains invalid, outdated, or misspelled email addresses. Sending emails to such lists can damage your sender reputation.
- High Bounce Rates: Emails that bounce at a high rate could hurt your sender reputation, mainly if it results from sending to an outdated or invalid email address.
Identifying a Poor Reputation Score
It can be challenging to figure out your sender reputation score. Some email service providers provide reputation scoring, but you can also use third-party tools like SenderScore.org, which grades your email deliverability based on a score from 0-100.
A score of 70 or higher is considered good, while a score below 70 requires action. Suppose your score falls within the range of 50-60. In that case, your emails might appear in the spam folder frequently, and your delivery rates could be lower than usual.
Steps to Repair Damaged Sender Reputation
Here are some steps you can take to repair a damaged sender reputation:
1. Audit your email list:
Check for invalid email addresses, misspelled email addresses, and other delivery errors. Remove these email addresses from your list and update any incorrect information.
2. Segment Your List:
Segment your email list based on subscriber engagement levels. Send those who regularly open or click your emails content that fits their interests. For those who haven't engaged with your content in some time, consider sending a re-engagement campaign.
3. Monitor Feedback Loops:
Feedback loops are tools that tell you about recipients who marked your emails as spam. You can use this feedback to remove uninterested subscribers and adjust your email content to match your subscribers' interests.
4. Consider a Reconfirmation Campaign:
Send your subscribers a "reconfirmation" email. This email asks them to confirm whether they want to remain on your email list. This campaign can help you weed out inactive subscribers and build a more engaged list.
5. Review Your Email Content:
Ensure that your email content is relevant to your subscribers and not deceptive. Include unsubscribe links and other relevant information.
Conclusion
A damaged sender reputation can hurt your email marketing efforts. Understanding why a reputation score might be low and taking the necessary steps to repair it is vital to prevent further damage. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can restore your sender reputation and ensure your emails land in the inbox instead of the spam folder.