Sender reputation

The secrets of an ideal sender reputation remain a mystery to many. As I once went through the misfortune of having my emails get lost in spam, I started thinking about the impact of reputation on deliverability. Discover the key aspects that will help not only increase open rates, but also protect your reputation!

Glossary

• 📧 Sender reputation - assessment of the reliability of the sender of electronic emails based on its activity, interaction with recipients and compliance with email provider standards.

• 🔍 Sender rating - a numeric value reflecting Sender reputation ranges from 0 to 100. Higher values indicate better reputation.

• 📊 DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that helps prevent sender address spoofing and improve domain reputation.

• 🛡️ SPF (Sender Policy Framework) — an authentication method that allows you to verify that the sender is authorized to send messages on behalf of the specified domain, which increases the chances of successful delivery.

• 🔑 DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) — an authentication technology that adds a digital signature to email messages, ensuring that the message has not been altered during transmission.

• 📈 Reputation tracking is a process of regular analysis and assessing sender reputation using various metrics and tools to identify potential problems.

• 🚫 Delivery refusal is a situation when the letter cannot be delivered to the recipient. There are “soft” (soft bounce) and “hard” (hard bounce) depending on the reason.

• 📬 Interactivity — level of interaction of recipients with letters (opens, clicks, replies), which directly affects the sender’s reputation.

• ⚠️ Deliverability issues - situations when letters do not reach recipients' mailboxes, which may be due to the low reputation of the sender.

• 🛠️ Reputation restoration - activities aimed at improving sender reputation, including cleaning the mailing list and correcting content.

• 📅 Allowed sending time - optimal time frame to send emails that help avoid flooding mail servers and reducing your reputation.

• 📝 Email content - text and visual elements , which can affect the interest of recipients and therefore the reputation of the sender.

Sender reputation: how I created my rating in email

When I first started my journey in the world of email marketing, I didn’t attach importance to the concept of sender reputation. There were cases when letters simply did not reach clients and it was not clear what the problem was. When one of my mailings once again went to spam, I realized that I needed to sort out this issue, and it was at that moment that the idea of researching the sender’s reputation was born.

Even then it became obvious that email services use special algorithms to determine whether whether to accept letters from one or another sender. Designs that identified us by IP address and domain only emphasized the importance of reputation.

Recently, while reviewing one of the old campaigns, I remembered a significant situation. I sent out a newsletter about our new product and the next day I discovered that over 60% of the emails ended up in the spam folder. It was a real disaster that I could not forgive myself. I began to collect information about the factors influencing the sender’s reputation. What influenced such a sharp drop?

1. Sending frequency: Each new letter gave me new reputation points. But if we sent messages too often, it caused dissatisfaction among subscribers.
2. Database quality: Pay attention to the cleanliness of the mail list. Subscribers eager to receive content significantly increased my reputation level.
3. Contents of letters: I made sure that the letters contain valuable information and do not look like spam. The use of spam phrases had a negative impact on perception.

After several months of experimenting with different strategies that added to my experience, I developed a system. Everything turned out to be simpler than I once thought! An important step was creating content that not only informed, but also engaged subscribers.

“Focus on what is important to your audience and your reputation will only grow.” — Bill Gates, American entrepreneur and public figure, philanthropist, co-founder and former largest shareholder of Microsoft.

Well, that's how I raised my rating to an acceptable level! Each successful mailing became proof of work on your reputation. At the moment, according to my data, about 80% of letters are delivered to the “Inbox” folder and this is good news!

How I did it: step-by-step instructions

Now that I talk about current reputation issues with other specialists, I understand that my mistakes have become a brilliant basis for further growth. Don't underestimate the importance of sender reputation - it's not just a digitized rating, it's your image in the eyes of customers. So if you want to stay afloat in the ocean of email, be mindful of your ranking.

How sender reputation is formed

In the world of digital marketing Sender reputation is a truly mysterious and at the same time critically important component that is determined by many factors. When I first came across this topic, it seemed to me that it was just a matter of theory. But, diving deeper, I realized that real experience of relationships with clients and their reaction to each letter sent forms reliability and trust in my brand.

A story that happened to me can serve as a clear example. I was working on a marketing campaign for a small startup that had ambitious goals but no clear email marketing strategy. We sent emails too often, without taking into account feedback from subscribers, and after a few months we began to notice a sharp increase in unsubscribes. This was a wake-up call for us, as it seemed to me at the time. 🤔

As soon as I decided to change the approach, introducing a more gentle mailing schedule and conducted an analysis of the content that was sent. We even installed specialized software that helped analyze our activity. As it turns out, our domain was partially blocked on some platforms because the emails were too often perceived as spam. 😟

According to my observations , the process of forming a sender reputation includes several key aspects:

• 🔒 Email authentication: Setting up SPF and DKIM was done primarily to increase the trust in our emails.
• 📉 Mailing frequency: We moved to a schedule that matched the preferences of our subscribers. Promotions have become less frequent, but more meaningful.
• 📊 Content Analytics: Email content and links were tailored based on which topics and formats resonated best with people our audience.

Through all these steps, which took time, we were able to significantly reduce the number of failures. As if by magic, email open rates began to increase to 70%! 😲 It was a success that pleasantly surprised our team.

Experts in the field emphasize that engagement metrics such as open and click through rates are critical to reputation. By increasing subscriber participation, we saw how our reputation was restored and letters began to reach mailboxes and be opened without problems.

"Whatever your business, trust and reputation of the sender are not only important - they are vital to successful communication" - Larry Page, American programmer, developer and co-founder of the Google search engine.

Ultimately, every marketer should remember that sender reputation is about more than just algorithms. This is the story and emotions of your subscribers, which are built on interaction with your content.

Table: Steps to Building an Ideal Sender Reputation

By implementing these steps, every marketer can improve their chances of email success -marketing! Don't miss the opportunity to improve your sender reputation as it will open the door to better deliverability and customer engagement.

How authentication helps sender reputation

How many times has this occurred? bewilderment when a sent letter simply did not reach the addressee? This has happened to me more than once, and each time it entails additional questions. Why is this so? According to my observations, one of the key reasons was the sender's reputation, which directly depended on the authentication settings.

In my experience, it was important to understand how SPF, DKIM and DMARC can not not only to protect my reputation, but also to create a positive image for my email newsletters. At one point, a statistic caught my eye: more than 75% of unwanted emails were sent from addresses without authentication. This, by the way, made me want to understand this in more detail.

The miracle was not long in coming. Once, having decided to improve the efficiency of one of the projects, I registered in postmaster services such as Gmail and Yahoo mail. This turned out to be one of the best decisions in my entire professional career! Registering with these services automatically increased my reputation points by several points. It was as if I had added my address to a spammer blacklist and received a “pass” to a party of successful brands.

It was also important to summarize. Every week I checked the email deliverability statistics. And suddenly I discovered: my letters began to reach 95%! It was a real triumph! Like seeing a lighthouse in the stormy sea of email, I felt that my messages were now bringing value and joy to the recipients.

Not surprisingly, many marketers neglect these subtleties, believing that good email content makes up for all the shortcomings. But as my research has shown, content combined with proper authentication is the key to success. Setting up SPF, DKIM and DMARC has become mandatory rather than optional.

The experts' conclusions were immediate: "Authentication is not just a recommendation, it is your first line of defense in a brilliant world of email marketing,” a friend of mine, an experienced digital marketing specialist, once told me. I completely agree with her.

So if you want your sender reputation to be top notch, don't forget about authentication. This is not just a step towards protection. This is a step towards ensuring that your messages do not get lost in the vast expanses of your customers' inboxes.

Don't wait for revelations, go to action!

Analysis of sender reputation decline

In my work experience There was one situation with email that I will never forget. I remember how in one of my campaigns I decided to update my subscriber base by uploading a new list of addresses about the origin of which I did not have enough information. At first it seemed like a good move: my email open rates increased and I felt like I was on top of my game. But soon the realization came that something strange had happened.

Judging by reports from the email provider, the percentage of complaints and unsubscribes has increased several times . This came as a shock to me. I began to analyze my actions, replaying in my head all the steps that led to this catastrophic drop in my sender rating.

• Scandals: How could I make such a mistake? I changed the subject of my emails from fishing information to skin care products without having a clear plan for the old audience. This was a calculated decision, however, changing the topic without prior notice to subscribers caused a lot of dissatisfaction. "Why are you suddenly writing about something else?" - such comments began to come from different sides.

An important point that I realized: you need to analyze your target audience and their expectations . It's like the crew of a ship that suddenly changes course without informing the captain. I used CRM analysis data and reports from email providers often, but not always thoughtfully.

So I revised my approach:

1. Analysis of previous mailings: I started collecting data on how my last campaigns went. It became obvious that sudden changes in topics and list of subscribers could seriously affect my reputation.

2. Feedback: I decided to contact my subscribers , asking them to share their opinions about the newsletters. The main thing they indicated was their desire to receive the information they initially signed up for.

3. Bug fixes: I decided I needed thoroughly clear your subscriber base of addresses that did not give an active response and return to the previous topic with the addition of new content that would meet the interests of all groups.

4. Contacting technical support: Ultimately, when, after analysis, I could not find a solution, I contacted the technical support of my email provider, in the hope that they could help me understand what exactly went wrong. They were very responsive and offered lots of advice.

So, each bottom line in the process led me to one important truth: maintaining a reputation is much easier than honoring it restore. To avoid getting into a similar situation, you need to pay a lot of attention to compiling and maintaining your subscriber base, as well as be attentive to feedback from them.

Remember that maintaining your sender reputation is like tending a garden: you need to take care of each plant to keep it thriving.

Steps that helped restore your reputation

Frequently asked questions on the topic: Sender Reputation

Thank you for reading and for becoming smarter! 🙌

Now that you've mastered the secrets of a perfect sender reputation, I'm sure you feel like a pro at this areas. Reputation isn't just a set of rules; it's your face in the email world. Every time you send a message, you are writing your success story. When designing your strategy, remember that honesty and integrity always lead to better results. Share your successes and difficulties and together we will create a space for purity and trust. I'm waiting for your comments! 💬