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Having a conversation about email deliverability tends to involve loaded words like ROI, complaints, reputation and engagement. But what does it really mean? Last week we started to examine this by looking at a list of great tactics for ensuring deliverability.

Today let’s look closely at complaints. Unfortunately, many of the complaints that you receive will arrive in the form of spam clicks. Those are reported directly to the receiving server and there’s not really anything you can do to find out why. A lucky few will get complaints that come directly to them, and while it’s not the fan mail you’d like to receive, it might be more valuable.The one place where you can regularly gather a little information is on unsubscribes. Those polite readers who play by the rules and unsubscribe themselves when they are no longer interested in your content may be willing to check a box or type a few words on why they are leaving. *

Reducing Complaints

Manage your registration process. Make sure you are using a double opt-in to ensure that everyone you send to knows that they are on the list.

Send a welcome newsletter - this is a third tier of opting-in. It lets people know what they can expect from your newsletter. It’s also a great opportunity to engage them and show how valuable your content is.

Always respect unsubscribes.  Make it easy to unsubscribe and never, ever send to someone who has opted out.

Utilize solid branding to ensure recognition. Make sure that your newsletter is consistent in appearance, including the sender name and any brand identification that you use (logos, color schemes, etc).

Keep an eye out for how reader engagement changes base on the type of content you send. Knowing how your content affects reader behavior is an empowering place to be.

If you conduct outreach and get complaints when you start sending to your new list, be prepared to drop the whole list.

Unsubscribes and complaints are part of the email marketing experience and have a lot to teach us about how we are marketing and what type of content drives reader engagement.  The more you learn, the more effective you’ll be. 

*MNB users can create this page on their own and link to it as the Unsubscribe URL.