Email deliverability ensures your emails reach your intended recipients’ inboxes. If your emails aren’t delivered, your marketing efforts are essentially wasted. This not only diminishes your campaign’s effectiveness but can also damage your brand’s reputation and reduce trust with your audience. This blog focuses on common mistakes you often make in Eloqua email deliverability, which can harm your email deliverability. By avoiding these pitfalls, you can improve your chances of getting your emails in front of your audience, boosting engagement, and driving better results for your business.
8 Eloqua Email Deliverability Mistakes to Avoid:
1. Neglecting List Hygiene:
Keeping your email lists clean is one of the most important things you can do to ensure good email deliverability. List hygiene means regularly checking and updating your email lists to remove invalid or inactive email addresses.
Sending to invalid or inactive addresses can lead to high bounce rates, which signals to email service providers that you might be sending spam. This can result in your emails being blocked or sent straight to the spam folder, even for people who do want to hear from you.
To maintain a clean email list, make sure to:
- Remove bounced emails: If an email bounces, it means the address is no longer valid. Regularly remove these addresses from your list.
- Suppress unengaged contacts: If someone hasn’t opened or clicked on your emails in a while, consider moving them to a re-engagement campaign or removing them from your list.
- Use double opt-in: After someone signs up, they receive a confirmation email to ensure their address is valid and they want to receive your emails.
2. Ignoring Email Authentication Protocols:
Email authentication is a way to prove that your emails come from a legitimate source. The three main protocols you need to know about are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): SPF ensures that only approved servers can send emails on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM attaches a digital signature to your emails, ensuring they haven’t been altered.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): DMARC builds on SPF and DKIM, helping you set rules for handling unauthorized emails and providing reports on email activity.
To set up and test authentication in Eloqua:
- Work with your IT team to configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records in your domain’s DNS settings.
- Use Eloqua’s tools or third-party services to test your email authentication setup.
- Regularly review reports and adjust as needed to ensure ongoing compliance.
3. Overlooking Segmentation and Personalization:
Sending the same generic email to everyone on your list can lead to poor engagement and even unsubscribes. People are more likely to engage with content that feels relevant to them.
By using segmentation, you can divide your audience into smaller groups based on criteria like demographics, behavior, or purchase history. This allows you to send targeted messages more likely to resonate with each group.
In Eloqua, you can easily create segments based on various data points. Personalization goes a step further by tailoring content within emails to individual recipients, making your messages feel more personalized and relevant.
4. Sending from Inconsistent or Unknown Domains:
Your sending domain is the part of the email address that comes after the “@” symbol. It’s important to use a consistent and recognizable domain so that recipients know the email comes from a trusted source.
Using multiple or random domains can confuse recipients and reduce trust, leading to lower open rates and more emails marked as spam.
Best practices for domain reputation management in Eloqua include:
- Always use your company’s primary domain or a well-known subdomain.
- Avoid using free email domains (like Gmail or Yahoo) for business communications.
- Monitor your domain’s reputation regularly and adjust if you notice any issues.
5. Ignoring Engagement Metrics:
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) like Gmail or Yahoo track how people interact with your emails—whether they open them, click on links, or mark them as spam. These engagement metrics play a major role in determining if your future emails will be delivered to the inbox or sent to spam.
To improve engagement rates using Eloqua’s analytics:
- Monitor essential metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes.
- Test different subject lines, send times, and content to see what resonates with your audience.
- Use re-engagement campaigns to win back the attention of inactive subscribers.
6. Failing to Test Before Sending:
Testing your emails before sending them out is crucial to catching any issues that could hurt deliverability. This might include broken links, incorrect personalization, or formatting problems.
Eloqua offers various tools to help you test your emails:
- Preview and test send: Check how your email will look in different email clients and devices.
- Spam filter tests: See if spam filters will likely flag your email.
After testing, review the results and make any necessary changes before emailing your entire list.
7. Overloading Emails with Too Much Content or Media:
Emails that are too heavy with content, images, or media can trigger spam filters, especially if they take too long to load. A cluttered email can also overwhelm recipients, making them less likely to engage.
To avoid this:
- Keep your emails concise, with a clear and focused message.
- Use images thoughtfully and make sure they are optimized to load quickly.
- Test your email’s load time and adjust content if necessary.
8. Not Monitoring Your Sender Reputation:
Your sender reputation is like a credit score for your email address. It measures your emails’ trustworthiness based on bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement levels. A poor sender reputation can lead to your emails being blocked or sent to spam folders.
Eloqua offers tools to help you monitor and protect your sender reputation:
- Regularly check your bounce and complaint rates.
- Keep an eye on engagement metrics to ensure your emails are well-received.
- Address any issues immediately to prevent further damage to your reputation.
If your sender’s reputation suffers, improve it by cleaning your email list, improving content relevance, and re-engaging your audience.
Conclusion:
Deliverability isn’t a one-time task; it’s a continuous process. Regularly monitoring and adjusting your performance will help you stay on top of any issues and ensure that your emails consistently reach the inbox.
Now is the time to act. Audit your current email practices in Eloqua, identify any areas that need improvement, and make the necessary changes to boost your email deliverability. By doing so, you’ll maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts and achieve better results for your business.
Avoid Eloqua Email Deliverability Mistakes and increase inbox placement!
Are you looking to improve your email deliverability and achieve higher inbox placement in Eloqua? The Marmato digital team is here to help. Our experts can work with you to optimize your email campaigns, clean up your lists, and implement best practices that ensure your emails reach your audience. Let us help you maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts. Contact us today to start boosting your deliverability and driving better results.
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