1. Strengthened Domain Authentication

Key to these updates is the need for stricter domain authentication. This involves aligning with DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) and Sender Policy Framework (SPF) standards and adhering to Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC) policies. For optimal deliverability, senders should:

• Adopt verified domain identities, ensuring domain-aligned DKIM signatures.
• Configure a custom MAIL FROM domain for SPF alignment.
• Be strategic with subdomains, using different ones for various email types.
• Publish and regularly update DMARC policies.

2. Simplified Unsubscribe Mechanism

To further empower recipients, the new guidelines require a more straightforward unsubscribe process. This includes:

• Implementing one-click unsubscribe headers in emails.
• Ensuring the unsubscribe process is compliant and efficient, with requests honored within two days.
• Rethinking email list-building practices to avoid high spam complaint rates.

3. Proactive Spam Rate Monitoring

Maintaining low spam complaint rates is crucial. Monitoring and adjusting strategies based on recipient feedback will be essential in staying compliant with the new regulations.

Adapting to Change

These changes necessitate a shift in how email marketers approach their campaigns. It’s about balancing effective communication with respecting recipient preferences. By adhering to these best practices, marketers can improve their email deliverability and maintain a positive sender reputation.

Understanding the Changes

Gmail and Yahoo’s latest move aims to enhance inbox security and improve the email ecosystem. These changes include several best practices that have been long-standing in the industry but are now mandatory. It’s essential for businesses, especially bulk senders, to understand and adapt to these new requirements to ensure uninterrupted email delivery and maintain a good sender reputation.

Who will be affected by these new requirements?

Senders who dispatch a minimum of 5,000 emails per day.

When will these requirements be implemented?

These requirements are set to be implemented starting in February 2024.

Why do we recommend to fulfill these requirements in any case?

Email abuse is widespread in the world of electronic communication. Although mailbox providers strive tirelessly to protect their customers, it’s increasingly important for senders to share in this responsibility.

Balancing the recognition of legitimate senders while filtering out spam and phishing attempts from users’ inboxes poses a significant challenge.

Email Health Check

Starting in Mailster 3.3.13 we have implemented a simple check people can utilize to check their current email settings.

Read more about the Email Health Check on our knowledge base.

It’s not unusual for brands and businesses to invest in both options. Email campaigns reach people across multiple platforms and devices, while social media meets people where they are.

If you can only invest or spend time with one option, which is better? Should you create email campaigns, or would social media marketing provide superior results?

ROI Differences: Email Campaigns vs. Social Media Marketing

When gauging ROI for your marketing investments, it is essential to set some clear definitions first.

Do you want to focus on profits on top of all your investments, the click-through rate, or reactions vs. an open rate when comparing email to social media?

If you look at the overall performance of each investment, email provides superior results in all three categories.

• The average click-to-open rate for a high-performance email campaign is at least 20%.
• Most email marketing efforts achieve an email open rate of at least 15%.
• The click-through rate (CTR) for WordPress email marketing is about 2.5%.

When investing in social media marketing, you’ll find a CTR as low as 0.07% on some platforms. That’s because your money is being spent to reach potential prospects that don’t know anything about who you are.

An email marketing list is filled with people who gave you their information to become part of your subscriber network. They know about your brand and want to stay connected with you.

From a monetary view, the average email generates around $40 for every $1 spent on it. Social media marketing still creates a profit, but the ROI is closer to $1.28 for every $1 spent.

Audience Reach Differences: Email Campaigns vs. Social Media Marketing

About the same number of people use email and social media today. That provides you with a total potential audience of about three to four billion people globally.

Email and social media have similar problems when reaching out to an audience. You don’t know if the account is confirmed, duplicated, or fake.

That means a better measurement of audience reach is to look at the organic results that come from these two marketing investments.

People typically check their email more often than they review social media notifications. About 58% of people check their messages first in the morning, before checking on Facebook, searching for information on Google, or looking up a weather forecast.

Nearly 90% of people with at least one email account check their inbox at least once per day.

Social media algorithms are meant to maximize revenues and encourage marketing investments. Roughly 5% of people in the average fan base will see what gets posted organically. WordPress email marketing doesn’t have the same “pay to play” requirement.

The only disadvantage of an email campaign here is that you can reach people you haven’t already acquired.

Email lets you turn warm prospects into customers. Social media marketing provides a path that can convert strangers into leads.

Going Viral Differences: Email Campaigns vs. Social Medial Marketing

Emails and social media posts both have opportunities to go viral. Someone can send your outreach efforts to their network using either methodology.

Here is the one place where social media marketing could have an advantage. Many email servers are designed to prohibit spam and junk mail from being sent and received.

Social media posts don’t have restrictions to a specific follower network. When someone shares content, it gets seen by some of that person’s network. Others can share it directly from your page or indirectly from another account.

Emails can be forwarded or copied and pasted to be sent elsewhere, but the network reach for this sharing option is quite limited. It also relies on other people opening the message, whereas social media displays shared content right to each person’s news feed.

Although going viral isn’t for everyone, the results can completely change how a brand is perceived by the public. It delivers credibility through social connections, whereas WordPress email marketing creates the same result through transparent displays of your expertise.

Email doesn’t have the power of virality, but it does generate consistent responses from your targeted audience. If you want predictability, this option has more benefits.

Targeting and Security: Email Campaigns vs. Social Media Marketing

Email beats social media for security without question. You’re the one who owns the email list, which means there isn’t a mechanism to have it taken from you. Although the platform you use could close, the addresses in your possession can transfer to another provider.

If you have a social media page, you’re at the whim of the platform. Your entire network can disappear instantly if it stops functioning or believes you’ve violated a policy. Many accounts have lost millions of followers because of information they posted that was deemed to break one of the rules.

Targeting is another component of marketing that gets overlooked today. Emails allow brands and businesses to segment lists in virtually any way to reach a particular demographic.

Paid social media ads provide sophisticated controllers and choices to limit who sees your promotion, but organic posts have virtually no targeting potential at all.

When you want to have more control over who sees your posts, an email campaign is the best solution.

Content Perception: Email Campaigns vs. Social Media Marketing

People use emails and social media for business and personal needs. Depending on your specific industry, services, or products, either choice can deliver a distinctive edge that sets you apart from a competitor.

When looking at how people use these two communication mediums, email tends to be geared toward business and social media for personal needs.

That means, from a marketing perspective, it’s better to treat a social media investment as a way to connect with your audience. You can reserve email campaigns for those direct pushes that bring people to your products or services.

Since everyone on your email marketing list opted in to receive communications from your business, they’re less likely to become annoyed by a sales pitch. That doesn’t mean every message you send should try to sell something, but it does allow for more sales opportunities.

People subscribed to newsletters and email lists to receive valuable content. When you can offer this resource while sprinkling in the occasional offer, you’ll start a good conversation with your customer base that can often lead to more sales opportunities.

Gains and Losses: Email Campaigns vs. Social Media Marketing

Email and social media are about equal here with this comparison point. Both mediums provide mechanisms for people to unsubscribe from posts and lists.

An email campaign has a slight advantage because unsubscribing takes slightly more effort than social media for the average person to complete.

When you scroll to the bottom of an email message, there’s some form of this comment: “If you no longer wish to receive messages from us, you can unsubscribe at any time.”

After clicking the unsubscribe button, you’re taken to a new page that confirms the information. Some providers allow people to resubscribe if an accidental click occurs, preserving the data from the list.

When you want to remove information from a social media news feed, you have the option to ignore it for 30 days. That means you don’t know who is seeing your messages as a brand. You could be sending content out to no one, and the only way you’d see it is through reduced interactions or changes in traffic metrics.

The goal here is to be as open and honest as possible. If you provide transparent mechanisms for reducing or eliminating contact points, staying in contact with the people who want to connect with your brand and business is more manageable.

Additional Pros and Cons of Email Marketing

When you approach WordPress email marketing or another platform’s options, you’ll find that this investment offers a few more advantages and disadvantages to consider.

Here’s a closer look to help determine if this option is the best idea for your brand and business today.

Additional Pros and Cons of Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing puts your value proposition in front of an audience where interactions are strongly encouraged. You can connect with people even when they haven’t heard of your brand and business.

Instead of using emails, some companies might find these additional pros and cons of social media marketing to be valuable.

Email Campaigns vs. Social Media Marketing: Where Should I Invest My Money Today?

Most companies use a combination of email and social media marketing to drive results. These resources often work with search engine optimization to generate organic attention while generating more brand awareness.

There isn’t a specific solution that works for everyone.

When looking at the specifics of each solution, email campaigns come out ahead because of their versatility, affordability, and customization. You can segment messages to connect with specific audiences while providing valuable information to encourage readers to want more.

People also tend to be more receptive to trusted brands in their inbox than in a news feed.

If your business hasn’t tried an email campaign, now is the perfect time to consider this option. When you combine the best email marketing software for agencies with each message’s benefits, it often becomes easier to reach your brand’s goals.

Once you’ve created an established email marketing list, your messages can generate more leads, build relationships, and formalize sales funnels.

The best way to start this process is to send different marketing emails to your subscribers. By varying the information delivered, more value gets added to this relationship.

That extra value is what often leads to more transactions.

Why Are Different Email Types Required for Small Business Communication?

While collecting email addresses is an essential part of this marketing effort, delivering something valuable to each recipient is crucial. Without the brand expertise associations from this messaging, a competitor always has a foot in the door.

By sending different marketing emails to active subscriber lists, you’re eliminating the risk of boredom while creating inspirational moments. That combination keeps people engaged.

If you’re ready to demonstrate that you’re prepared to deliver exceptional experiences as a small business, these emails are the ones to include with each outreach effort.

What Are the 7 Marketing Emails That Small Businesses Need?

Mixing different email content types when reaching out to readers and subscribers encourages engagement. Differentiated content stands out from the competition, fosters relationships, and creates anticipation for each message.

Here are the seven marketing emails all small businesses should start perfecting today.

1. Welcome Emails

The welcome email is sent to new subscribers after they sign up or opt into your email list. It’s one of the most common messages that consumers see because we all know good manners are essential to the relationship-building process.

This marketing email serves a second function. It’s also a way to formally introduce a brand to new leads.

Since the open rate for welcome emails is typically higher than other messages, the goal should be to create an attractive and informative message that delivers a positive first impression. The following information items should be included as part of the content.

• Greet each new subscriber personally and with as much individualism as possible.
• Give the reader an idea of what to expect from your small business in future emails.
• Highlight the best features of your products or services while offering instructions on how to interact with your brand in the best way.

People wouldn’t sign up for an email marketing list if they had no interest in what a small business offered. The purpose of this message is to reinforce the decision the reader made to join your community.

2. Promotional Messages

Many people sign up to receive emails because they want access to exclusive promotions and discounts.

Although you don’t want to send a sales pitch with every message, it can be helpful to deliver occasional promotional messages that provide this valuable resource.

The goal of this email type is to motivate subscribers to buy something from your small business. It’s nice to have an extensive subscriber list, but it’s even better when you can turn them into paying customers!

Many small businesses make the mistake of sending an email blast to everyone on a list when using this message. It’s a “the more, the merrier” attitude that does more harm than good in most situations.

It is critical to segment the email recipients on your list. When the promotional messaging is personalized based on identified needs and preferences, it’s much easier to achieve a higher conversion rate from each effort.

The best email marketing strategy for this message type is to be as specific as possible. Be clear about your goals and the value offered to each reader in return.

3. Newsletters

This email type is a popular option for small businesses because it delivers valuable information in a template that’s easy to read and understand. It usually contains the latest info about a blog, the company, product updates, and anything else that subscribers might consider valuable.

Newsletters allow a small business to stay in regular contact with its readership. By incorporating links to social media, blogs, and more, it’s possible to use this email type to boost traffic in other directions.

The key to a successful newsletter email is to create well-structured and engaging content. These steps can help to make that result happen.

• Define your content goals. How will you measure success with a newsletter? Do you want a specific open rate, or are you trying to push your conversion rate higher?
• Understand the audience. Content is only valuable when the readers find something of interest in the material. The newsletter needs to connect with enough people in the right way, which means you must understand how each demographic will view the material. Someone who works as an executive above the age of 55 might see the information sent in a different way than a 19-year-old college student.
• Focus on keywords. Even though an email campaign isn’t focused on optimization, readers still have mental triggers when they see specific words or phrases. These prompts can help keep people engaged, provide a call to action, or encourage more brand research.

When composing a newsletter email, it helps to create an outline of what you want to convey. Review at least three critical needs, incorporate your top terms, and then think about how that information can meet the reader’s expectations.

4. Announcement Emails

Some emails can function as a press release when sent to your various lists. It’s an excellent way to introduce a new product or service from your small business.

Don’t reserve this email type for that function alone. If your current products or services are getting an update, you can send out this message to encourage more interaction. It can even be a way to promote a new event your small business is hosting.

Some companies even use announcement emails to talk about their charitable donations, community volunteerism, or the great things their employees are doing.

The key to a successful announcement email is to keep it as simple as possible. You want the messaging to convey excitement about what is happening.

That process begins by clearly stating the announcement in the email’s subject line. You can follow it up with a brief description of the new product or service – or info about the upcoming event.

When structured correctly, an announcement email fulfills the value propositions promised to readers when they subscribed or opted into your list initially. It ensures a small business keeps its branding at the top of the mind and builds more relationship connections.

5. Lead Nurturing Emails

Some people on your email marketing lists have already become customers. When you send out a lead nurturing message to this audience segment, the goal should be to reinforce your small business’s value. Those consistent reminders encourage the reader to keep coming back to you whenever they need what you provide.

Others on your email marketing lists haven’t purchased anything from your small business yet. For this audience segment, the goal is to inspire the reader to buy something by reinforcing your products or services’ value.

Can you see how sending out one message or the other to everyone doesn’t make much sense? If someone already understands the value that your small business provides, you don’t need to convince them a second time!

This email type gives small businesses a chance to optimize their lead nurturing strategy. It works in conjunction with the following ideas to continue the engagement-building process until those readers become customers.

• Host educational webinars. Most leads are at a stage where education and information are necessary to reach a purchasing decision. Although the best lead engagement tactic is to host an in-person event, that option isn’t practical through email marketing. The best alternative is to host a webinar that guides each targeted audience segment through your sales funnels.
• Use multiple channels. Email marketing might nurture 60% of your leads. That leaves the other 40% thinking that you don’t care about them. Instead of letting them delete your messages or decide to unsubscribe, use different channels to keep them engaged. Social medial promotions, retargeted ads, and other strategies can be quite effective.
• Automate the process when possible. Lead nurturing doesn’t need to be a complicated task. You can create emails that trigger whenever people take specific actions, such as a thank you note whenever a download or purchase occurs. If someone abandons a cart, a quick reminder could bring that person back.

6. Special Occasion Emails

Many small businesses confuse this email type with their announcement emails. If you’re hosting a semi-annual sale, that isn’t a special occasion.

This email type should be reserved to celebrate the milestones of your small business. If you’ve hit a specific number of followers on social media, made it to a special anniversary, or want to celebrate a holiday, you’ve got something to share in this category.

Instead of focusing on your small business only with this email type, try to put the focus on each customer. If you know when their birthday is, consider sending them a note with your well wishes and an exclusive discount.

If someone has been a customer with your small business for five years, that’d be something else to celebrate with a special occasion email.

The difference between this option and the announcement email is the celebratory spirit that serves as the content’s foundation. It should make the reader feel important and special.

When you can accomplish that goal, it can differentiate your small business from the competition.

7. Transactional Emails

The transactional email is the message that gets triggered when a subscriber completes a specific action. Technically, a welcome email fits into this category because it gets sent to a reader after signing up to receive this information.

Although transactional emails seem boring or dull, they can be valuable because of the reminders they offer. Imagine that one of your leads signed up for a free trial of your services, but they didn’t find the experience as appealing as they’d hoped it would be.

By sending an email reminder that the free trial is about to expire, you’re communicating to the individual that your small business cares about them more than your profit margin. Even though you might lose a little revenue, that one message might trigger a positive word-of-mouth referral that brings another lead in your direction.

Some of the most common transactional emails small businesses send can include payment notifications, subscription confirmations, and account changes.

The objective of this email type is to deliver required information to the individual. Since most people anticipate these messages, the click-through rate tends to be relatively high. That means you get more brand engagement, which can eventually lead to more sales opportunities.

Is Your Small Business Engaging Appropriately Through Email?

Imagine that someone is interested in what your small business offers. When that person signs up for your email marketing list, there’s an expectation that you’ll provide them with something valuable in exchange for some personal information.

That exchange is a transaction that starts to build trust. If your emails don’t deliver something valuable, it won’t take long for that person to unsubscribe.

The best emails are individualized, adaptable, and focused on creating a valuable experience. Instead of focusing on your business, think about what the reader wants to gain by interacting with each email type.

You can educate readers about your products or services by helping them complete the onboarding process through a welcome email sequence.

With regular newsletters, your small business can inform potential customers about industry updates or company-related information.

You can even use emails to engage leads that have become inactive for various reasons. Each message has a specific purpose. That’s why understanding the different types is a critical part of every email marketing campaign. You can focus on the core details of each outreach effort to ensure each reader understands the value your small business offers. 

Organically grow your email list.

If you grow your email list organically, the chances for your email addresses to be valid are higher. With an organically grown list you reach people who really are interested in your product. Engagement will be higher than with a bought list.

Personalize your emails.

Personalized emails are more relevant to subscribers than generic ones. They are directly targeted at the subscribers, they address them by their names and introduce them to offers that are relevant to their interests.

Use email marketing automation.

Automatic email campaigns are set up once, then they automatically send emails to your subscribers when they meet a certain trigger. They reach subscribers at an optimized time and are highly relevant to them. So they are opened and clicked more frequently than generic emails.

Provide good copy with correct spelling.

You strengthen your credibility when you write good, interesting texts and get grammar and spelling right.

Send email at the right time – keep users’ time zones in mind.

Good times for sending emails are 10 am, when people arrived at the workplace, or at around 1 pm, when they check their emails after lunch. 23 % of all emails are opened in the first hour after delivery. After 24 hours, the chance that an email will be opened drops to 1 %! So make sure you take your subscribers´ time zones into consideration!

Don’t talk about your service too much.

Do not turn your email into a sales pitch. Instead, show your subscribers what you can offer them and provide them with relevant news and information.

Don’t buy an email list.

Buying an email list doesn’t bring your business forward. Your emails won’t reach people who are really interested in your product or service.

Don’t send out emails that aren’t personalized.

Customers do not appreciate emails that don’t deliver content that is personalized for them. Personalization increases the chances that your emails are opened by 26 %.

Never send out emails that do not have a preheader text.

The preheader text is the short summary text that follows the subject line when viewing an email from the inbox. It tells your subscribers what the email is about and gives them a reason to open it.

Don’t send out emails to all your subscribers at the same time.

23 % of all emails are opened in the first hour after delivery. Take your subscribers’ time zones into consideration and make sure they are awake when your email is delivered.

The only problem with email marketing is that the competition levels in that space are high. Almost everyone who invests in this area is publishing newsletters on a frequent schedule.

You probably see this fact first-hand with your inbox daily. Most consumers receive a dozen or more promotional emails daily.

That’s why knowing when to send a newsletter is as crucial as the content sent to the email marketing list. Here is a review of the most recent trends so that you can develop a more successful framework.

Best Practices to Follow for Sending Newsletters

Although specific locations and industries can offer alternative ideas, these best practices are meant for those with generalized marketing needs.

1. Tuesday and Thursday Are Best for Weekly Newsletters

These two days tend to work better across all industries if you want to achieve a high open rate. People tend to click more on Tuesdays, but they often spend more on Thursdays. That means you might consider offering value-based content on the first day while providing a call-to-action button on the second.

2. The Best Time to Send Newsletters Is 8 AM

Most people start their day by checking their inboxes. If your newsletter is already there, you’ll have an excellent chance to connect with a possible customer. The two other times to consider for high CTR are during the lunch hour and between 4-5 PM.

When you have customers in different time zones, it helps to have a WordPress plugin that can send messages automatically at the appropriate times. Some CRMs also provide this feature.

If you don’t have access to these scheduling resources, you’ll want to select an average time when the most subscribers can engage with your content.

3. Weekends Have Low Open Rates

Although some industries see high open rates during the weekend, most businesses find that Sunday is the worst day of the week to send a newsletter. Even though it can be waiting in the Monday morning inbox, it is more likely to be deleted than opened at that time.

If your composition time falls outside of the traditional workweek, it helps to schedule your outreach efforts when the delivery will see more readers.

Why Is the Email Delivery Time Crucial to Consider?

About one-quarter of all emails get opened within an hour of delivery. That means the best time to get in touch with a subscriber list is when you know they’ll be in front of the computer or checking their mobile device.

It’s more tempting for subscribers to open a newsletter when they see it arrive.

That’s why Tuesdays and Thursdays are the best days to send this email, especially at 8 AM, lunch, or the final hour of the workday. You’re more likely to achieve real-time contacts.

Please remember that this information is for a generalized audience. You might find that Monday afternoon or Saturday morning is better based on your subscribers and industry. If you know your audience, it’ll be much easier to discover the best time to send a newsletter.