You did all you could to improve your email marketing campaigns but still failed? Many email marketers have felt this way.
What’s the issue, then?
The source of your problem may lie in a low Email Quality Score.
Today we’re going to tell you what this metric is, why it matters, how to calculate it, and how you can improve it so you can finally achieve the results you want.
What Is the Email Quality Score?
Email Quality Score is a metric that determines the health and effectiveness of your email campaigns. This variable is used by Email Service Providers (ESPs) like Google, Bing, Outlook, and Yahoo!.
They analyze your email campaigns and give a numerical representation of various factors that impact your email reputation and deliverability.
Example:
A business meticulously curates its email campaigns. ESPs carefully examine many elements related to them, including clicks, opens, audience involvement, bounce rate, and unsubscribe rate.
After analyzing the emails, an Email Quality Score is determined, which shows whether the company is sending valuable and engaging correspondence. The score is assigned to their IP address and if it is a high one, the sender pushes out high-quality email content and avoids invalid email addresses.
How is the email quality score calculated?
Calculating the Email Quality Score involves several factors, like engagement, bounce rates, spam traps and how many you hit, unsubscribe rates, and content inside. It may look different as email service providers may calculate it based on different email metrics and then analyze these data points.
Here’s a breakdown:
Engagement rates – ESPs measure engagement quality, which includes open rates and click-through rates. The more users interact with your emails, the better quality score you can get.
Bounce rates – they also take into account a bounce rate. A high one will negatively affect your score health, so keep them as low as possible.
Email hygiene – another topic under review may be the hygiene of emails. Sending messages to disposable or outdated email addresses is a bad practice, so verify them regularly to increase the sender score.
Spam complaints – service providers keep an eye on your spam activity. So, you need to avoid every spam folder and use spam filters.
Unsubscribe rates – they also indicate if subscribers are not satisfied with your emails. A high unsubscribe rate is something you also must keep at a minimum to keep the email engagement high.
Content relevance – subject lines and information inside emails are crucial as well. These elements should be relevant and qualitative, so bet on personalized and valuable content.
Example:
A company uses a clean email list, regularly checks spam complaints and bounce rates, delivers messages to the correct email addresses, creates engaging content, cares about its subscribers, etc. This results in high open rates and minimal unsubscribe numbers. This firm can get a satisfactory Quality Score and gain many benefits.
Why does the email quality score matter?
Can an Email Quality Score impact my email performance and future email marketing campaigns?
Well, it will influence the performance of your whole email marketing strategy, not only one message.
This score can, among others, lead to better inbox placement and improve the sender’s reputation. But, if it’s low, it can cause your messages to be redirected to spam folders and have a negative impact on your overall marketing efforts.
But a good Email Quality Score can do more than that.
📨 Improve email deliverability
A high Email Quality Score contributes to improved email deliverability.
ESPs are more likely to route messages to recipients’ inboxes from senders with successful scores. This means that if your score is very good, your emails have a better chance of reaching the intended audience. They can avoid the spam folder and increase the overall effectiveness of your marketing.
🔥 Improve conversions
It also translates into better sales.
When your emails consistently provide value and resonate with subscribers, they raise the likelihood of conversions. No matter what your email campaign goal is – encouraging a purchase, sign-up, or any other desired action – interested recipients will respond to your call to action and boost your sales.
⭐ Improve sender reputation
That’s not all – if you get a satisfactory score, you establish your reputation as a sender with great email deliverability rates.
A strong email sender score indicates that your emails are landing in the right inboxes, and they don’t bounce back. This is crucial for sustaining a positive sender reputation and ensuring that your future email campaigns continue to enjoy great deliverability without encountering issues like delivery failures or being flagged as spam. Your email provider will ensure that more of your incoming emails land where they should.
💯 Build stronger relationships with your target audience
A good Email Quality Score can further build strong relationships.
It signifies that your audience finds your messages relevant, interesting, and valuable. Higher open rates, click-through rates, and lower unsubscribe rates are indicators of satisfied recipients. This involvement is fundamental to the success of ongoing marketing efforts and prepares the ground for further relationship expansion.
💰 Make email marketing ROI better
Ultimately, a high Email Quality Score contributes to a better ROI of your email program.
If your communications consistently reach active users, you can maximize sales opportunities without committing new resources. As a result, your marketing budget is utilized more efficiently. You perform better, too, and ensure that your email efforts are a valuable investment.
How to improve your Email Quality Score
Okay, now that you know why the Email Quality Score metric is so essential, it’s time for you to learn actionable strategies on how to boost it.
➡️ Validate your email lists
First, learn about email list validation, as it’s fundamental to maintaining a high Email Quality Score. In addition to the technical benefits, keeping your email list clean ensures that you are reaching real, engaged users. You remove disposable emails, spam traps, inactive emails and others, leaving you with a high-quality email list of authentic emails.
On the other hand, invalid or unverified addresses will not interact with the emails you send them. Thus, this protects you from the negative consequences of bouncing emails, as each rejection lowers deliverability and, over time, can lead to being marked as a spam sender and other potential issues.
Bouncer’s Email Checker employs sophisticated processes, including syntax verification, DNS, and MX record checks. But our doesn’t just stop at identifying invalid emails – it provides insights into the deliverability impact. By utilizing proprietary algorithms, Bouncer negotiates with SMTP servers to secure the most accurate results possible.
This means you not only check your list but also enhance your performance.
➡️ Create a seed list
Creating a seed list is a strategic move to catch and rectify any glitches before your email campaign goes live. This is not just about testing the visual appearance. The main goal is to ensure that your emails arrive where they should. So, discover how many emails recipients will get and how many might end up in the spam folder.
Bouncer Deliverability Kit takes the guesswork out of testing. It offers a comprehensive suite for assessing your email’s journey. From setting up tests to sending emails to automatically generated addresses, it offers a detailed report of your inbox placement results. The three-step process is simple yet powerful and allows you to monitor deliverability effectively.
With Bouncer, you gain actionable insights to refine and optimize your email campaigns.
➡️ Make sure there are no HTML errors
Your emails should be carefully crafted visual experiences. However, HTML errors can disrupt this experience, lead to rendering issues, and potentially damage your brand’s image.
The errors can manifest in various ways – misaligned images, broken links, or distorted formatting. They can contribute to your emails appearing unprofessional or, worse – triggering spam filters.
So yes, ensuring your messages are error-free is paramount for consistent communication.
Given that users gain more interest in visually appealing content, the aesthetic aspect of your emails directly influences engagement rates and, subsequently, your Email Quality Score.
➡️ Do not purchase or rent email lists
The allure of a ready-made email list can be tempting, but the risks of purchasing or renting far outweigh the benefits. Purchasing or renting email lists often means inheriting a host of issues. These lists typically contain outdated, invalid, or even fake email addresses.
When you send emails to such addresses, you are practically inviting bounces, unsubscribes, and, most damagingly, spam complaints. ⚠️
The negative consequences extend beyond the immediate campaign. ESPs track the performance of your emails, and a high bounce rate or spam complaints can tarnish your reputation.
And once your sender score takes a hit, it becomes an uphill battle to regain the trust of the mail server.
➡️ Split test different body copy and subject lines
What resonates with one segment of your audience might not have the same impact on another. Split testing, also known as A/B testing, is the strategic approach of experimenting with different elements of your emails to understand what works best for your readers. It is not a one-time effort but an ongoing plan.
Subject lines and body copy are the first things your recipients see. These elements play a pivotal role in capturing attention and encouraging opens. A compelling subject line can entice recipients to open the email, while engaging body copy keeps them reading and, ideally, clicking through.
By systematically testing different variations, you can choose the language and style that maximizes your audience’s attention. 💡
Boost your email deliverability with Bouncer
Maintaining a high Email Quality Score is essential for the success of your email marketing efforts. Thus, regularly monitor the common factors that influence this score and take proactive measures to optimize your campaigns for higher engagement and deliverability.
Bouncer is here to help with your Email Quality Score, deliverability rates, and sender reputation. With our tools and your potential, we can make the most of your email campaigns.
Enjoy validating email addresses and improve your email marketing success with us!
