Naturally, you think, “How did this happen to a reputable brand?” and “What did they do to deserve this treatment?”. But if this is the first time you hear from a brand and you see their email in the spam folder, it’s probably not very likely you’ll purchase from them.
Today, we talk about email deliverability and how it affects not only your revenue as a business but also the thoughts of your recipients.
The psychological impact of poor email deliverability on customers
Poor email deliverability can affect customers more than just seeing your message in their spam folders.
For example, if they see your message there instead of the primary inbox, they may consider you unreliable as a brand. As a result, they may not leave you their payment information when they place an order.
Second, your engagement rates may drop off, including opens, click-throughs and conversions. If you’re not worthy of the primary inbox, what makes you deserving of an email being opened or clicked through?
Next, customers view email as a time-sensitive channel. If you’re in spam, you’re not in time for the primary inbox. You’re not perceived as relevant if they see your Black Friday campaign after Christmas.
How email deliverability directly affects revenue (with data)
Poor email deliverability and sender reputation are not just imaginary values that make sense to email marketers alone. They matter for email service providers, and they directly impact if you can make it to the recipient’s inbox with your email program.
Revenue loss from reduced inbox placement
Let’s look at a hypothetical situation where you send out 100,000 emails in a campaign, which is not uncommon for many email senders.
Your conversion rate is 2% (industry research actually shows 3.01% for click-through rates), and your average order value is $50.
If your email deliverability is 95%, you’ll deliver 95,000 emails with 1,900 conversions, leading to $95,000 in revenue.
If your email deliverability is 80%, you’ll deliver 80,000 emails with 1,600 conversions, leading to $80,000 in revenue.
Or, you’ll lose $15,000 in revenue from one campaign with a 15% drop in email deliverability. As you can see, poor deliverability literally drains your money.
Long-term impact on customer lifetime value (CLV)
Let’s put that one campaign aside and think of the long-term strategy. When someone signs up for one of your email lists, they become a potential repeat customer.
If mailbox providers put you in the spam box, this reduces the number of your touchpoints. In turn, this reduces engagements, and you’ll have fewer purchases and lower customer lifetime value.
For example, one research showed that customers who read three or more welcome emails spent 62% more than those who read no welcome emails.
In other words, email deliverability spans beyond a singular campaign and impacts your entire lifetime value.
Missed opportunities for reactivation
Reactivation or reengagement emails are an email marketing staple. The principle is simple: send out a blast to customers you may have potentially lost somewhere along the funnel, win them back, and take their money with a reactivation campaign.
According to a study by Return Path, the average read rate for win-back emails is approximately 12%. However, it’s noteworthy that 45% of subscribers who don’t engage with the initial reactivation email may interact with subsequent messages.
So, the reactivation emails on their own have low visibility. But if your sender reputation with email service providers is poor, it gets even worse.
Five key factors linking email deliverability to revenue
Good email deliverability leads to an increase in revenue. When spam complaints start coming in and internet service providers label you as a spammer, your revenue plummets as well. These are the five key factors that tie deliverability metrics and revenue.
Inbox placement → Engagement → Conversion
Research shows that 21% of all marketing emails don’t pass the spam filters and head straight to the spam folder. Research from a competitor of ours shows that only 75% of people open their spam folders. 27% of the respondents in that research open their spam folders just a few times per year.
Do the math: if people don’t see your emails, they don’t engage with them and naturally, they don’t convert. A low email deliverability directly impacts conversions and revenue.
Spam placement erodes brand value
Did you know that in 2023, 45% of all emails sent in the world were spam?
This means you’ll be labeled less trustworthy by default if you’re in this unlucky group. You’ll be lumped with free domain email addresses and phishing attempts.
In short, improving email deliverability will give you a boost in brand reputation that immediately reflects on revenue.
Clean lists = better targeting and revenue
A clean email list can improve your email deliverability by as much as 97%. The logic is simple: a clean list consists of real people and legitimate recipients with proper addresses.
If you’re sending emails to outdated and invalid addresses, spam traps and catch-all addresses, you’re not going to see an increase in revenue from your email program. You’ll just waste money sending content to non-existent addresses.
Trust drives higher order value
According to Trust Report, 44% of consumers globally spend at least $500 with brands they trust most. A good sender reputation is merely a portion of your overall brand reputation, but it adds up.
Having great email delivery shows that your brand spends time and money on email communication and is a good signal for overall brand trust.
Deliverability affects email ROI
The average return on investment for email campaigns is $36 for every dollar spent, according to Hubspot. But all of that ROI hinges on your ability to bypass the spam filters and land in the primary inbox.
In other words, if your emails are not getting delivered, you don’t get the ROI. A study by Mailgun shows that improving your inbox placement and email deliverability can shoot up your email ROI by as much as 20%.
Strategies to protect deliverability and revenue
If you’ve had one too many spam complaints and inbox providers are not in love with you, there is good news. Email deliverability and sender reputation can be fixed with actionable steps.
Short-term fixes
First, check your domain based message authentication settings. Make sure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are properly configured. These protocols help verify your content and prevent incoming emails from being flagged as spam in your recipients’ inboxes.
Next, pay attention to your email marketing content. Avoid using spam trigger words like “free,” “urgent,” or “limited time offer” in your subject lines and body text. These phrases are often flagged by spam filters and can hurt your chances of landing in the inbox.
Last but not least, make sure to add an unsubscribe link, as this can not only harm your sender reputation but also get you in trouble with the law.
Long-term strategies
Start by regularly cleaning and segmenting your email lists with a tool such as Bouncer. Remove inactive or unengaged contacts to keep your engagement rates high. A well-maintained list ensures your emails are reaching people who actually want to hear from you, which improves deliverability over time.
Another important step is to gradually warm up any new sending domains or IP addresses. Sending a high volume of emails right away can raise red flags with email providers and hurt your deliverability. Instead, slowly increase your sending volume to build trust and avoid penalties.
Psychological strategy
Building trust with your audience is key to improving email engagement, and personalization is a an excellent way to do this.
When your content feels tailored to the recipient, it shows that you understand their needs and value their relationship. Use personalization techniques like addressing recipients by name, referencing their past interactions, or offering recommendations based on their preferences.
This approach strengthens the connection between your brand and the customer and creates a sense of loyalty. By making your emails feel personal and relevant, you foster trust and encourage recipients to engage with your messages consistently.
Email deliverability is revenue’s silent partner
Email deliverability is not just the number of emails that reach the primary inbox. When you’re there (instead of spam), it impacts the perception that customers have about your marketing efforts and your brand as a whole.
Every email that doesn’t make it is not just a technical glitch. It’s a lost connection, a missed sale, and a hit to your bottom line. But the good news is that it can be prevented and you can take steps towards that goal today.
With Bouncer, you can verify your lists in minutes and only send emails to verified addresses of real people. Verify your first 100 emails for free and see why it’s worth it.
