How to troubleshoot sudden drops in email open rates for a large newsletter?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor emphasizes that regular email list cleaning should be done in order to remove inactive subscribers. This should improve deliverability by not sending to old addresses and spam traps.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that engagement might drop because of algorithm changes. Review subject lines, content, and sending frequency. A/B test different elements. Check deliverability using a tool such as GlockApps.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests checking statistics for generalized issues or issues over a specific recipient domain, checking domain and IP address reputation and blacklists, asking the ESP about the IP pool, and investigating changes in communications or marketing strategy.
Email marketer from Mailchimp responds that a sudden drop can be caused by changes in your sending habits, changes to email client algorithms, or a sudden increase in bounces or spam complaints. Segmenting and cleaning lists is key.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that segmenting subscribers based on their interests and behaviors helps increase open rates, as well as improve conversions, and reduce unsubscribe rates. When recipients receive highly targeted content that is relevant to their persona, they are more likely to engage.
Email marketer from NeilPatel.com explains that reasons for low open rates include not providing value to the customer, not writing great subject lines, sending emails at the wrong time, sending emails too frequently, and not segmenting your email list. Suggests list cleaning and segmentation.
Email marketer from Litmus explains how the email authentication process is important to ensure deliverability. Setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential to ensure that the email reaches the customer's inbox.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains the importance of list hygiene by removing unengaged subscribers and correcting any typos/errors. Monitor bounce rates to ensure email list health.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains how to improve email deliverability, and to check your sender reputation with Sender Score or ReputationAuthority. If your reputation is low, you will have difficulty reaching recipients' inboxes.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that domain reputation is crucial for deliverability and is affected by factors such as spam complaints, bounce rates, and engagement. Senders should monitor their domain reputation and take steps to improve it if it's low. They also advise ensuring the WHOIS records are accurate and up to date.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that participating in feedback loops (FBLs) is important for identifying and removing subscribers who mark emails as spam. Using FBLs helps improve deliverability and protect sender reputation by preventing future spam complaints.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that factors impacting email reputation include sender IP reputation, domain reputation, content quality, and complaint rates. Monitor these factors to diagnose deliverability problems.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests breaking down reporting by recipient domain to identify potential issues.
Expert from Spam Resource advises regularly cleaning your email lists to remove inactive subscribers and prevent sending to spam traps. They recommend implementing a confirmed opt-in process to ensure only engaged subscribers are added to the list.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from SendGrid shares that factors that can negatively impact deliverability include poor sender reputation, high bounce rates, spam complaints, lack of authentication, and sending to inactive or invalid email addresses. Suggests monitoring sender reputation and list hygiene.
Documentation from GlockApps explains how to use email testing tools to test deliverability by identifying the root cause of the problems and finding out if the emails are blocked, go to spam or promotions tab. This is done by sending the test emails to multiple seed accounts. A user can then analyze the reports and resolve issues.
Documentation from RFC Editor explains how to troubleshoot deliverability issues and that examining bounce codes often provides insight into problems. Look for common error codes to diagnose authentication failures, spam filtering, or invalid addresses.
Documentation from Google explains that sudden drops in open rates can be caused by authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), sending to unengaged users, or content triggering spam filters. They recommend using Postmaster Tools to monitor your domain reputation, spam rate, and feedback loop complaints to identify the root cause.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that senders can use the Microsoft Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) to monitor the health of their sending IP addresses. Also, they can use the Junk Email Reporting Program (JMRP) to see when users mark their messages as junk.