What are the best practices for sending a COVID-19 email to a large, unengaged list while preserving deliverability?

Email marketer from Reddit suggests that if you must send to a large, unengaged list, gradually warm up your IP address by slowly increasing the volume of emails you send over time. This helps build a positive sender reputation with ISPs.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if the sender has a dedicated IP address and follows up on the request, sending the email may be possible, but cautions about potential issues with contacting opt-outs and inactive recipients, leading to spam complaints, bounces, and filtering problems. Recommends segmenting/throttling the send.

Email marketer from Litmus shares A/B test your COVID-19 email's subject line, content, and send time to see what resonates best with your audience. This data-driven approach can help you optimize your email for deliverability and engagement.

Marketer from Email Geeks advises against sending a large COVID-19 email to 7 million recipients, warning that it will crush deliverability, IP reputation, and overall reputation due to a significant increase in unexpected mail and potential issues with list cleanliness, bounce rates, and spam complaints.

Email marketer from Email on Acid shares about during a crisis it's more important than ever to set expectations with subscribers about the types of emails they'll receive and how frequently. This transparency can help prevent recipients from marking your COVID-19 email as spam.

Email marketer from Neil Patel explains personalize your COVID-19 email to make it more relevant to recipients. Use data to tailor the message to their specific needs and interests, which can increase engagement and reduce the likelihood of spam complaints.

Email marketer from SuperOffice responds by Validating an email list will help improve deliverability, reduce bounce rates and improve your email marketing ROI. Using a list validation service removes invalid, fake, spam and inactive email addresses.

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that segmenting your email list into engaged and unengaged subscribers is key. Sending a COVID-19 email to an unengaged list could hurt your sender reputation, so focus on re-engaging those subscribers first through targeted campaigns.

Email marketer from Emfluence recommends carefully monitor your email metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaints, after sending your COVID-19 email. This data can help you identify and address any deliverability issues that may arise.

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares using double opt-in helps ensure that subscribers are genuinely interested in receiving your emails. This can improve your sender reputation and deliverability over time.

Marketer from Email Geeks advises to document the advice given, so if someone later asks what happened with the deliverability you can refer them back to the expert advice that was originally given.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains ensure your COVID-19 email provides genuine value to recipients. Offer helpful information, resources, or support to demonstrate your commitment to their well-being. This can improve engagement and prevent your email from being marked as spam.

Expert from Word to the Wise answers that you should not send emails, unless you have already agreed to do so with your audience (Managing Expectations).

Expert from Email Geeks suggests revalidating the entire list against a vendor like Kickbox as a precautionary measure, which could buy time and potentially make leadership more receptive to scaling back the target audience.

Expert from Email Geeks recommends starting with the most engaged segments and working backwards, being prepared to stop and modify the schedule if delivery is impacted. Suggests segmenting by recency (0-90 days, 91-180 days, etc.) and questions the necessity of sending to all 7 million people, particularly inactive users.

Expert from Email Geeks emphasizes the importance of providing value to the recipient, asking questions such as "What's in it for me? What do I need to know? Is there an action for me? Does it alter my life or my course in any way?" and urges against sending a COVID-19 email to 7 million people without clear purpose.

Expert from Email Geeks questions why there are 7 million email addresses that aren't being regularly emailed, highlighting that the deliverability issue is a symptom of a larger problem.

Expert from Email Geeks, supported by Steve Atkins, strongly advises against sending the email. Steve Atkins says “You don't need to send this mail. In fact, it'd be far, far better if you didn't, even before you get to deliverability.”

Expert from Word to the Wise advises focusing on providing valuable, factual information and avoiding marketing fluff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensure your message is relevant and genuinely helpful to your audience.

Documentation from Google explains that when sending bulk emails, including COVID-19 related information, it's important to adhere to their sender guidelines. These include authenticating your email, keeping complaint rates low, and making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe to preserve deliverability.

Documentation from SparkPost explains that use authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your email's authenticity. This helps ISPs trust your email and improves deliverability, especially when sending a COVID-19 email to a large, unengaged list.

Documentation from Microsoft explains to keep bounce rates low by cleaning your email lists regularly. Sending a COVID-19 email to a large, unengaged list may result in a high bounce rate, negatively impacting your sender reputation. Remove invalid or inactive email addresses before sending.

Documentation from Spamhaus explains that building a positive sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability. Monitor your sender reputation and take steps to address any issues that may arise.