What is the best practice for gaining new customers from a partner using email?

Summary

Gaining new customers via email partnerships requires a multifaceted approach encompassing legal compliance, technical configurations, and audience engagement strategies. Prioritize obtaining explicit opt-in consent over opt-out methods, ensuring lists are genuinely interested and compliant with regulations like GDPR and CAN-SPAM. Understand and adhere to jurisdictional laws related to email marketing. Implement technical measures such as SPF and DMARC to authenticate emails and protect your domain's reputation. Ensure data is thoroughly cleansed, validated, and managed with care, treating partner data with the same diligence as your own, including fixing errors and removing spam traps. Craft clear and transparent communication about the partnership with an engaging opt-in request, and create tailored content for segmented audiences to improve engagement. Monitor deliverability metrics, warm up new sending domains/IPs gradually, and implement feedback loops with your ESP to address issues promptly. Finally, establish data protection policies with partners to safeguard privacy and maintain trust.

Key findings

  • Opt-In is Paramount: Explicit opt-in yields higher-quality lists and legal compliance.
  • Technical Authentication: SPF and DMARC are crucial for email deliverability and domain protection.
  • Legal & Ethical Compliance: Adherence to GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and transparency are vital for building trust.
  • Data Hygiene: Clean and validate partner data to maintain sender reputation and engagement.
  • Audience Alignment & Engagement: Tailored content and targeted messaging improve engagement.

Key considerations

  • Jurisdictional Laws: Familiarize yourself with the specific laws in your target market.
  • Data Protection Policies: Establish clear data protection agreements with your partners.
  • Opt-In Messaging: Craft engaging and clear opt-in requests that resonate with the audience.
  • List Segmentation: Segment partner-provided lists for relevant and targeted content.
  • IP Warm-Up: Gradually warm up new sending domains and IPs to establish a positive reputation.
  • Deliverability Monitoring: Regularly monitor deliverability metrics and adjust strategies as needed.
  • Transparency: Be upfront about your partner relationship

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

Gaining new customers through email partnerships involves several key best practices. It's crucial to obtain explicit opt-in from recipients, rather than relying on opt-out methods, to ensure a higher quality list. Co-branded email campaigns leverage the combined audiences of both partners, fostering trust and generating leads. Defining clear roles and responsibilities between partners is essential for efficient and coordinated email efforts. Segmentation of partner-provided lists allows for tailored content that resonates with subscribers, maximizing engagement. Thorough list cleansing and validation improves sender reputation by removing inactive or invalid addresses. Ensuring alignment between the partner's audience and your target demographic enhances the likelihood of conversions. Joint lead magnets offer exclusive content to attract new customers. Tailoring messaging to resonate with the partner's audience improves engagement. Closely monitoring email deliverability metrics enables data-driven campaign adjustments. Warming up new sending domains or IPs gradually ensures optimal deliverability. Data must be treated with care, and cleaned and maintained as soon as you get it. Transparency in your emails to the customer on the relationship is also important.

Key opinions

  • Opt-In Preference: Opt-in methods are preferable to opt-out, leading to better list quality and engagement.
  • Co-Branding Benefits: Co-branded campaigns leverage shared audiences, build trust, and generate leads.
  • Alignment Matters: Partner audience alignment with your target demographic boosts conversion potential.
  • Data Driven Optimization: Regular monitoring of deliverability metrics facilitates data-driven campaign adjustments.
  • List Hygiene: Data must be treated with care and cleaned often.

Key considerations

  • Roles & Responsibilities: Clearly define roles and responsibilities with your partner to avoid overlap.
  • List Segmentation: Segment partner-provided lists for tailored, relevant content.
  • Audience Alignment: Assess the alignment of your target audience with that of your partner's.
  • Messaging Tone: Tailor your messaging to resonate with your partner's audience.
  • IP Warm-up: If using a new domain/IP, warm it up gradually to maintain deliverability.
  • Transparency: Be clear about your partnership.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Customer.io explains that it is important to monitor your email deliverability rates closely, including open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates, to make data-driven adjustments to your campaigns.

March 2024 - Customer.io
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailchimp Blog responds that you should segment partner-provided lists carefully to target the most relevant subscribers with tailored content, and to avoid sending generic emails that may not resonate.

May 2022 - Mailchimp Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares that it is important to cleanse and validate any partner-provided email list to remove inactive or invalid addresses, which improves your sender reputation.

September 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from an Email Marketing Forum suggests tailoring your messaging to the partner's audience and avoiding generic language that doesn't resonate, thus improving engagement and conversion rates.

October 2024 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that co-branded email campaigns allow both you and your partner to tap into each other's audience, which can be a great way to build trust and generate leads.

October 2021 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue responds that if you're using a new sending domain or IP address, gradually warm it up by sending emails to highly engaged subscribers first, and increasing volume over time.

March 2025 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from Smart Insights suggests creating a joint lead magnet with your partner as a way to attract new customers, by offering exclusive content or resources that both audiences will value.

July 2024 - Smart Insights
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that opt-out ignores those that either haven’t read the email or if it was bulked and that opting in is the better option.

August 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from MarketingProfs explains the importance of ensuring the partner's audience aligns with your target demographic; the greater the alignment, the higher the potential for conversion.

December 2021 - MarketingProfs
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog explains that it is important to define clear roles and responsibilities between you and your partner to avoid overlap and confusion in the email marketing efforts.

December 2023 - HubSpot Blog

What the experts say
8Expert opinions

When acquiring new customers via email partnerships, prioritizing explicit opt-in over opt-out is crucial for deliverability and legal compliance. Understanding and adhering to relevant jurisdictional laws is essential, as is employing transparent communication about the partnership to build trust and minimize spam complaints. Data protection policies should be established, and partner data must be handled with the same level of care as your own, including diligent cleaning to remove errors and spam traps. Engaging introductions like "Hi! We’re CompanyX! Sign up for our newsletter!" can effectively solicit opt-ins.

Key opinions

  • Opt-In is Key: Prioritizing opt-in sign-ups leads to better deliverability and a reduced risk of being marked as spam.
  • Legal Awareness: Knowing the laws of your target jurisdiction is vital.
  • Transparency Builds Trust: Honest and transparent communication about the partner relationship reduces spam complaints.
  • Data Care is Essential: Partner data should be cleaned, validated, and handled with the same diligence as your own.

Key considerations

  • Opt-in strategy: Employ a clear and engaging method for obtaining explicit opt-in from potential customers.
  • Legal Compliance: Understand and adhere to the data protection laws and regulations applicable to your target audience.
  • Spam Traps: Ensure that any opt-out strategy doesn't allow you to bypass spam traps.
  • Data Policies: Establish data protection policies with your partner to comply with data regulations.
  • Data Maintenance: Set aside time to clean your data to minimise the amount of bad data
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests emailing users to request an opt-in instead of opt-out to ensure the ESP list is genuinely opt-in, leading to better deliverability and reduced risk of being blocked as spam.

February 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that you must treat partner data with the same care as your own. You can't be lackadaisical with partner's data.

July 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource explains that it is crucial to be transparent with recipients regarding the partner relationship and the reason they are receiving the email, building trust and avoiding spam complaints.

May 2023 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares example phrasing to ask for an opt-in. Suggests a "Hi! We’re CompanyX! We want to tell you all the great things we’re doing! Sign up for our newsletter!" approach.

July 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise mentions cleaning new data as soon as you get it by checking for syntax errors, removing spam traps, and fixing misspellings. This is extra important for partner data.

March 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource suggests setting up data protection policies with the partner.

November 2021 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains laws depend on the target jurisdiction and that sending mail to folks who never asked to receive it does put you at risk of blocking.

July 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that opting out will ignore any spamtraps that may exist.

June 2024 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

When gaining new customers from a partner using email, several technical and compliance best practices are crucial. Implementing SPF authentication improves email deliverability. Setting up DMARC helps protect your domain's reputation and minimizes unauthorized use. Compliance with GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations, including obtaining explicit consent, is essential. Utilizing feedback loops with your ESP allows for the identification and removal of subscribers marking emails as spam. Including a clear and conspicuous opt-out mechanism in every email is required.

Key findings

  • Email Authentication: SPF authentication enhances email deliverability when sending on behalf of a partner.
  • Domain Protection: DMARC setup protects your domain's reputation and minimizes unauthorized use.
  • Regulatory Compliance: GDPR and CAN-SPAM compliance, including explicit consent, is mandatory.
  • Feedback Loop Benefits: Feedback loops with your ESP help identify and remove spam complainers.
  • Opt-Out Requirement: A clear opt-out mechanism in every email is legally required.

Key considerations

  • SPF Implementation: Ensure SPF records are correctly configured to authorize sending on behalf of your domain.
  • DMARC Policy: Establish a DMARC policy to dictate how receiving mail servers should handle unauthenticated mail.
  • Consent Management: Implement systems to capture and manage explicit consent from recipients before emailing them.
  • Feedback Loop Configuration: Work with your ESP to configure and monitor feedback loops to identify and address deliverability issues.
  • Opt-Out Process: Ensure your opt-out process is simple, clear, and compliant with regulations.
Technical article

Documentation from Google Support explains compliance with GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations is critical. Obtain explicit consent before emailing recipients from your partner's list.

February 2024 - support.google.com
Technical article

Documentation from ietf.org explains using SPF (Sender Policy Framework) to authenticate your emails and improve deliverability when sending on behalf of a partner.

January 2022 - ietf.org
Technical article

Documentation from the FTC explains you must include a clear and conspicuous opt-out mechanism in every email, making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe from future mailings.

November 2023 - FTC
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains setting up feedback loops with your ESP (Email Service Provider) is important, allowing you to identify and remove subscribers who mark your emails as spam.

May 2021 - microsoft.com
Technical article

Documentation from dmarc.org shares setting up DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) helps protect your domain's reputation when partnering, and ensures that unauthorized use is minimized.

June 2023 - dmarc.org