Why are email clicks, conversions and unsubscribes declining despite high deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Sendinblue suggests that inconsistent sending schedules can lead to subscriber disengagement. Establishing a consistent and predictable email schedule helps subscribers anticipate and engage with your content regularly.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that a potential reason for declining engagement despite high deliverability is sending irrelevant content. It suggests segmenting your audience and personalizing emails to match their interests to improve engagement metrics.
Email marketer from Hubspot shares that using video in emails can give a quick boost to engagement in emails. This is a sure fire way to grab the users attention.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests using Inbox Monster seedlist for inbox placement testing and Google Postmaster Tools for domain and IP reputation monitoring.
Email marketer from Mailjet highlights that decreased engagement could stem from outdated or unengaged subscribers. They suggest implementing a re-engagement campaign to identify active subscribers and remove inactive ones to improve overall email performance.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains the difference between delivery and deliverability, noting that emails sent to spam are still considered delivered.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor responds by saying that sending too many emails to your list can lead to list fatigue, where subscribers become less responsive. Reduce sending frequency or segment your list to send more targeted emails.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends seed testing to determine actual deliverability and suggests checking Microsoft/Outlook SNDS, Talos Intelligence, Google Postmaster Tools, and Senderscore for reputation issues. Also, suggests analyzing open and click rates for each major provider to find declining trends.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests that a potential reason for decline could be ineffective subject lines or content. A/B testing different subject lines, email copy, and calls-to-action can help identify what resonates best with your audience and improve click-through rates.
Email marketer from Litmus suggests that poor email design and accessibility issues can lead to disengagement. Ensuring emails are visually appealing, easy to read, and accessible to all subscribers can improve engagement rates.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if IP reputation in Google Postmaster Tools is high, domain reputation should also be checked.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that if emails aren't optimized for mobile devices, subscribers may be less likely to engage. Ensuring emails are responsive and display correctly on mobile devices can improve user experience and engagement metrics.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign responds with a detailed explanation that personalization can lead to improvements in engagement. Users are more likely to engage with tailored messages, especially if it addresses a pain point.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that neglecting list hygiene (removing inactive subscribers) impacts engagement negatively. Even if emails are delivered, sending to unengaged users will decrease click-through rates and conversions.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests using image load rates (opens) as an indicator of inbox placement, noting that more inbox placements lead to more image loads, while more spam folder placements lead to fewer image loads.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a common cause of declining engagement is sending irrelevant content. Segmentation and targeting based on subscriber behavior and preferences are crucial to maintaining engagement even with high deliverability.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Mailchimp explains that DMARC policies might be causing deliverability issues if not properly set up, as it prevents spoofing and phishing attacks, but if misconfigured, it may block legitimate emails.
Documentation from SparkPost explains the importance of monitoring feedback loops (FBLs). High complaint rates in FBLs can negatively impact sender reputation and inbox placement, even if initial deliverability appears high.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools Help explains that even with proper authentication, spam filters consider user complaints as a significant factor. High complaint rates can negatively impact inbox placement, even with good deliverability.
Documentation from Microsoft Docs notes that sender reputation is crucial for inbox placement in Outlook. Even with high deliverability, a poor sender reputation can cause emails to be filtered to the junk folder, resulting in lower engagement.
Documentation from RFC 6376 highlights that strict DMARC policies (e.g., p=reject) can cause legitimate emails to be blocked if they fail authentication checks. This can lead to a decrease in clicks and conversions if important emails are not reaching the inbox, despite deliverability reports showing successful delivery.