Profits or Problems? The Business Impact of Email Deliverability Issues
50+ years after email was created and 21 years after CAN-SPAM went into effect within the US, here we are: deliverability has matured to the point that there are entire Slack channels (and groups!), listservs, blogs, text threads, (crisis hotlines??), in-person and virtual events, Reddit and Quora and Facebook groups, Discord servers — and an entire WEEK of the calendar year!! — dedicated to discussing it and only it.
Yet, most of that chatter (outside of the knitting circle of email practitioners who care deeply about email deliverability) is about how to solve issues, not prevent them. For every one sender I talk about making proactive improvements to their email program, I hear from ten — maybe even twenty — who are actively looking to solve a problem after the damage has been done.
Don’t get me wrong, solving deliverability issues is a main part of the job, and I’m ok with it. I mean, very few people call for the school janitor until it’s time to bring out the mop and bucket (or that saw dust they used to use as ground cover when someone’s lunch didn’t agree with them). It’s in the job description.
The problem, though, is that deliverability issues are much costlier to clean up than people realize.
So, today, let’s talk about…
The Unforeseen Costs of Deliverability Issues
Less emails in the inbox means less revenue for your business. That’s…not a surprise. But there are many costs involved with deliverability issues that businesses most commonly forget to plan for:
Distractions for Employees
Analyzing data points and figuring out what’s gone wrong is time consuming and stressful. Not to mention, how much of that time could be spent on something more impactful to your business, like building new features, improving security of customer data, or proactively helping customers improve performance. The more time you spend figuring out why you have an issue, the bigger problem will get, and the less other things you can get done.
Increased Staffing Expenses
If you’re in an environment where you’re supporting multiple senders, it might mean your customer support and success teams need to work overtime trying to calm down and assist customers who’ve been affected. If you don’t have experts on staff who know how to solve the issue, you might need to hire a deliverability consultant, which can be expensive…particularly if you’re desperate to solve the issue “yesterday”.
Customer Churn
That’s right. We can’t forget the most important piece of the puzzle. If you aren’t able to successfully deliver to (or for) your customers, they might find someone else who can. Even if you end up saving them in the end, it’s going to cost you the time it takes for your leadership team to repair the relationship. It might also require you to give discounts or elevated levels of service for free to salvage the relationship.
Less Revenue
If email is a main driver of revenue for your business, there’s the direct impact of missing the inbox. Even if you don’t rely on email to keep the lights on, improving your relationship with email subscribers can build trust and loyalty (and referrals!), which can lead to business success down the road. My advice? Play the long game, friends!
Impacts on Your Health
Cleaning up deliverability messes with very few clues on where to get started is a big task…mentally and emotionally. Authentication terms like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC bring on ice cream headaches. Improving sender reputation sounds more painful than getting yourself back in shape. And it can sometimes feel like the spam filters managed by mailbox providers are seriously out to get you (even though they’re actually not; I swear).
Ways to Reduce the Impact of Deliverability Issues
Deliverability is complicated. But if you’re doing your best to send it right on a regular basis, you’ll be better prepared to deal with an issue when you suspect one. It’ll be quicker and easier to fix, too.
Here are some ways to proactively set yourself up for email deliverability success:
Build a strong sender reputation
Get permission before sending, lock down your email authentication, optimize for engagement by sending relevant, valuable content your recipients can’t help but love, make it easy to unsubscribe in case they don’t love what you send. Avoid using clickbait and engaging in other activities that are likely to trigger spam complaints. Which reminds me…
Monitor email performance closely!
Track key metrics like delivery and open rates, click-through rates, unsubscribes, and spam complaint rates to identify potential problems early. Monitor for blocklistings and learn from what they tell you (usually that there’s a problem with spam complaints or spam trap hits caused by poor list health).
Prioritize proactive maintenance
Regularly remove hard bounces, unsubscribes and complaints from your list, monitor DMARC reports to identify authentication issues, and basically just…send it right! And if you’re not sure how to do that…
Invest in email expertise
Not just when the pancake batter hits the fan! By working with a dedicated email specialist or outsourcing to an agency with deliverability expertise, that last point I shared about prioritization becomes a whole lot easier…even if that person is only tapped from time to time to run an audit or review your performance with you.
Always be marketing!
Not just in the emails you send. Also do some marketing to your decision makers, whether they be customers, managers, or your leadership team. Make sure they understand what you’re working on, what’s going well, what challenges you need their help with, and most (most, most!) importantly, how email is helping them reach their business goals. This will ensure email gets the love it needs to help your company reach its goals with email.
Learn from others
If you’ve visited my deliverability bl(ahhh!)g before, you’ve read this before. But it’s that important! I’ve been chatting with a lot of you lately, and when I ask where you go to learn, the most common answers I get are:
“We learn from our mistakes.” Wise. Love this one.
Emailgeeks Slack. Love this one, too…LOTS of experts sharing answers and learned experience in real time.
Google. Risky due to all the problematic advice that’s passed around. Be wary of what you read unless you know it’s coming from a reputable source.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) This one’s very risky, even though the advice comes off more confident than my 3 year-old nephew climbing countertops. Can’t tell you how many times AI has spit out something that’s completely wrong. Here’s an example where a LinkedIn collaborative article (written by machines) has shared the wrong calculation for the topic at hand: deliverability. Come on now, Bobby Robot!
It’s easy to fall into a silo when you’re a one-person team, working from home, or feeling embarrassed because you feel like you should know something and so you’re afraid to ask. I urge you to push through that anxiety as much as you can…email is an ever-evolving discipline and there is SO much to learn. We need each other. Plus, we learn soooo much more quickly when we share notes.
So, be sure to join online communities, attend conferences and virtual events, and network with other email marketers to stay updated on what’s happening in the email industry as often as time allows. You will not regret it. Heck, you might even make some really awesome people along the way! Here’s a list of people who’ve helped me send it right over the years.
That’s It For Today
Email is far from easy, and the costs associated with poor practices and performance often go unnoticed. From wasted time and resources to damaged reputations and lost revenue, the impact can be significant. Firefighting is inevitable, but prevention is always better and easier (not to mention less stressful!) than cure.
By prioritizing proactive measures like list hygiene, authentication, and engagement, businesses like yours and mine can significantly reduce the risk of deliverability issues.
What other unforeseen costs have you experienced in your storied email career? Hit me up and let me know. 💌
Until next time, happy sending!
