Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year provide huge opportunities to connect with your database, guests and followers.
NB: This is an article from Cendyn, one of our Expert Partners
Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and stay up to date
For hoteliers seeking to tap into the seasonal spirit of family getaways and gifts, email deliverability should be at the heart of their marketing strategy.
However, email success depends on more than just a witty subject line or a great value offer; maintaining a strong reputation as a sender of email campaigns is key to landing in the largest number of inboxes and driving conversion through email marketing.
Ho, ho – oh no! Factors impacting deliverability of festive cheer
Sadly, it’s not hard working elves who deliver emails into inboxes. There are a number of factors which impact the deliverability of your emails – and the best way to stay on top of them is to constantly review and action any hiccups before bad habits place you on Santa’s naughty list.
IP and Domain reputation are key to deliverability. The former is based on activity from your specific sending server; the latter refers to the trust email service providers (ESPs) such as Google, Yahoo and Outlook have in your internet domain (eg cendyn.com). Domain reputation is based on a number of factors such as list hygiene, recipient engagement, and sender authentication.
Both factors will impact email performance, which is why regular reviews of sent emails are essential, tackling each issue as it arises. Failure to act delivers a fate worse than Rudolph not being allowed to join in any reindeer games. A poor reputation sees your emails land in spam or junk folders, or even be blocked entirely. A positive reputation signals your emails are legitimate and desired by recipients.
Don’t let greed Scrooge your campaigns
The adage ‘quality over quantity’ is key with your list management – having incorrect email addresses which bounce or sending to those who haven’t opened and clicked your emails in a year or more may help inflate your database total, but you’re better having 1,000 active subscribers from a list of 1,000, than 10,000 total email addresses with just 1,000 engaged.
Protect your domain reputation and boost your chances of successful delivery by:
- Regularly reviewing your email campaign performance
- Resolving any issues as they arise – aim for 98% delivery rate and 2% or lower bounce rate, regularly cleanse your database
- Avoid the temptation to use misleading or deceptive subject lines. While they may boost your open rate, they increase the likelihood of your emails marked as spam or encourage unsubscribes
- Be strategic in your campaign calendar to avoid inundating recipients with too many or irrelevant emails.
