Gmail Deliverability Achieving more consistent inbox Andrew Bonar, Deliverability Director

www.emailvision.co.uk

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Table of Contents
Gmail: Achieving Inbox 3 Achieving more consistent inbox placement rates at Gmail............................................................. 3 What makes Gmail and Google different? ....................................................................................... 3 Why is my message in spam?......................................................................................................... 4 One campaign inbox, another campaign in spam?.......................................................................... 5 What are the reasons exactly? ........................................................................................................ 6 What do I need to avoid? ................................................................................................................ 6 What can I do practically to improve things? ................................................................................... 7 Solus campaigns aimed at Gmail users .......................................................................................... 8 What other things can I do? ............................................................................................................ 9 These kinds of tactics have worked for Adore Me and ProFlowers ................................................. 9 The results .................................................................................................................................... 10 Further resources........................................................................................................................ 101

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Gmail: Achieving Inbox

Achieving more consistent inbox placement rates at Gmail
Are you finding that you have inconsistent inbox placement rates at Gmail? Are you finding it hard to understand why so many of your permission based email messages are being filtered into folders other than the inbox? We are increasingly receiving enquiries from our clients who want to know how to achieve better inbox placement rates, or more consistent inbox placement at Google. This fact sheet aims to help put you on the path to better deliverability with Google and demystify some of the process around it.

What makes Gmail and Google different?

Google, more so than any other mailbox provider, relies heavily on what recipients do with and how they manage mail from senders. This user reporting takes many forms - for example, users marking messages as spam will be extremely harmful to your list. Not only this, but Gmail goes further. Google works globally, aggregating sentiment across all users and individually, changing inbox place for each individual according to their specific behaviour. What reaches inbox for one user will not be the same for another. Another element that sets Google apart from the other major mailbox providers in North America is their lack of feedback loops. This is when a user at Gmail reports a message as spam, we as an email service provider - and you as a marketer - have no insight into this. Unlike other providers who advise how many complaints were generated and by whom, allowing you to unsubscribe them, Google in its wisdom chooses not to share this information. Finally, another major issue that marketers face, and which is unique to Google, is the distinct lack of support options and the fact that having opened a ticket, Google assures you there will be no response. So again, you are left without insight. Did Google take some action or not? You can never be truly sure.

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Why is my message in Spam?

While there is limited insight offered by Gmail, they will provide some clues as to what caused your message to go to spam in the first place. The key to these clues are contained in the actual message itself when it is in the spam folder. Below are some common reasons to find messages in your spam folder at Gmail. Typically, our clients see the first of the errors below - a similarity to other unrelated messages that from other senders that Gmail has defined are spam. Similar to other messages

Strange language

Many others marked message as spam

Too many complaints from your email program

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Phishing or Scams

One campaign in inbox, another campaign in spam?

Linkedin is a perfect example of a large brand this happens to regularly. A message such as the one below (reminder of unread messages) will always land in my spam folder. Yet other messages from the same sender do not.

As can be seen above, the reason for this message being sent to spam is similarity to other messages that were considered spam. The sender linkedin.com is not considered to be a sender of spam exclusively, however messages from them typically have low engagement rates and are likely to be considered spam by the majority of recipients. Why does this happen? This is due to the relative levels of engagement for different types of email message. So the same sender can find that even with a good reputation at Gmail, content alone can trip them up and have their message sent to spam.

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What are the reasons exactly?

There are two important factors that, under normal circumstances, help messages arrive in Gmail users inboxes: a) The 'From:' address is listed in the user's Contacts list b) A user clicks 'Not Spam' to alert Gmail that messages sent from that address are solicited Plus a further two that appear to have a major impact: c) The recipient has previously replied to the sender d) The subject line and content is like that of previously read emails

Gmail uses automated spam detection systems to analyse patterns and predict what types of messages are likely to be spam. Some of the primary factors include:
1. Content that's usually associated with spam, such as mature/adult content and "get rich

quick" schemes Messages sent from accounts or IP addresses that have sent other spam messages Reputation of the DKIM signing domain The amount of unread email sent by the sender Behaviour of other Gmail users, such as many people reporting spam from a particular sender 6. Similarity to other spam or phishing messages based on a combination of things including: a) subject matter b) elements such as spelling c) HTML formatting
2. 3. 4. 5.

What do I need to avoid?

Affiliate marketing programmes reward third-parties for bringing visitors to your site. Unfortunately, these programmes are attractive to hard-core spammers and can potentially do more harm than good. Please note the following: If your brand becomes associated with affiliate spam your email channels will be disrupted when sent from multiple senders, platforms, ESPs or IP ranges. Your brand itself can become tainted.

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What can I do practically to improve things?

1. Ask users to add you to their address book 2. Ask users to mark message as this is not spam 3. If your organisation uses Google Apps: a) ensure there are no dummy accounts signed up to the programme b) ensure staff who have signed up to the programme regularly open and click c) ask staff to sign-up to your newsletter and engage d) when staff notice a message is going to spam mark it as not spam e) remember its only worthwhile having employees and partners signed up to your programme via Google Apps hosted domains if they engage (read, open, turn on images and click) 4. Encourage users to engage with your newsletters star our mail, turn on images by default, mark as priority, or reply to your emails potentially incentivise customers to take these actions 5. Email your less engaged users less often. If necessary, grading the level of engagement beyond active and inactive 6. Look at the level of engagement from different data sources and focus on acquisition sources that provide the highest quality data 7. Use welcome campaigns with reasons to click besides purchase, and then take action on addresses that have taken no open or click action in the first 10 campaigns dont wait six months 8. Target Gmail users with very specific campaigns aimed at increasing engagement

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Solus campaigns aimed at Gmail users

Some example subject lines used by Sharis Berries include: - "Gmail Users Weekend Sales Event: 59% off a Gift Mom will Remember Forever" - "Our Easter Flash Sale for Gmail Users is Now! - 63% off Delicious Easter Strawberries for Gmail users"

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What other things can I do?

Gmail automatically adds addresses to your Contacts list each time you use the Reply, Reply to all, or Forward functions to send mail to addresses that don't already exist in your Contacts list. Each time you mark a message as 'Not Spam,' your Contacts list is also automatically updated so that future messages from that sender are received in the inbox. Encourage users to reply to this mail to ensure they do not lose future messages. The more recipients do this, the more likely that even messages for recipients who have not done this will go to inbox. Encourage users to take actions using Gmails proprietary features, such as starring mail. For example:

These kinds of tactics have worked for Adore Me and ProFlowers

A concerted effort by ProFlowers to focus on re-engaging their Gmail customers was a major factor in dramatically improved Gmail inbox placement rates. In addition to sending Gmail-targeted email campaigns, another tactic they employed was to include a sense of urgency and exclusivity in the subject lines to prompt subscribers to further interact with at least one of the emails. Here are some of the subject lines they used:

Gmail customers, this is your last chance to Save Gmail Exclusive! Surprise some bunny special with Easter Tulips ALERT: Exclusive 40% off savings for Gmail customers! Just for Gmail customers: 50% off!

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The results
This document was put together based on the advice, tests and research completed when a client approached us in August with deliverability issues. Having acted on the types of advice given in this document, average inbox placement rates at Gmail, according to ReturnPath, increased dramatically. Prior to the changes: 35% Inbox Placement

Subsequent to following the advice it was at 90%

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Further resources
Gmail can be Tamed http://www.magillreport.com/Gmail-Can-be-Tamed-Just-Ask-ProFlowers/ Gmail Bulk Sender Guidelines https://support.google.com/mail/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=81126 Proflowers Case Study http://edatasource.dreamhosters.com/gmail-and-proflowers-did-they-make-up-in-time-for-mothersday/ http://blog.edatasource.com/gmail-and-proflowers-where-is-the-love/ The Official Gmail Blog http://gmailblog.blogspot.co.uk/ The Priority Inbox for Email Marketers http://mashable.com/2011/01/20/priority-inbox-email-marketing/ How to Clear the Gmail Hurdles http://www.marketingprofs.com/short-articles/2638/how-to-clear-the-gmail-hurdles

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Emailvision UK Ltd
Lynton House 7-12 Tavistock Square London WC1H 9LT United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0)20 7554 4500 Fax: +44 (0)20 7554 4501 www.emailvision.co.uk

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