Have you ever sent out a large email blast to a manicured list of 'Opted-In' recipients only to find that the measurable result underperformed? Imagine paid subscribers, who have willingly chosen to receive your content, not being aware of a recent issue because their email service provider has delivered the information into a junk or spam folder. Unfortunately, it happens too often.
So what can be done to ensure your content lands where it should? This is too long of a topic to discuss in a short blog post but here is a simple suggestion;
1. Have your readers add the 'From' email to their address book. In other words if you are sending the outgoing email from 'subscriptions@yourmagazine.com' make sure that each recipient adds that address to their address book or 'safe' list.
How is that done? It will vary slightly from one email provider to the next but here are some basic instructions for some of the more popular email clients.
Gmail
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. Click Always display images from (senders address).
OR
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. Click the arrow next to reply on the top right.
3. Click Add sender to contact list.
Windows Live
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. Click Mark as safe next to the From name and address.
3. Now click Add contact.
Outlook 11
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. In the From field, right-click the email address.
3. Click the Add to Contacts link in the menu.
4. Click the OK button.
Yahoo! Mail
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. Now click Add contact next to the From name and address.
Mac Mail
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. Go to Message in the top tool bar.
3. Click Add Sender to Address Book from the drop down menu.
AOL 9.0
1. Open a message from the desired sender.
2. Click the Add Address icon on the right side of the window.
3. Click the OK button.
Of course, as with any technology, there is a strong likelihood that these processes will change in the near future. For the time being this will ensure that your readers are getting the content that they have paid for.