Without great sender reputation, landing your emails in the primary inbox is very difficult.
But what if your reputation isn’t very good and you are out of ideas to fix it?
This is where you can use cold emails.
Sender’s reputation and cold emails have a lot in common – actually, more than you think. And they can help improve your reputation.
What is sender reputation?
Sender reputation is the measure of trustworthiness and reliability attributed to an email sender by internet service providers (ISPs) and email recipients. It’s essentially the score assigned to an email sender’s domain based on its email-sending practices and client interactions.
This score is influenced by many factors, such as:
- email engagement rates,
- bounce rates,
- complaint rates,
- spam trap hits,
- etc.
All right, but why do we even talk about this?
Because having good sender reputation is more than important for your email marketing.
Shortly speaking – this online reputation assessment indicates how likely your emails are to end up in the recipient’s inbox instead of spam.
Benefits of strong sender reputation
What can be achieved with a strong reputation? Just look at those benefits.
Enhanced email deliverability
With a strong sender reputation, you can boost the chances of your emails reaching recipients’ inboxes instead of being relegated to… well, the dreaded spam folder. Thanks to this, your carefully crafted messages can be seen by your target audience.
Increased email engagement
With a positive sender reputation, recipients have better chances to open your emails, click on links, and overall – interact with your content. This increased engagement improves the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns and signals to email service providers (ESP) that your messages are valuable to recipients.
Better brand credibility
That’s not all, since a strong sender reputation demonstrates to both ESP and recipients that you are a legitimate sender who respects all inbox preferences and delivers valuable content. And if you consistently provide relevant and engaging content, you build brand trust and credibility.
Higher conversion rates
Next, as your emails consistently land in clients’ inboxes and are well-received, you’ll see higher conversion rates.
So, whether your goal is to drive sales, generate leads, or nurture customer relationships – a strong sender reputation sets the stage for achieving your desired outcomes. It increases the probability of recipients taking the desired actions outlined in your emails.
Cost savings
Maintaining a strong sender reputation can also save you money in the long run. This is because when you focus on building your reputation, you try to avoid spam filters and focus on better email performance.
And this already reduces the risk of wasting resources on creating and sending emails that never reach their intended recipients.
Eventually, you can contribute to a better return on investment for your email marketing efforts.
What can negatively affect a sender’s reputation?
However, the case is that maintaining a good sender reputation is not always easy.
Despite your hard work, something may tarnish it. For example:
- poor message quality contributes to low engagement
- high bounce rates, that is more than 5%
- sudden spikes in sending
- hitting spam traps (of the ESP)
- failing authentication repeatedly
- being marked as spam by the recipient
- landing in spam and not being taken out
But you know what?
It is possible to protect your reputation with cold emails.
Cold emails: What they are and why they matter
Cold emails are unsolicited emails sent to recipients who haven’t previously interacted with your brand. They matter because they’re a cost-effective way to reach potential customers, introduce your products or services, and generate leads.
Typically, cold emails are concise, personalized, and focused on providing some benefit to the recipient. They often have the job of initiating a conversation, sparking interest, and eventually converting recipients into customers or clients.
Where’s the catch with cold emails, then?
You need to tread carefully with cold emails to avoid being marked as spam.
Moreover, you must maintain a balance between outreach and respect for recipients’ privacy.
9 strategies that help cold emails protect the sender’s reputation
Here are some key strategies for protecting the sender’s reputation while engaging in cold emailing.
Comply with legal requirements
Isn’t it better to be safe and secure in your email marketing efforts?
If you agree, then align your cold emailing practices with the law. Familiarizing yourself with legislation like the CAN-SPAM Act in the U.S. or GDPR in Europe is a good start.
These regulations demand specific actions, such as providing a clear method to opt out of future emails, avoiding deceptive subject lines, and disclosing your physical address.
Adhering to these rules avoids legal pitfalls and builds trust with your recipients. When people see that you respect their rights and privacy, they’re more likely to view your business positively.
So, do you know if your emails meet these standards?
Use a reputable email service provider (ESP)
Have you ever wondered how some emails always land in the inbox while others get lost in spam?
A good ESP plays a crucial role.
Choosing a reputable one is like selecting a reliable partner for your email strategy. These platforms come with tools to help manage your email lists, segment your audience, and keep your emails out of spam folders.
They also track the performance of your campaigns, offering insights into what works and what doesn’t. What’s crucial, by providing analytics, they enable you to refine your approach continuously.
Personalize your approach
Imagine receiving an email that addresses you by name and references specific interests you have. That’s the power of personalization. It demonstrates that you’ve taken the time to understand the recipient, which can significantly increase sales engagement.
But how do you start?
Use data to tailor your messages, from using the recipient’s name to referencing their recent activities or interests that align with your offer. Personalization can pay off since it goes beyond just pleasing customers – it significantly increases the likelihood of a response.
And you? Wouldn’t you respond more warmly to a message that seems personalized for your needs?
You can also check out this article ➡️ How Does Personalization Affect Cold Email Deliverability?
Optimize email content
Crafting clear, professional, and engaging content is of utmost importance. Your email should provide value to the recipient and present your message or offer as a solution to a problem they might face.
Have you checked if your email tone matches your brand and resonates with your audience? If not, change this immediately. Avoid overly promotional language that might turn people off. Remember, the goal is to initiate a conversation, not close a sale from the first email.
And what does your email say about you?
Maintain clean email lists
Now, regular maintenance. By removing unresponsive subscribers, you can focus on an engaged audience, which improves overall campaign performance.
Did you know that a clean list can reduce the risk of spam complaints and bounces? That’s because quality means more than quantity. Engaging with people who are genuinely interested in your services leads to higher conversion rates.
So, yes – it’s worth the effort to keep your lists up-to-date.
Measure, monitor, and adjust
And now, more about feedback and measurements.
Do you analyze data and listen to what your recipients tell you through their actions?
Do you know what messages resonate and which ones are missing the mark?
Tracking how people engage with your emails and measuring data provides powerful insights. For example, if you notice a high rate of unsubscribes or spam complaints, it’s time to reevaluate your approach.
Moreover, by adapting based on feedback, you ensure continuous improvement of your campaigns. And who wouldn’t want their next email to perform better than the last?
See what we think about measuring true reputation, in the second part of our Ultimate cold emailing guide for agencies in 2024.
Be transparent and authentic
Do your emails state who is sending them and why you’re contacting the recipient? Transparency is vital to building trust, so you need to keep that in mind when sending cold emails.
A straightforward and honest approach can distinguish your emails from the countless others that flood inboxes daily. This authenticity encourages recipients to take your messages seriously and fosters a positive brand image.
Being seen as trustworthy in the eyes of potential customers is incredibly important, and betting on transparency from the very start can help you do that.
Limit email frequency
How often should you send emails?
Bombarding people with too many emails can lead to irritation and an increase in unsubscribes. On the other hand, sending emails too rarely may not yield results, but only waste money.
As you want to keep your audience informed and engaged without overwhelming them, you need to think about the optimal emailing frequency for your audience.
Striking that balance can be the difference between keeping and losing a subscriber.
We discussed this in the first part of our Ultimate cold emailing guide for agencies in 2024, so click and find out more!
Check out also this article: How Many Cold Emails to Send Per Day? The Definitive Answer
Provide an easy opt-out option
And did you make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe?
Including a clear and straightforward opt-out option in your emails is not only a legal requirement but also a matter of respect for the recipient’s preferences.
People appreciate having control over what they receive. Ensuring they can easily unsubscribe reduces frustration and minimizes negative feelings at the end of their journey in your brand.
Don’t you think this could lead to a more positive overall perception of your business?
Get help from Woodpecker!
Okay, you already know how cold emails can take care of a sender’s good reputation, but!
You don’t have to act with cold emails alone. 😉
We bring you Woodpecker – our cold email software and a mine of knowledge for your email marketing efforts.
Woodpecker helps companies looking to enhance their cold emailing strategies and safeguard their sender’s reputation. Among others, thanks to the features like:
Our system integrates with your existing email accounts, mimics human-like sending patterns, helps you avoid mistakes, and reduces the chances of your emails landing in the spam folder.
All of these are great features for maintaining a good sender reputation.
Moreover, Woodpecker ensures compliance with key email regulations by enabling personalized follow-ups and providing easy opt-out options.
The platform also offers detailed analytics so you can see exactly how your campaigns are performing and make informed decisions about how to improve them. From now on, you can take advantage of reports and measure your success, including open, click, and response tracking.
Check Woodpecker’s features here ➡️ See all features
Moreover, agencies can significantly benefit from using Woodpecker.
With specific features tailored for agencies, like multi-client management and team collaboration tools, you can:
- be more effective
- manage various campaigns efficiently
- and maintain consistent quality across all client communications
Woodpecker is also continuously evolving.
We’re currently testing some cutting-edge beta features. For instance, the AI Video tool allows you to generate personalized videos for each of your prospects. Our Prospects feature aims to streamline the process from prospecting right through to sending emails.
As you can see, using Woodpecker could be a smart move if you’re looking to professionalize and streamline your email outreach efforts while maintaining a strong sender reputation.
Use Woodpecker and watch your emails land in the primary inbox
Thanks to implementing our practices, you can use cold emailing not only as a powerful tool to reach new prospects but also as a way to build and maintain a reputation as a respectful and professional organization.
And the best part?
You don’t have to work alone. Our cold email software can help you create effective campaigns with pleasure.
Your first step toward improving your email strategy is to take advantage of the Woodpecker free trial!