Everyone has a reputation, some better than others. People may think of you as being sweet and innocent or naïve or just a follower, when in fact you’re actually shrewd and an innovator. Unless “they” really know the real you, the phrase “your reputation precedes you” is all “they” may have to go by. In reality, you may have a bad reputation on the street, but you’re really a sweetheart at home. How do you get a reputation? – By your actions and how others interpret them.
Everything we say and do adds to our reputation, including the products and services we use: which in themselves have their own reputation. The reputation of products and services are usually based on other people’s experiences, which translate into likes and dislikes. We have all read good reviews and opinions and have seen warnings to “stay clear of this product”, all of which can affect sales and future profits of some company. Email marketing is no different, and like it or not, as a list owner your email list has a reputation, a sender reputation, which is based on your actions and how others interpret them.
A sender reputation can be complex. It seems that list owners and email marketers have the added components of who they are (i.e. A well know Brand of Hot Dogs), what they are known for (i.e. Great tasting all Beef Hot Dogs) coupled with their mail delivery reputation. (Are they spammers?).
Even if they know who you are, and like your product or service, as an email marketer and list owner, should you care about your sender reputation? Yes, you should, because others (ISPs) will judge you by it and may block your email based on your reputation. A bad senders reputation can derail any email campaign as quickly as the email goes out, leaving a trail of blacklisted IPs and domains, with days or weeks (or sometimes never) reputation cleanup.
Good or bad, a sender reputation matters with major ISPs (Hotmail, Yahoo, AOL and so forth) and is an integral component of the email deliverability equation. Your sender reputation by itself is comprised of several areas such as:
IP Issues
Spam Complaints
Invalid Addresses
Email Subject
Explicit Content
The best email practices will give you the best sender reputation. Want to know more? Catch the next blog: Are you managing your Sender Reputation?
