Using Emailable & MailGenius to Send Successful Email Campaigns

If done correctly, email marketing is one of the most effective marketing channels available. Not only does it allow you to communicate directly with your customers, it can be cost effective and is easily measurable. But what happens when you’re not receiving the results you want from your email marketing campaigns? Identifying the problems plaguing your marketing efforts can be tricky, but that's where Emailable and MailGenius come in.

Read on to learn more about these two solutions that can help you to land in the inbox, improve your open rates, reduce your bounce rate, and more.

What is MailGenius?

MailGenius is a mail checker that provides valuable insights into your mailbox’s deliverability, spam score, and domain reputation. Before sending your email campaign out, simply first send your email to MailGenius to see where it will land. Finding yourself in the spam folder, or are your emails getting blocked from delivery? MailGenius will provide a detailed determination of what is causing these issues, and what steps you can take to improve your position.

How does MailGenius work?

While MailGenius’s spam checker will deliver vital information on your mailbox setup, it’s really as easy as one, two, three (four). See here:

1. Copy the email address provided by MailGenius.
2. Send an email to that address (ideally, one you’re going to send to your email list).
3. Click the green button in MailGenius to view your spam test results.
4. View your results, and receive recommendations on how to fix any issues.

In just a few minutes, you can take steps toward getting your emails out of the spam folder and strides toward better deliverability.

Click here to try MailGenius & get 3 free test credits.

What does MailGenius look for?

Once you’ve sent your email through MailGenius’ spam checker, it will look for over 30 potential issues plaguing your send, including but not limited to:

• SPF: or, Sender Policy Framework is used to authenticate the sender of the email, and helps protect both senders and recipients from spam, spoofing and phishing. Implementing an SPF policy provides a layer of trust with ISPs that can help improve your inbox placement and deliverability.
• DKIM: or, DomainKeys Identified Mail is an email authentication method that uses a digital signature to verify that a given email is sent by the owner it claims to be from. More simply, it is an email security method used to guarantee messages aren’t altered between the sender and the recipient. DKIM is crucial as it enables recipient mailboxes to trust your emails.
• DMARC: or, Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance is an email validation system that protects a domain from being used for phishing or spoofing. More simply, it protects your domain against spammers.

In addition, the spam checker also ensures your domain isn’t listed on any blacklists, and checks the body of your email for broken links, short URLs, the subject line and more. Upon performing this check, MailGenius will then provide recommendations on how to fix the unique issues your mailbox is facing. Think of it like a dedicated clean up team to help get your send in the inbox.

Is using MailGenius really necessary?

Simply: yes! If you’re facing issues with open rates, inbox placement, and deliverability, running your email through MailGenius is the first necessary step to diagnose the problem, and then treat it. Leaving issues with SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and more, can cause your emails to go unseen; no matter how much effort you put into copywriting, clever subject lines and building your email list, it is all for naught if every send winds up in the spam folder or blocked by the recipient. It is also important to remember that running your email through the spam checker is not a one and done action. MailGenius recommends running your emails through the spam checker as often as every day to monitor any red flags before they cause problems. Like anything else, an issue with your send is much easier to fix before it does damage to your sender reputation. And just a note, MailGenius is a child company of e-mailMarketing.com where you get done-for-you email marketing services. So if you want best returns out of your email campaigns, it’s something to consider!

What is Emailable?

Emailable is a fast, reliable and easy to use email verification solution. Made up of four unique ways to verify an email, Emailable is the necessary final step before sending an email campaign. Emailable offers the option to verify a single email address, a list (either uploaded from your computer or the CRM you already use), or verify an email at the point of capture through your form or website. In using Emailable, you’ll improve your open rates, inbox placement, and campaign ROI.

How does it work?

While Emailable doesn’t share every detail of their proprietary verification methods, at its most basic, its verification works as such:

1. Emailable determines if a given email address is syntactically valid. Does it contain the obvious components of an email address, like an @ symbol or a properly formatted domain? Then, other checks are performed that may be specific to the given domain.
2. Next, Emailable checks to see if the email fits any criteria for denotations such as free, role, disposable, and more.
3. It is then verified that the email points to a valid email server (i.e., MX records).
4. Finally, Emailable connects directly to the email server via domain specific strategies to authenticate that the email address actually exists on the given server.

Keep in mind that one thing that Emailable never does is contact the owner of a given email address. The entire verification process is secure and the data is safe.

How are emails categorized?

After Emailable performs the four steps listed above, emails are categorized based on their deliverability. If an email passes all the steps and is deemed legitimate, it is then classified as “deliverable”. Receiving the classification of “deliverable” is important as Emailable offers a 99% deliverability guarantee on these emails. The other categories include:

• Risky: an email with low quality or low deliverability. An email marked as risky is not necessarily undeliverable, but its deliverability cannot be guaranteed. Emailable advises its users to use caution when sending to “risky” emails, as they can cause quality issues for your campaigns. “Risky” emails also include further denotations:
  • Accept-all: Addresses that will initially accept mail for any address, but may not reach an actual inbox. This can also cause a bounce (a failed delivery notification, which gets returned to the sender).
  • Disposable: Created often by users who do not wish to give their primary address. These are defined as “Risky” because they are temporary and will only be valid for a short period of time.
  • Role: These generally define a responsibility rather than a person (i.e. support@ or info@) and often are managed by several people. These emails are often associated with more bounces, more unsubscribes, and decreased engagement rates.
• Undeliverable: Emailable can confidently determine that the email address verified is not legitimate or associated with a valid account. Reasons include: invalid email address, invalid domain, rejected email, invalid SMTP.

Included in all emails verified are additional features: SMTP provider details, gender detection, name detection, MX record detection, and misspelled domain detection (for example, gnail.com instead of gmail.com).

Every list verified in Emailable allows for unlimited list exports, as well as the option to export your list back into the CRM of your choosing.

Why is cleaning my list necessary?

Email verification is vital in determining the success of your email marketing campaigns. Not only does sending to an unverified list cost you more in the long run (think: the more emails you send, the more you spend), it empowers you to achieve the most success from the emails you do send. How?

• Prevent bounce: sending to an illegitimate or misspelled email will bounce upon delivery. The more bounces, the more damage you’re doing to your sender reputation. As your sender rep is harmed, so is your chance of landing in the inbox as high bounce signals to mailboxes that your emails are spam.
• Improve inbox rates: with a decrease in bounce and an increase in the number of emails that will be delivered, so too will your inbox rate improve. The better your sender reputation is, and the less it is hurt by bounces, the more likely your emails are to land in the inbox.
• Improve open rates: by engaging with addresses that are real, you’re more likely to have an increase in your emails open rate.
• Stop list decay: just because an email is deliverable today doesn’t mean it still will be in a year from now. Think about it, people change careers, get married and change their names, or simply stop using the same email address they once did. Nearly 25% of your deliverable list goes bad every year (roughly 2% a month), meaning that email verification is not a one and done practice. Make sure to incorporate regular email verification into your marketing strategy if you want to make a difference in the long term.

The reasons outlined above are only the tip of the iceberg in the motivations to maintain a clean list. Your sender reputation can make or break the success of your email marketing campaign.

Why use MailGenius and Emailable together?

Maybe now that you’ve read about MailGenius and Emailable you’re thinking one solution is a fit for you, while the other may seem unnecessary. Not sure of the validity of your list? Run it through Emailable. Wondering if you’re on blacklists? Use MailGenius. It’s like having an email deliverability expert at your fingertips.

While choosing one of the two solutions may seem like the easier path, trust me when I say you’re only putting off the inevitable of needing both. These two solutions are like puzzle pieces; once your list is clean, if your mailbox isn’t properly configured, you’ll still find yourself facing deliverability problems. Same the other way around. If your mail system is properly set up but your list is filled with undeliverable addresses, say hello to high bounce and the spam folder. For success with your next email marketing campaign, it is important to use both of these solutions. In doing so, you’ll:

• Improve your inbox placement and increase open rates
• Maintain your sender reputation
• Improve your deliverability
• Reduce your bounce rate
• Increase your ROI
• Stop list decay

Conclusion

In conclusion, utilizing both Emailable and MailGenius is essential for optimizing the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns. While Emailable ensures your email list is clean, accurate, and deliverable, MailGenius helps ensure your emails reach the inbox by improving your sender reputation and email configuration. By integrating these two tools, you can boost deliverability, reduce bounce rates, and improve engagement with your audience. Ultimately, the combination of these solutions will help ensure that your email marketing efforts yield the best possible results. Don't overlook the power of these tools to take your email campaigns to the next level.