By SCOTT RICHARDS
Once again, the internet and its associated technologies are changing in 2022. Email in 2022, for example, is seeing vast numbers of changes, mainly for security and spam purposes. These changes are accompanied with their own challenges to overcome for businesses, small and large. With laws against “spam” email and “illegal” email there seems to be a lot of confusion and misconceptions. Luckily, if you have a good sales and marketing team on your side, they can target specific people for specific reasons and with specific messages. It’s a tricky subject which we’ll explore throughout this article.
Is Spam Legal Through Email In 2022?
“Spam” is a solicitation that isn’t personalized. Usually it is used for pharmaceuticals, weight loss products, or investment opportunities. We’ve seen our fair share of these emails and we’re betting you have too. Thankfully, most of them are caught by spam filters and end up in spam folders. If an email is technically “spam” then it may still be technically “legal.”
As of now, in the U.S., it is legal to send unsolicited commercial emails. However, you must comply with certain rules when sending those unsolicited emails. If not, the penalties for not following the rules can be very harsh. This was put into effect with the “CAN-SPAM Act” and they have some guidelines for you to follow to make sure you remain on the correct side of the guidelines.
- Offer an option to “Opt-Out”
2. Make sure the “Opt-Out” is honored within 10 days.
3. Do not use misleading subject lines.
4. Just be yourself.
5. Make sure to include your companies address in the email.
Cold Email in 2022
What is cold emailing? Cold emailing is like cold calling. It’s when you send out unsolicited emails to, for lack of a better term, random email addresses in hopes of making a sale, conversion etc. Therefore, email services such as MailChimp have cracked down on what you are and aren’t allowed to send by using a “reputation score.” You can cut your risks down by utilizing a professional marketing firm to run your email campaigns.
When it comes to emailing, reputation matters. If you’re using MailChimp for example, every account has a reputation. These reputations range from poor to excellent. If you’re sending cold emails, and you receive a high bounce rate or a lot of spam complaints, you could end up with a poor reputation. This is an extremely important aspect to consider, because if your reputational score falls too low then you may not be able to send emails at all. If you’re sharing an IP address with other departments of a company, you could also lower their score. You can learn more about your reputation score here.
Newsletters in 2022
The good thing about Newsletters is that you have a reason to send that group of people an email. They’ve subscribed to your newsletter. Newsletter sending reputation is comprised of complex metrics and they focus on different standings that decide the fate of your email deliverability to your clients’ email inboxes.
- IP reputation
2. Content reputation
3. Domain reputation
IP Reputation identifies how many people want to get your email based on your IP address. There are some red flags that internet service providers look for; content filters, such as a virus attached to an email. Your content reputation can also go down if your newsletters have low open rates or your readers flag them as inappropriate, block them or unsubscribe. So, making sure you’re crafting great content and sending them to appropriate addresses is crucial. Your sender reputation also comes into play. If you make sure to send great content, that your subscribers want, you should maintain a positive domain reputation. If you sender score sits at 90 or above, you’re considered to have an excellent sender score.
IP Rotation and Email In 2022
One work around for the issues we’ve discussed is by rotating your IP address. Most of these metrics are based on and tracked by your IP address. If you can “rotate” your IP address then you don’t run the risk of having your one and only IP address reputation declining, thus preventing you from sending email campaigns. Without a good IP reputation, your emailing efforts may be futile and remain undelivered.
Another way to achieve the same goal is to use a shared IP pool. This is a prime option for small businesses that don’t have the high email volume necessary to get a good sender reputation score. Also, a shared IP pool can protect smaller senders from possible impacts of mistakes thanks to the high email volume shared in the pool. If you need further help with your email campaigns, read the blog that we wrote about running an email campaign here.
Scott Richards is CEO of Faceless Marketing. Faceless Marketing develops engaging websites that speak clearly and directly to your target audience. Our marketing experts work with businesses, large and small, to develop their customer base and number of subscribers. Reach out to Faceless Marketing for a quote or FREE consultation. Call 1-800-357-1299 or email info@faceless.marketing and check out our YouTube channel for helpful videos.
Scott can be emailed at scott@faceless.marketing or visit www.Faceless.Marketing
