Spam emails are unsolicited and unwanted junk emails sent out in bulk to an indiscriminate recipient list. Typically, spam is sent for commercial purposes. It can be sent in massive volumes by botnets and networks of infected computers.

There are a couple of ways your insurance agency’s email can land in a junk mail or spam folder:

• Spam filters have been set up by a corporation or an individual that sends emails to a spam folder directly

• A recipient manually tags your email as spam and blocks you

A brilliant email marketing campaign is meaningless if its target audience never receives it. So, how do you keep that email campaign on the right track and lower your bounce rate?

Here are five tips:

1. 1. Limit Your Use of Email Attachments

   According to IT security company KnowBe4, an unexpected attachment is likely a phishing scam. One of the most common methods of installing malware is via macros (small pieces of code) embedded in Microsoft Office documents.¹

   If you attach a PDF, DOC, or DOCX file to an email, test it before sending it to ensure recipients can download it safely and in the proper format. If you don’t want your attachments to be edited by anyone, convert DOC and DOCX files to PDFs before attaching them.

2. 2. Avoid ALL CAPS Text

   Most spam filters consider writing in all caps as suspicious. Instead of typing with the CAPS LOCK button on, try personalizing your emails by using “you and we” in the content and crafting clever subject lines to spark interest. Avoid sensational punctuation like (!!!! and ???) as well.

   In addition, writing in all caps is usually interpreted as yelling, and no one likes to be yelled at.

3. 3. Check (and double-check) for Spelling Mistakes

   You're making a list and year checking it twice (did you catch that?). Spelling mistakes or a nonsensical jumble of words is the hallmark of spam emails, and most spam filters will catch them.

4. 4. Include an Unsubscribe Option

   According to the Content Marketing Institute's article Email Marketing: Why You Need an Unsubscribe Strategy², unsubscribes usually help with open rates. It’s simple math. If 250 of your 1,000 subscribers open an email, the open rate is 25%. Let’s say 100 subscribers opt out through the automated prompt. Now, if 250 of your 900 subscribers open the email, your open rate is 27.7%.

   If you focus only on the total subscriber count, an unsubscribe isn’t a good thing. But it’s a bad move anyway if the subscriber count is the only metric that matters. The number of subscribers alone is little more than a vanity metric. Open and click-through rates are better indicators of how subscribers use the content.

5. 5. Create Multiple Marketing Campaigns

   Because campaigns can take many forms, email marketing campaigns can bring endless possibilities that might focus on personal lines (i.e., vintage car or seasonal dwelling insurance), while others might focus on commercial lines (i.e., cyber insurance or liquor liability), holiday closures or newsletters. Delivering a variety of content will engage and inform clients and prospects that look forward to receiving your emails.

   If the whole process of email marketing seems overwhelming, it doesn’t need to be. We’ve been helping agents build successful businesses for over 40 years. Applied Marketing Automation® is the first of its kind in our industry. It helps you quickly deliver relevant, timely content to your clients and prospects. And it’s integrated with Applied CSR24® and Applied Epic®.

Check out this on-demand webinar for an up-close look at what Applied Marketing Automation can do.

References:

1. Sjouwerman, Stu, Trends in Malicious Attachments Used in Phishing Emails, KnowBe4 Blog, Oct. 14, 2022.

2. Gynn, Ann, Email Marketing: Why You Need an Unsubscribe Strategy, Content Marketing Institute Articles, August 29, 2022.