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several of them are automatically showing
up as “Important,” apparently based on the
“wine-related” content. But several are not,
and my interaction, or lack of, seems to have
little impact.
Even more frustrating, Gmail often doesn’t recognize
emails from the same sender. Many of
the emails and newsletters I’ve marked “Important”
continue to show up in “Everything Else.”
These misidentified emails use the same “From”
name and email address each time but are using
different “reply-to” or “return-path” addresses.
Issues for the Email Marketer
Inbox classification clearly presents an
additional challenge for email marketers. With
Priority Inbox, the “Everything Else” category
can be a virtual circular file because those who
use the feature will become trained over time to
look primarily in the “Important” category.
But let’s be real here. No matter how or whether
the email service classifies your messages, your
recipients are already identifying your emails
in their minds as consistently, occasionally or
rarely of value.
What Can Email Marketers Do?
The inbox classification trend among ISPs factors
in relevance when accepting, filtering or
blocking email. While not new, getting more of
your subscribers to interact with your messages
regularly – not just once during the holidays or
with those blow-out sales – is becoming paramount
to success.
Your goal as an email marketer is to increase its
value and recognition factor. That should draw
more activity on your emails – more opens and
clicks – which in turn will drive greater visibility in
the inbox.
These strategies can help you reach those goals:
1. The “welcome” email is even more important.
Whether you use a single welcome email, a
series of messages or a comprehensive onboarding
process, these emails will play an ever-morecritical
role in setting expectations and conveying
immediate value.
You might also want to consider some language
for Gmail users on the subscription confirmation
page and welcome email that promotes marking
your message as “Important.”
2. Slot new subscribers into a “newbie” track.
Either as part of your welcome series or in addition
to it, consider putting new subscribers into a
special track that is designed to maximize engagement
out of the gate.
3. Clarify your value proposition. What makes
your emails valuable and different from competitors?
Focus even harder on creating emails that
can occupy a special spot in your subscriber’s
mind.
4. Use consistent branding. Stick with a recognizable
“From” name and be consistent. Avoid using
one brand for transactional or triggered emails
and a radically different brand for your broadcast
email program.
5. Establish and use personality. While not limited
just to the use of humor, establish and create
a personality with your emails that helps them
“pop” in the user’s inbox.
6. Get relevant. The biggest and most obvious
action is simply to make your emails more
relevant. Move your program more to one that’s
triggered by individual user behavior and data.
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