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This question has been closed, and points have been awarded.
Bouncebacks On Small Email Marketing Mailings
Posted By: cblase on 12/11/2006 4:21 PM (CST) 250 Points
I'm a Realtor who sends out a semi-weekly email to about 500 prospects and sphere of influence people.

All are personal contacts I have developed over the years through networking, open houses, and referrals. It is growing at a rate of 7-8 names a month.

I've been using my Outlook program ever since I started and sending them using bcc distribution lists. It's been quite effective up until now, but the number of recipients have grown and my percentage of bouncebacks has grown. My broker's IT staff works hard to prevent bounce backs, but they are indicating that they would like for me to find a work-around solution.

I think I need a service like constant contact, Emma or Vertical Response, correct? My concern is that these programs will also point my emails into someone's junk box or identify them as spam.

I also want to set this up easily and quickly. I've worked with the Veritcal Response interface before. It's fun but too labor intensive. I'm not interested in re-teaching myself how to set up graphics or templates on a program like Vertical Response. I' am willing to pay someone to do a one-time set up for me if they would charge reasonable rates.

Please keep in mind that an independent contractor and a sort of guerilla operator when it comes to marketing. I operate on a shoestring budget, and do it very successfully. I don't need lots of bells and whistles.

I look forward to your suggestions on how to handle this problem. Thanks!

Cece Blase

Posted by: director Accepted Answer
12/11/2006 4:52 PM (CST)
Cece,

I love you name. Anyway, as for your email campaigns. There are some easy and free things you can do to resolve your situation.

The simplest thing to do would be to create a rule in either Outlook or Outlook Express (depending on which you use) to find the RETURNED emails and have it automatically delete them.

Some simple instructions would be:

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click TOOLS and then RULES.
3. Click NEW RULE.
4. Click START FROM A BLANK RULE.
5. Click CHECK MESSAGES WHEN THEY ARRIVE.
6. Click NEXT.
7. CHECK the WITH SPECIFIC WORDS IN SUBJECT.
8. At the bottom click the BLUE link and type in the common subjects that appear in returned messages (i.e. RETURNED - it can vary so you might need 2 or more).
9. Click NEXT.
10. In the actions window check DELETE.
11. Click FINISH.

That is the free, easy, and simplest way to handle the situation.

The next option is to use some free or commerical software to continue using Outlook but in a more managed way. For example, I found one online for only $25 that works well at http://www.sperrysoftware.com/Outlook/Distribution-List-Manager.asp.

Or you could use something free that your webhost provider probably already has.

Finally, Microsoft has released Office Live. It allows you to host your own website, email services, and other really cool things for FREE. I would recommend that you check it out at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/default.aspx.

Have a happy holiday!

Sincerely,

Joshua
 
Posted by: Inbox_Interactive Accepted Answer
12/11/2006 5:06 PM (CST)
With a list of only 500 names, most of who you actually know, your bounces should be next to none.

When an email comes back, don't just delete the bounce without tending to the list. Either remove the bad address or get a new, current address. Don't just keep sending out mail knowing that it's going to bounce.

If you prune your list, eventually it will be clean enough where no one will complain about the return mail because there will be so little of it.

For what it's worth, "bcc" is not really the best way to deliver mail. Many corporate email systems do not even accept this type of mail (and they don't bounce it...they just trash it).

I really think a solution like ConstantContact, VerticalResponse, or MailerMailer would be what you should use here. It will manage your bounces better, and it will make "removes" easier to manage, too (something I bet you're overlooking, too).

When you push HTML versions, are you sending the images along with the email or are you using absolute image paths to hosted images?
 
Posted by: Marketing-Riot Accepted Answer
12/11/2006 5:50 PM (CST)
There's an email distribution add-in available for Outlook called eAnnouncer

Link http://www.email-announcer.com/

Two versions at $49 or $99

I used this to distribute a weekly eNewsletter replacing the bcc method

RETURNS:
With a small list of 500, I agree with Inbox_Interactive, you need to open the returns and see why they are being returned and try to fix the problem or mark the record to take it out of the distribution.

Also, you may find some are blocked as spam. If this is the case, and with the small number you are managing, contact the company and see if they will let you through their spam filter. You can get on an email black list and would need to remove yourself manually from the list.

In email marketing, it is very important to stay on the white lists so your message is not blocked.

Always remember to have those receiving your email opt in to the service and always provide an opt out link on each and every correspondence. Also, you will want to include a link to your privacy policies so your potentials and clients know you will not be reselling their names.

Also, ask if the receiver prefers html or text message. You can also write code to determine this yourself via html.

I'm sure you can get a template layout where you upload pictures and text. That should be fairly easy to do.

Good luck
 
Posted by: darcy.moen Member Response
12/11/2006 7:29 PM (CST)
Why not use some pensourse email tools list phplist? Its free, and can handle unsubscribes. It is web based, and can be integrated into your web site. It is a simple to use tool, administers multiple lists, and has a WYIWYG message building tool. Try the demo at: http://www.phplist.com/

Why would you be sending weekly email? How often do people buy a house? I'm sure its not weekly. This is likely why your list is bouncing....folks are trying to get away from too many emails. Ask or revist your send....maybe monthly would be better. I think that perhaps your list is telling you something.

Darcy Moen
 
Posted by: darcy.moen Member Response
12/11/2006 7:36 PM (CST)
another problem with using outlook for list emailing is it is not set up for long connections to mail servers - its meant to connect, send and disconnect. Long lists and it bogs down. Worse yet, the mail server may try to send an out of office reply...anf voila!.. a soft bounce that blows the rest of the list. Bounces happen, and outlook isn't prepared for it. PHPlist is designed for such problems...its time to move up to better tools designed for more rugged use.

Darcy Moen
 
Posted by: cblase Author Response
12/11/2006 8:09 PM (CST)
Thanks for all the good feedback so far.

I tend to my email list frequently and continually update it. All bounce backs are examined to see if they are labeled as spam.

Most recently I got a bunch of bouncebacks from comcast. There were about 10 of them. All of them indicated that comcast thought I was spam. It's actually caused a bit of a mess with my company's server.

I'm not sure if my emails are in HTML or not. I simply write an email in outlook and occasionally cut and paste some nice little photos (in low res) in between the paragraphs.

Would constant contact or Vertical Response have a lower bounceback rate?

The remark on my possibly landing on a 'black list' is interesting. I will look into that. Since my last email newsletter (when Comcast blocked me) every email I've tried to send to a Comcast address has been blocked.

Darcy: Weekly email newsletters are a common practice in my industry. It's called 'farming'. We tend to our long-term leads with regular 'waterings' so that when they are ready to bloom, they call us.

Does anyone know who I contact at Comcast to get pulled of a black list (if I'm on it?).

Also, marketing riot-- eAnnouncer sounds interesting. How large is your list? And are you using a company server or a home computer?

I guess I'm also asking if using my company's server is part of the problem.

Thank you thank you thank. This forum rocks! I've gotten some great help over my time here (including the name of my website!):)
 
Posted by: Inbox_Interactive Member Response
12/11/2006 8:46 PM (CST)
"Does anyone know who I contact at Comcast to get pulled of a black list (if I'm on it?)."

Sounds like you're on it. It happens all the time. They are a little overzealous there.

Per Comcast:
"Please send blacklist removal requests to blacklist_comcastnet@cable.comcast.com - Be sure to include your mail server IP ADDRESS."

Good luck. Many people say that they never get anywhere with Comcast. It sounds like in order to send to Comcast, you will have (slightly) better luck with a Web based service provider.

Sending the images right there within the message is not helping. They are seen as attachments by many recipients.
 
Posted by: stevea Accepted Answer
12/12/2006 4:24 AM (CST)
Dear Cece

There is a lot of merit in not sending Outlook emails to a list – Bcc is the worst of all worlds, but mailing to a Proxy List is almost as bad. By the way, if you are sending embedded pictures, you are sending emails in HTML in Outlook!

Sending emails individually is advantageous as is merging the client details into the email in the same way you would with a merged letter. Both will help you get through the recipient’s SPAM filters. Sending images is good for content, but it too can fall foul of the filters. Due to recent attempts by hot-room investment e-mailers to hide their stupid “Buy” recommendations in an image file, many anti SPAM filters will reject an email if the image content appears to be too high.

I liked the suggestions from Darcy and marketingriot, email-announcer is a breeze, but it won’t handle bounce-backs, but with a list of 500 who cares at this stage in your email business? You do have to maintain a CSV list though in order to give email-announcer an up-to-date mailing list and that can be a hassle when you have other priorities. Likewise, phplist is a comprehensive service with sophisticated bounce-back handling, which might be better in the end.

Our advice to our own clients is to use their CRM system with Knowledge-Synch or Workflow Automation to handle email responses. The client or prospect details are already on the system, which is used for all other aspects of client contact. The email marketing module (Of Maximizer at least) utilises the client email, name, address, interests, etc. fields from the database to produce a merged email document and it sends them one-by one at whatever rate you set. Knowledge-Synch handles the responses and captures the bounce-backs or rejects by category and appends an action to the record for someone actually to do something about it.

You ought to think about implementing a CRM system for the benefit of your entire operation, so that this and a host of other client-contact points can be incorporated into one package and one way of working more efficiently, but as the above two packages hit the majority of targets for small scale emailing without a hefty time penalty for setup, you might consider either.

Do not take a decision on software cost or implementation cost alone though. Even if you decide to take an inexpensive software system and pay for someone to configure it, unless the mailing list is on a database or CRM system which is in constant use, you will be forever fiddling with merge-lists and trying to keep them up-to-date. I’ve seen people decide to customise Outlook for £50 and £250 in set-up costs rather than spend £300 on CRM software, only to find themselves spending £1000 over a year to maintain a client list which has no relationship to anything else they do in their business life and as a consequence is always out of date!

Regards


Steve Alker
Unimax Solutions
 
Posted by: Inbox_Interactive Member Response
12/12/2006 6:41 AM (CST)
I'm curious...what is your take on a service such as this?

http://www.pullan.com/
 
Posted by: cblase Author Response
12/12/2006 10:45 AM (CST)
RE:Pullan product.

This is sort of a different topic. I'm familiar with all the real estate email marketing newsletters. They're great for some people, but not for me.

I write original content that is subsequently posted on my blog at www.sfrealestatebuzz.com. Email programs with pre-written content is not for me.

I also kind of have a preference for something that doesn't look too slick. This email is going out to people who are friends and personal contacts. I sort of like how my emails are now not much different than a normal email someone gets in their in box. The only thing I change is the size of the font and adding the occasional picture.
 
Posted by: michael Accepted Answer
12/12/2006 7:53 PM (CST)
Cece,
We actually do some in Outlook. You just have to change to text only. I would avoid pictures simply because most systems will show the pix as an "x". Now, if you really want to imbed pictures...just make sure it's at the bottom.

Since you're doing this on a shoestring, you might want to resend to the bounces but do it individually...not in BCC. AOL has been getting really bad on this...bouncing all bcc's.

If you're putting your website in the e-mail don't forget the http:// portion of the address. If you just use www. many systems give it a higher spam rating.

Always ask your recipients to add your address to their address book. This is an easy way to create opt-in. It'll also give you a good read as to whether the newletter is valuable.

Michael
 
Posted by: cblase Author Response
12/14/2006 3:43 PM (CST)
Thanks to all. I've learned so much! I'm going to go check out email Announcer - as well as the other programs you're recommending. And I'm closing the question.

Cheers!
 
Posted by: blogatxanersoft Member Response
12/15/2006 12:37 AM (CST)
Email Marketing is a very interesting thing for online marketing.I would like to say you that You should undrestand more clearly the terms related to Email MarketingThese are How To Create Compelling E-mail Offers That Sell Like Crazy The Basics of Email Marketing Automate Your Internet Business with Autoresponders How Opt-in Email Marketing Is Still A Marketing Tool To Remember Targeted Email Advertising Campaigns – Do They Really Work? Building an Opt-In list Quickly, From Scratch and With No Money The 4 Ways to Get Your Subscribers to Trust You Why Should I Open Your E-Mail?
 


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