Summary
Political email campaigns face unique deliverability challenges due to high sending frequency, list churn, and the need to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Key strategies include prioritizing recipient engagement and value, employing strong email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to prevent spoofing and phishing, maintaining list hygiene through double opt-in and regular cleaning, segmenting audiences for personalized messaging, and adhering to email service provider guidelines. Experts note that political mail operates in a gray area with a focus on suppression over permission and differing rules compared to commercial mail. While some campaigns may rely on aggressive tactics, such as high email volume, this can negatively impact sender reputation. Therefore, it's crucial to monitor metrics, like complaint rates, open rates, and bounce rates, to optimize email content and sending frequency. Dedicated support desks may exist within Google and other providers; deliverability consulting services are also available to help campaigns comply with best practices and improve performance.
Key findings
- Engagement Focus: Prioritizing recipient engagement and value is critical for inbox placement.
- Strong Authentication: Robust authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) protects against spoofing and phishing, improving deliverability.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and engaged list prevents deliverability issues.
- Segmentation: Segmenting audiences allows for personalized messaging, boosting relevance and conversions.
- Gray Area: Political mail operates in a legal gray area, with different rules than commercial mail.
- Aggressive Tactics Risk: Relying on aggressive tactics like high volume can damage sender reputation.
- Metrics Monitoring: Tracking key metrics is essential for optimizing campaigns.
- ESP Guidelines: Following the guidelines of Email Service Providers (ESPs) such as Gmail and Microsoft is critical.
- Consulting Services: Deliverability consulting services exist for campaigns that lack internal expertise.
Key considerations
- Best Practices Compliance: Adhering to email deliverability best practices is paramount, even in intense campaigns.
- Legal Landscape: Understanding the legal gray area surrounding political mail is vital.
- Audience Targeting: Effective list segmentation enables targeted messaging.
- Proactive Optimization: Continuously monitoring metrics and adjusting strategies is essential.
- Long-Term Reputation: Prioritizing sender reputation leads to sustainable deliverability.
- Prioritize Security: Prioritize security due to cybersecurity threats, implementing strong security measures.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Political email campaigns face unique deliverability challenges due to high sending frequency, list churn, and rapidly changing landscapes. Key strategies include prioritizing recipient engagement, strong email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, segmentation based on engagement and demographics, and relevant content. While some campaigns use aggressive tactics like high volume, experts advise following deliverability best practices like permission-based marketing and monitoring sender reputation. Measuring metrics like open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and spam complaints is essential for optimization. Several sources highlight the importance of planning ahead and prioritizing security due to cybersecurity threats.
Key opinions
- Recipient Engagement: Prioritizing recipient engagement (high open and click rates) can significantly improve deliverability, even without strict permission.
- Authentication: Strong email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for political campaigns to improve inbox placement and prevent spoofing.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list through double opt-in and regular cleaning of unengaged subscribers is vital.
- Segmentation: Segmentation based on engagement, demographics, donation history, and political views can improve messaging relevance and conversion rates.
- Aggressive Tactics: While some campaigns rely on high email volume, this can negatively impact sender reputation and should be approached with caution.
- Metrics: Tracking open rates, click-through rates, conversion rates, and spam complaint rates is essential for optimizing email campaigns.
- Personalization: Personalization and relevant content is key because Political email marketing faces unique challenges, including high frequency sending, list churn, and the need to quickly adapt to changing political landscapes.
Key considerations
- Deliverability Best Practices: Even with the urgency of political campaigns, following deliverability best practices is crucial for long-term success.
- Permission vs. Engagement: While permission-based marketing is ideal, high engagement can sometimes outweigh the lack of explicit permission.
- Monitoring and Adjustment: Continuously monitor deliverability metrics and adjust strategies based on performance.
- Security: Prioritize security due to cybersecurity threats, implementing strong security measures.
- Segmentation: Targeted messaging is key because it is Crucial for political campaigns because it is based on demographics, donation history, volunteer activity, and expressed political views, targeted messaging can significantly improve engagement and conversion rates.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks shares experiences working with political campaigns, providing insights such as: avoid overcomplicating personalization, focus on recipient value, understand spam filter rules, plan ahead, and prioritize security due to cybersecurity threats.
3 Oct 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Really Good Emails explains that political campaigns should focus on strong authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, segmentation based on engagement, and sending relevant content to improve inbox placement. They also suggest closely monitoring deliverability metrics and adjusting strategies accordingly.
27 Jul 2023 - Really Good Emails
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Experts agree that political email campaigns face unique deliverability challenges. Gmail's filters are catching more spam than senders realize, and some campaigns rely on short-term, potentially harmful 'spammer tricks.' Political mail operates in a gray area, with a focus on suppression over permission and differing rules compared to commercial mail. Despite the pressure of campaigns, following deliverability best practices like validating addresses, honoring opt-outs, and segmenting lists is crucial. Monitoring metrics like complaint rates, open rates, and bounce rates is essential to maintain list hygiene and sender reputation. Dedicated support desks may exist within Google and other providers, and deliverability consulting can be beneficial.
Key opinions
- Challenging Environment: Political email deliverability is a challenging environment due to aggressive sending tactics and the short-term nature of campaigns.
- Gmail Filtering: Gmail's filters are effective, potentially catching more political spam than senders realize.
- Spammer Tricks: Some campaigns resort to 'spammer tricks' for short-term gains, which can be detrimental in the long run.
- Grey Area: Political mail operates in a legal and regulatory 'grey area,' with differing rules compared to commercial mail.
- Suppression Focus: Political mailings often prioritize suppression (opt-outs) over obtaining explicit permission.
- Dedicated Support: Dedicated support desks for political senders may exist within Google and other large providers.
- Importance of Metrics: Metrics such as bounce rate and complaint rate should be closely monitored.
Key considerations
- Best Practices: Despite campaign pressure, adhering to deliverability best practices is crucial for long-term success.
- Opt-Out Honoring: Honoring opt-out requests is essential for compliance and maintaining a good sender reputation.
- List Segmentation: Segmenting lists allows for more targeted and relevant messaging, improving engagement.
- Reputation Management: Prioritizing list hygiene and sender reputation is critical for sustainable deliverability.
- Compliance: Understanding that rules are different compared to commercial mail.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes the importance of following deliverability best practices, even during the intensity of a political campaign. He stresses the need for valid email addresses, honoring opt-out requests, and segmenting lists. He warns that ignoring these practices can lead to deliverability problems and damage to sender reputation.
26 Oct 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that political mail is different, with dedicated support desks in some places, including teams inside Google and other large mailbox providers. Also mentions consulting for elected government agencies.
13 Jul 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Email service providers like Gmail and Microsoft provide guidelines and resources to help bulk senders, including political campaigns, achieve inbox delivery. These guidelines emphasize authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), proper list management, handling spam complaints, and providing clear unsubscribe options. DMARC specifically helps protect against phishing and spoofing by allowing senders to specify how receivers should handle unauthenticated messages and provide reporting. While dedicated support desks for political campaigns are not always available, deliverability consulting services are offered to help optimize email programs through assistance with authentication, list management, and reputation monitoring.
Key findings
- Provider Guidelines: Gmail and Microsoft provide specific guidelines for bulk senders, including political campaigns, to ensure deliverability.
- Authentication Importance: Authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are critical for preventing spoofing and improving email security and deliverability.
- List Management: Proper list management is essential for maintaining sender reputation and avoiding deliverability issues.
- DMARC Protection: DMARC helps protect against phishing and spoofing by allowing senders to specify how receivers should handle unauthenticated messages.
- Consulting Services: Deliverability consulting services are available to help optimize email programs, even if dedicated support desks are not.
Key considerations
- Guideline Compliance: Adhering to email service provider guidelines is crucial for avoiding deliverability issues.
- Authentication Implementation: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential for protecting against spoofing and improving deliverability.
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitoring sender reputation is vital for identifying and addressing deliverability problems.
- List Management Practices: Adopting proper list management practices, including handling spam complaints and providing clear unsubscribe options, is essential.
- Utilizing Resources: Leveraging available resources, such as deliverability consulting services, can help optimize email programs.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Postmaster explains that Microsoft provides resources and support for senders, including political campaigns, to help them comply with email best practices and avoid deliverability problems. They emphasize the importance of sender reputation, list hygiene, and authentication. They also offer tools for senders to monitor their deliverability.
23 Feb 2024 - Microsoft Postmaster
Technical article
Documentation from DMARC.org answers that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) helps email senders protect their domain from unauthorized use, such as phishing and spoofing. Implementing DMARC allows senders to specify how email receivers should handle messages that fail authentication checks, and provides reporting on email authentication results.
4 May 2024 - DMARC.org
