Summary
A sudden drop in email open rates on Flodesk can stem from a complex interplay of factors encompassing technical issues, content relevance, list hygiene, and sender reputation. Changes in IP pools, spam filter algorithms, subscriber behavior (inactivity, spam complaints), and list bombing can significantly impact deliverability. Properly examining content (hostnames, links), monitoring analytics, implementing email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), managing sending frequency, ensuring permission-based lists, and proactively maintaining list hygiene are crucial for mitigating these issues.
Key findings
- IP Pool Issues: Changes in ESP shared IP pools can lead to deliverability problems.
- Spam Filtering: Algorithm changes in spam filters can drastically reduce open rates.
- Subscriber Inactivity: Inactive subscribers and stale lists negatively impact engagement.
- Content Problems: Irrelevant content, large images, and slow-loading elements diminish engagement.
- Authentication Failures: Issues with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC can cause emails to be marked as spam.
- Reputation Damage: High spam complaint rates and user blocks hurt sender reputation.
- List Bombing Attacks: Malicious list bombing can destroy engagement metrics.
- New IP Warm-up: Lack of proper IP warming after transitioning to a new IP address decreases initial engagement.
- Sending Time: Not sending at the right time for individual subscribers.
Key considerations
- Examine Content: Review content for spam triggers, broken links, large images, and slow-loading elements.
- Monitor Analytics: Track clicks, bounces, and other engagement metrics to identify deliverability issues.
- Authenticate Email: Implement and verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to improve sender authentication.
- Maintain List Hygiene: Regularly clean and segment email lists to remove inactive subscribers.
- Manage Sending Frequency: Control sending frequency to avoid overwhelming subscribers.
- Monitor Reputation: Track sender reputation and promptly address any deliverability issues.
- Prevent List Bombing: Implement security measures to prevent list bombing attacks.
- Warm Up New IPs: Properly warm up new IPs when transitioning to a new IP address.
- Investigate IP Pool Changes: Inquire with the ESP about any recent changes to IP pools.
- Run Seed Tests: Conduct seed tests to diagnose placement issues before a full send.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
A sudden drop in email open rates on Flodesk can be attributed to numerous factors ranging from technical issues like IP pool changes and spam filters to content-related problems, list hygiene, and subscriber behavior. Monitoring sender reputation, ensuring proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and regularly cleaning and segmenting email lists are crucial. Additionally, engagement can be affected by sending irrelevant or poorly rendered content, sending at the wrong time, and using deceptive subject lines. Spam filters, blocklists, engagement, bounce rates, and authentication all contribute to deliverability.
Key opinions
- IP Pool Changes: The ESP might have changed the shared IP pool, leading to deliverability issues.
- Spam Filters: Changes in spam filter algorithms can significantly impact open rates.
- List Hygiene: Stale lists with inactive subscribers can drastically reduce open rates.
- Content Relevance: Irrelevant content can cause disengagement and lower open rates.
- Technical Issues: Image loading problems and slow servers can prevent emails from rendering properly, decreasing engagement.
- Promotions Tab: Emails landing in the promotions tab can decrease open rates.
- Audience Demographics: Changes in audience demographics can impact visibility and engagement.
- Sender Reputation: Checking the sender reputation can ensure the emails are not triggering spam filters.
Key considerations
- Monitor Sender Reputation: Regularly check sender reputation to ensure emails aren't being flagged as spam.
- Implement Email Authentication: Ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is in place to improve deliverability.
- Clean and Segment Lists: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive subscribers and segment lists for more targeted content.
- Optimize Content: Ensure content is relevant, engaging, and free of spam trigger words.
- Check Sending Time: Experiment with different sending times to determine the optimal time for higher engagement.
- Review Subject Lines: Optimize subject lines to avoid being marked as spam.
- Run Seed Tests: Run seed tests to identify potential deliverability issues before sending emails.
- Check IP Address: Check if the sender has been moved to a different IP family
Marketer view
Email marketer from HubSpot suggests that reasons for decreased open rates include sending emails too frequently, sending to an unengaged list, and using a deceptive subject line. They recommend segmenting your email list, cleaning your email list, and optimizing your subject lines.
5 Dec 2023 - HubSpot
Marketer view
Email marketer from Gmass shares that your email is likely landing in the promotions tab. Change your email to be more focused on one person instead of many.
19 Jul 2022 - Gmass
What the experts say
7 expert opinions
A sudden drop in email open rates on Flodesk can stem from various factors, including technical issues with content (hostnames, links), subscriber inactivity, spam complaints, list bombing, and changes in IP addresses. Addressing these issues requires examining content and technical aspects, monitoring analytics (clicks, bounces), maintaining list hygiene, and managing sender reputation.
Key opinions
- Content Issues: Technical issues with content, such as hostnames and links, can impact deliverability.
- Subscriber Inactivity: Subscriber inactivity or loss of interest can lead to lower open rates.
- Spam Complaints: High spam complaint rates negatively affect sender reputation and deliverability.
- List Bombing: Malicious list bombing can drastically decrease engagement rates.
- New IP Addresses: Transitioning to a new IP address can initially result in lower engagement rates.
Key considerations
- Examine Content: Thoroughly examine hostnames and links within the email content for potential issues.
- Monitor Analytics: Regularly monitor clicks, bounces, and other analytics to diagnose deliverability problems.
- Maintain List Hygiene: Implement list cleaning practices to remove inactive subscribers and prevent spam complaints.
- Protect Against List Bombing: Implement security measures to prevent or mitigate list bombing attacks.
- Warm Up New IPs: Properly warm up new IP addresses to build sender reputation.
- Monitor Sender Reputation: Actively monitor sender reputation to catch deliverability issues early.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that high spam complaint rates reported through feedback loops directly impact sender reputation and can drastically reduce deliverability, leading to lower open rates.
18 Sep 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise discusses new IP addresses. When transitioning to a new IP address, engagement rates of the new IP will be low until the receiving end recognizes it as a legitimate sender.
1 May 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
A sudden drop in email open rates can be caused by several deliverability issues highlighted in various documentation. These include blacklisting, spam filtering, authentication problems (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), using purchased lists, lack of recipient permission, irrelevant content, and excessive sending frequency. Key components influencing deliverability encompass authentication, reputation, content, and infrastructure. Furthermore, a high number of users blocking a sender can lead to email providers and spam filters automatically filtering the sender's messages.
Key findings
- Blacklisting and Spam Filters: Deliverability issues like blacklisting and spam filtering can cause a significant drop in open rates.
- Authentication Problems: Authentication issues (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) can lead to emails being marked as spam.
- Poor List Practices: Using purchased lists or sending without permission negatively impacts engagement.
- Irrelevant Content: Sending irrelevant content leads to low engagement and open rates.
- Excessive Frequency: Sending too frequently can cause recipients to disengage.
- Reputation Impact: Too many users blocking a sender damages reputation and leads to automatic filtering.
Key considerations
- Monitor Sender Reputation: Regularly monitor sender reputation to identify and address any deliverability issues.
- Implement Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate emails and improve deliverability.
- Use Permission-Based Lists: Ensure that all recipients have given permission to receive emails.
- Provide Relevant Content: Create and send relevant content that aligns with recipients' interests.
- Manage Sending Frequency: Manage sending frequency to avoid overwhelming recipients.
- Address User Blocks: Take steps to understand and address the reasons why users are blocking the sender.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp mentions that reasons for low engagement include using purchased lists, not having permission to send, sending irrelevant content, and sending too frequently.
1 Jun 2022 - Mailchimp
Technical article
Documentation from Google explains using an authentication method such as SPF, DKIM, or DMARC will help protect your messages from being marked as spam.
13 Dec 2024 - Google
How can I improve email deliverability and open rates for a client with a bad domain reputation, especially with Gmail, and what strategies should I use for unengaged users?
How can I improve my email open rates and avoid spam filters?
How can I recover my email domain reputation after a drop in open rates?
How do I troubleshoot low email open rates, check DKIM configuration, and warm up a new subdomain in Salesforce Marketing Cloud?
What are the best alternative metrics to email open rates for measuring engagement?
What could cause a sudden drop in email open rates even after fixing email authentication?
