Summary
Declining email open rates for political campaigns acquired through Facebook ads, despite initial engagement, are multi-faceted. Key contributors include outdated data from Facebook and petitions, insufficient audience segmentation and personalization, deliverability complications, and the challenges inherent in political content, such as 'list bombing' and heightened spam filtering. Implementing robust email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining stringent list hygiene, A/B testing, and using double opt-in are strategies recommended to improve open rates and overall campaign effectiveness. Regularly monitoring sender reputation via tools such as Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft Sender Support, as well as the employment of re-engagement campaigns, is also important.
Key findings
- Data Quality Issues: Facebook-sourced addresses and petition sign-ups frequently include outdated or invalid email addresses, leading to lower deliverability and engagement.
- Inadequate Segmentation & Personalization: Failure to segment audiences and personalize email content decreases relevance and, thus, open rates.
- Deliverability Problems: Deliverability challenges stem from poor sender reputation, lack of authentication, and emails landing in spam folders.
- Political Content Challenges: Political campaigns face 'list bombing,' increased spam complaints, and heightened scrutiny from mailbox providers.
- Insufficient Authentication: Lack of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) impacts deliverability and can make emails appear untrustworthy.
- Strong CTR vs Low OR: Click Through Rates may still be strong despite Open rates being low, which means that people are still clicking on links in the email. This means that content should be analysed to determine if the issue is the message itself rather than deliverability.
Key considerations
- Address Validity & List Hygiene: Employ verification methods to ensure acquired email addresses are valid and actively used; regularly clean email lists by removing unengaged subscribers.
- Explicit Consent & Re-engagement: Ensure recipients explicitly opt-in to ongoing communications and implement re-engagement campaigns to reactivate inactive subscribers.
- Content Relevance & Targeting: Tailor email content to match recipient interests, demographics, and engagement levels; send targeted content based on segmented lists.
- Continuous Monitoring & Optimization: Monitor email metrics (opens, clicks, unsubscribes, spam complaints) and adjust strategies accordingly; A/B test various email elements (subject lines, send times, content).
- Proactive Reputation Management: Monitor and manage sender reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft Sender Support; promptly address any issues related to spam complaints or deliverability.
- Compliance & Best Practices: Adhere to email sending best practices, comply with industry standards, and implement proper email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Declining email open rates for political campaigns acquired through Facebook ads, despite initial engagement, can stem from various factors. These include poor email list hygiene, lack of audience segmentation and personalization, deliverability issues, and the inherent challenges associated with political content. Practices like A/B testing subject lines, ensuring proper authentication, and utilizing re-engagement campaigns are recommended to improve open rates.
Key opinions
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean email list by removing unengaged subscribers is crucial for improving sender reputation and deliverability.
- Segmentation & Personalization: Segmenting the audience and personalizing content increases relevance and engagement, positively impacting open rates.
- Deliverability Issues: Factors like poor sender reputation, lack of authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and ending up in spam folders contribute to declining open rates.
- Political Content Challenges: Political emails often face heightened scrutiny and spam complaints due to aggressive acquisition tactics and potential "list bombing".
- Testing & Optimization: A/B testing subject lines, send times, and content helps identify what resonates best with the audience.
- Double Opt-in: Using a double opt-in process ensures subscribers are genuinely interested in your emails, improving the likelihood of opens.
- Google Postmaster Tools: Using Postmaster Tools helps highlight deliverability issues related to Google related email domains
- Strong CTR vs Low OR: Even if open rates are low, monitor your click-through-rates. If those are high, that means people are still clicking on links in the email
Key considerations
- Audience Intent: Consider whether recipients who initially engaged with a Facebook ad or signed a petition still want to receive ongoing email communications.
- Data Analysis: Analyze email metrics beyond open rates, such as click-through rates and conversions, to get a holistic view of campaign performance.
- Sender Reputation: Actively monitor and manage your sender reputation to prevent deliverability issues.
- Email Frequency: Avoid sending too many emails, as this can lead to subscriber fatigue and increased spam complaints.
- Content Quality: Ensure your email content is high-quality, relevant, and targeted to the interests of your audience.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit shares that political emails frequently end up in the spam folder due to aggressive acquisition tactics, low engagement, and recipients marking them as spam. They suggest focusing on high-quality content and targeted messaging to improve engagement and reduce spam complaints.
4 May 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from Smart Insights shares that creating re-engagement campaigns to target inactive subscribers can help improve email list quality and overall deliverability. Re-engaging subscribers or removing them from your list can boost open rates and engagement metrics.
24 Jan 2023 - Smart Insights
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Declining email open rates for political campaigns using Facebook ads are driven by several factors. Older Facebook addresses and low-quality petition sign-ups lead to invalid data, increasing spam complaints. Political content faces 'list bombing,' filling lists with unengaged recipients. Machine learning filters identify unwanted mail, reflecting a lack of user permission and control, leading to heightened scrutiny from mailbox providers and ultimately, decreased open rates.
Key opinions
- Data Quality: Facebook-acquired addresses and petition sign-ups often result in outdated or invalid email addresses.
- List Bombing: Political campaigns are susceptible to 'list bombing,' where opponents sign up unwilling recipients, lowering engagement.
- Machine Learning Filters: Mailbox providers' machine learning algorithms identify and filter out unwanted political mail based on user behavior.
- Permission Issues: Engagement from initial ad interaction doesn't always translate to ongoing permission for email communications.
- Heightened Scrutiny: Political emails face increased scrutiny from mailbox providers, leading to more aggressive spam filtering.
Key considerations
- Address Validity: Implement verification methods to ensure acquired email addresses are valid and actively used.
- Permission Gathering: Re-evaluate consent processes to ensure recipients explicitly opt-in to ongoing email communications, not just initial interactions.
- Content Relevance: Tailor email content to match recipient interests and engagement levels to increase perceived value and reduce spam complaints.
- Engagement Monitoring: Continuously monitor email engagement metrics (opens, clicks, unsubscribes) and adjust strategies based on performance.
- Reputation Management: Proactively manage sender reputation to mitigate the impact of spam complaints and maintain deliverability.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Facebook addresses can be old, sign-ups from petitions often yield invalid addresses, and political issues attract harassment, all leading to spam complaints and lower deliverability. She suggests the declines are likely due to machine learning filters identifying unwanted mail.
5 Jun 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that political content often faces issues related to "list bombing" where people sign up others who disagree with the political position to cause deliverability issues. This can significantly impact open rates as the list becomes filled with unengaged or hostile recipients.
8 Nov 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Email authentication using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for ensuring deliverability and preventing spoofing. Monitoring sender reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft Sender Support helps identify and address issues related to spam complaints. Implementing these protocols builds trust and verifies the sender's identity, improving email delivery rates.
Key findings
- SPF Authentication: SPF records authorize specific mail servers to send emails on behalf of a domain, preventing email spoofing.
- DKIM Signature: DKIM adds a digital signature to emails, verifying the sender's identity and ensuring message integrity.
- DMARC Policy: DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM, allowing domain owners to specify how receivers should handle emails that fail authentication checks.
- Sender Reputation Monitoring: Tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft Sender Support provide data on sender reputation and spam complaint rates.
- Feedback Loop (FBL): Feedback loops (FBL) provide data on spam complaints, allowing senders to address issues and improve their practices.
Key considerations
- Authentication Implementation: Ensure proper implementation and configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Reputation Monitoring: Regularly monitor sender reputation and spam complaint rates through available tools.
- Compliance with Standards: Adhere to email sending best practices and comply with industry standards to maintain a good sender reputation.
- Proactive Issue Resolution: Promptly address any issues identified through reputation monitoring or feedback loops to prevent further deliverability problems.
- Authentication Validation: Use online tools to validate your SPF, DKIM and DMARC records are set up correctly.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Sender Support explains that they use feedback loop (FBL) data to identify and mitigate spam. Senders should monitor their FBL data to understand complaint rates and address any issues causing recipients to mark their emails as spam.
4 Aug 2023 - Microsoft Sender Support
Technical article
Documentation from DKIM.org explains that DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying the sender's identity and ensuring the message hasn't been altered in transit. Implementing DKIM helps improve email deliverability and trust.
29 Mar 2022 - DKIM.org
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