When it comes to achieving high rates of delivery, it’s important that we all understand that Email Service Providers (ESPs) cannot be held solely responsible for delivery issues. The majority of delivery issues are caused by the ESP users and email marketers themselves, knowingly as well as unknowingly. Matt Blumberg, CEO & Chairman of ReturnPath, refers to Ken Magill when stating that deliverability being controlled by the ESP is a myth – deliverability is controlled by the marketer. Ken Magill further comments that each client can make a massive impact on deliverability by using the right “data collection, data hygiene, frequency and relevance. These are the main factors that affect deliverability and they are all within the list owner’s control”.

Delivery issues

We think that the majority of delivery issues arise from bad list acquisition and bad list management.  Delivery issues such as ‘domain unknown’, ‘mailbox unknown’ and ‘complaints’ can be attributed directly to the actions of the user. Sometimes, a simple spelling mistake can lead to the email being returned (domain or mailbox unknown); however, the mail is returned much more often because the subscriber thought that they had not given their permission to be on the list.

Clean lists

Some email marketers become much too greedy when acquiring lists and buy lists or scour the net for random email addresses that fit their marketing segment. This has created an army of expert spammers – users who buy lists are usually far more likely to be blocked and thrown off a sending server because they are easy to spot.

Having a good opt-in list saves time and money and, in the long run, improves delivery.  It’s also a good idea to remember that subscribers can change their preferences from time to time – it is therefore a good idea to send the occasional email asking them to update their profile. Then, if someone is no longer interested in receiving your newsletter, they can unsubscribe immediately.  It also gives you the opportunity to shift them to a list which is much more targeted and which will communicate directly with them, re-enforcing and deepening your relationship with them.

Clean content

Remember that the content of your subject line and the email itself are both extremely important in reminding your subscribers that they have given their permission.  Content should be clean and not contain any words that could be interpreted as spam. Give your next email newsletter a spam check before sending it.  Also ensure that your content is in line with what your subscriber has asked for.

Your email content and the quality of your list are the main components that ensure that your email gets delivered into your subscriber’s inbox.  So remember to review your practices and make sure that you don’t become your own worst enemy.

If you’re not quite sure about all these email deliverability terms, checkout this helpful glossary by Mark Brownlow.

How do I link my GraphicMail email newsletters to my Facebook page?

Facebook is a great way to communicate with friends, family and general followers, so why not invite them to read your email marketing newsletters?

It's easy too! Simply, copy the hyperlink of your email newsletter and paste it in to your Facebook profile.  You can find the link to the newsletter on the top of the Preview Pane in the Edit menu.  Adding this link to your profile will also add the link to the News Feed and Mini Feed of you friends on the Facebook network.

You can also take this a step further!  If you’ve set-up your free GraphicMail microsite with your archived newsletters, containing all your past email newsletters that you've sent out, you can simply get the link from the microsite page and add your entire back catalogue into your Facebook profile too!

What's the point in having a great email newsletter with nobody to send it to? That's like being all dressed up for a party with nowhere to go. So why not take your email newsletter campaign to where the best parties are congregating, on Facebook? All you need is your own Facebook Fan page and your GraphicMail subscription form code.

STEP 1. Ensure that your subscription from is correctly customised
Once you’re happy with your customisation, go to the Embed Form menu and copy the non-javascript code into NotePad or a TextEdit.

STEP 2. Adding the FBML application to your Facebook account
Facebook has it’s own code - called FBML (Facebook Markup Language) and you’ll need to have the Facebook FBML application if you want to add widgets to your Fan Page.  To add it, simply search for Static FBML and click on ‘Add to my page’. 

STEP 3. Creating the Facebook Subscription page
When you have added the app, go to your Facebook page and click on ‘Edit Page’.  Find FBML in your list of applications and click the pencil icon.  In Box Title give your tab its name like ‘Email signup’ or ‘Email updates’.  In the FBML section just copy and paste the HTML non-javascript code from the Embed Form section of GraphicMail. 

STEP 4. Adding the Subscription Tab to your Facebook Navigation
Under the Add a New Tab dropdown in the FBML application you will see the custom name you just gave to the subscription page you created in Step 2.

STEP 5. Try it out
Go to your Facebook Fan Page and do a test subscription to make sure it’s all working.
 

In the movie Il Postino by Michael Radford, the life of the fisherman, Mario, changes dramatically when Pablo Neruda, the famous Chilean writer, settles on his little Italian island. Neruda needs a postman to deliver the huge quantities of mail sent to him by his many admirers and Mario takes on the job (since he hates fishing anyway).

Although GraphicMail may not be as poetic as Neruda, they have definitely found a professional "postman" in Nicolo Capone who runs the newly opened Italian Office. In common with Mario, Nicolo also prefers a good seafood dinner in preference to catching the fish himself. However Lanciano is not on an island but in the region of Abruzzo, just south of Rome. Despite these small differences, we two have entered a relationship that works.

The Italian office is the latest addition to the GraphicMail family whose offices operate successfully in the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand as well as The United Kingdom,. GraphicMail is also beginning to rub shoulders with lovers of fine cheeses and baguettes, and will light the lanterns for the Chinese New Year... watch this space!