There’s a lot of buzz about deliverability, opt-in, and CAN-SPAM right now.  Over the past few weeks, I’ve gotten a lot of, “These are opt-in lists, I don’t understand why subscribers are reporting my mail as spam,” and “Why does AOL make it so easy for subscribers to report my mail as spam?”

The answer is actually quite simply: permission isn’t forever, and permission doesn’t give you license to send anything and everything you’d like.  Maybe your subscribers no longer find your content relevant or compelling.  Sure, they were in the market for your product six months ago, but if they’ve purchased from you or a competitor maybe they’re no longer interested in receiving promotional emails about your product.  Maybe your content has changed from what the subscriber originally signed up to receive.  Maybe you’re mailing them too frequently (or not frequently enough!).  At the end of the day, your subscribers need to feel your communications are valuable on an ongoing basis to stay engaged with them.

In regards to why AOL makes it so easy to report your mail spam, it’s important to understand that AOL is in the business of keeping their users happy.  One way they do that is by blocking unwanted mail.  To do so, they rely on their users to tell them what is and isn’t wanted.  And they make it easy for their users to tell them when a piece of mail isn’t wanted by offering their users a “report as spam” button.

Here are some tips to think about for AOL:


  • Are you offering your subscribers compelling and relevant content that they find useful and look forward to receiving so that they don’t hit the AOL spam button?  
  • Like AOL, have you asked your subscribers for feedback to ensure that you’re providing good content?  
  • Do you allow subscribers to self-select options in terms of frequency and content?  
  • Have you reviewed your subscriber engagement lately as measured by opens, clicks, and conversions?
  • Do you make it as easy for subscribers to unsubscribe as it is for them to click on the “spam” button?  
     

While these may seem AOL-specific, in fact these tips are great to think about for email marketing in general.  Addressing each of these points is a great way to ensure your reputation, deliverability, and ROI are the best they can be!

Phil Schott
Senior Deliverability Consultant