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Are you tired of your emails landing in the spam folder or worse, not reaching your customers? Email deliverability issues can be a major headache for ecommerce brands in the cannabis industry because most don't know how to create an email campaign cadence and protect their domain reputation.
If your deliverability is in the toilet, don't worry; improving your email deliverability is entirely within your control.
We'll guide you through the latest email deliverability best practices and strategies to help you navigate the ever-changing landscape of email marketing rules. From setting up authentication protocols and maintaining a clean email list to creating engaging content and optimizing your send frequency.
So buckle up and get ready to master the art of email deliverability for your cannabis or CBD ecommerce brand.
Why Email Deliverability Matters
Email deliverability is crucial for cannabis ecommerce brands looking to reach and engage their audience. With an average return on investment of $38 for every dollar spent, email marketing offers a highly cost-effective way to connect with customers and drive sales [1].
However, poor email deliverability can significantly hold back the success of your campaigns, leading to lower open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately, reduced conversions.
If no one is reading your emails because they're in spam, you're not going to make money.
When your emails consistently end up in the spam folder or go undelivered, you also miss out on opportunities to connect with your audience and foster loyalty.
Moreover, poor email deliverability can harm your sender reputation, making it even more challenging to reach your subscribers in the future. Email service providers (ESPs) use complex algorithms to determine whether an email should be delivered to the inbox or filtered into the spam folder. If your emails frequently bounce or are marked as spam, your sender reputation will dive.
Key Factors Influencing Deliverability
Sender Reputation
Your sender reputation is one of the most critical factors that influence email deliverability. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) assign a reputation score to your sending domain based on your email-sending practices and how recipients engage with your emails.
A good sender reputation increases the likelihood of your emails being delivered to the inbox, while a poor reputation can result in your messages being filtered into the spam folder or blocked entirely.
To maintain a positive sender reputation, focus on sending relevant, valuable content to engaged subscribers who have explicitly opted in to receive your emails [2].
Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive or invalid addresses, and promptly remove subscribers who request to opt-out.
User Engagement
User engagement metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaints, play a role in determining your email deliverability. ISPs monitor how recipients interact with your emails to assess the relevance and value of your content [3].
High engagement rates, such as high open and click-through rates, signal to ISPs that your emails are valuable to your subscribers and they want to receive your emails [4]. On the other hand, low engagement rates or a high number of spam complaints can negatively impact your deliverability.
To improve user engagement, segment your email list based on subscriber preferences and behavior, and tailor your content to each segment. Consistently provide relevant, timely, and valuable information to keep your subscribers engaged and maintain a positive reputation with ISPs.
Email Content
The content of your emails can also affect deliverability. Spam filters analyze email content to identify potential spam messages based on specific triggers, such as excessive use of sales-oriented language, all-caps text, or misleading subject lines [6].
They also look at the number of links in your email and the ratio between images, text, and HTML code. Emails made of image slices are much more likely to land in spam.
To avoid triggering spam filters, use clear, concise language and avoid overusing sales-oriented phrases or excessive formatting. Ensure that your subject lines accurately reflect the content of your emails and do not mislead recipients [8].
Additionally, maintain a healthy text-to-image ratio in your emails, as emails with excessive images or minimal text can be flagged as potential spam.
By focusing on these key factors - sender reputation, user engagement, and email content - you can significantly improve your email deliverability and ensure that your messages reach your subscribers' inboxes.
Latest Updates in Email Marketing Rules
In February 2024, Google rolled out new email marketing rules designed to keep unwanted bulk email messages out of users' Gmail inboxes [25].
These changes are part of Google's ongoing mission to reduce spam and ensure that senders follow best practices. Yahoo is also implementing the same new email marketing rules.
The new requirements include setting up DKIM email authentication, DMARC for security, sending from your own sending domain, using one-click unsubscribe, and keeping your spam complaints under 0.1%.
A spam rate of 0.3% or higher will severely impact your deliverability - your messages might be rejected or sent to spam. Google provides a free tool, Google Postmaster Tools, to monitor spam complaints and sender domain reputation.
Google's New Requirements
Google's rules make it harder for senders to hide who they are by requiring email authentication from senders as well as security and spam tracking. The four main requirements are:
- Set up DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) email authentication to ensure no one tampers with your messages after you send them.
- Set up DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) for security, telling email providers what to do with your email messages when they receive them.
- Set up SPF records (Sender Policy Framework) to authenticate the sending mail server you are using is authorized to send emails on your behalf
- Send from your own domain rather than a shared domain provided by the email marketing platform.
- Use an obvious one-click unsubscribe link in any email marketing message you send.
- Keep spam rates below 0.3%
Impacts on Bulk Senders
The new rules apply to bulk senders, which Google defines as someone who sends more than 5,000 messages in a day. Yahoo has no minimum volume threshold.
Google counts the sending quantity based on the number of messages sent from the same primary domain and all its subdomains. Only emails sent to personal Gmail accounts will be rejected, while messages sent to Gmail users who access their email through a Google Workspace account won't be affected.
These changes started to take effect in February 2024, and message rejection errors will start appearing in April. Beginning June 2024, bulk senders with a user-reported spam rate greater than 0.3% will be ineligible for mitigation.
Cannabis businesses investing in email marketing should adhere to the new requirements from Google and Yahoo, as it's highly likely that other email providers will launch similar requirements in the ongoing battle against unwanted messages.
Strategies to Maintain & Improve Email Deliverability
If you find your engagement rates are dropping below 20% for open rates and 1% CTR, there is a good chance you're being sent to spam and your customers are not seeing your emails.
One key strategy to prevent this from happening is maintaining email list hygiene by ensuring the list is filled with engaged subscribers. Setting up a "sunset unengaged flow" helps remove inactive subscribers, maintaining list health automatically.
Segmenting your email list based on behavior and habits leads to higher engagement rates and conversions. By sending targeted emails based on segmentation filters such as engagement, products viewed, and location, cannabis brands can improve metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversions.
Prioritizing text over images in emails improves deliverability [4]. A monthly suppression of unengaged subscribers ensures ongoing list cleanliness [5]. Better deliverability is achieved through clean email list practices and effective segmentation [8].
Authentication Protocols
Implementing authentication protocols is essential for improving email deliverability. Setting up DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) ensures no one tampers with your messages after you send them and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) enhances security by telling email providers what to do with your email messages when they receive them [25].
Sending from your dedicated domain rather than a shared domain provided by the email marketing platform is another crucial aspect of landing in customers' inboxes as there is better brand identity and trust. A dedicated domain gives you full control over your sender's reputation.
As you build a strong reputation for your dedicated domain, ESPs are more likely to trust your emails, resulting in improved deliverability rates and easier monitoring using tools like Google Postmaster Tools to provide valuable insights specific to your domain.
While it requires more upfront investment and effort, a dedicated domain provides long-term stability for your email marketing efforts and it allows you to build a consistent and reliable sending infrastructure.
DKIM
DKIM uses public key cryptography to sign your emails digitally. In layman's terms, DKIM ensures no one tampers with your messages after you send them. This includes the content of your messages and any attachments.
DKIM protects your business by keeping malicious actors from impersonating you and your sender domain [40].
SPF
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a seasoned protocol that lets domain owners enlist which mail servers are authorized to send messages on behalf of their domain.
This works by creating a TXT-type SPF record that includes all the mail servers along with syntaxes that give details and instructions to recipients' mail servers [37].
SPF allows the recipient's mail server to check whether an incoming email originated from an authorized IP address for the sending domain. It helps prevent email spoofing.
DMARC
DMARC is built on SPF and DKIM to operate as a framework for domain owners to specify how to check the From: field presented to end users. It directs a receiving mailbox on the handling and reporting of emails failing DKIM and/or SPF checks.
The relationship between SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is characterized by their complementary nature and triangulation of authentication. This means that if one protocol encounters a failure, the remaining protocols can take care of the assessment and authentication to shred off the efforts made by threat actors [42].
Engaging Content Creation
Crafting engaging and relevant content your audience cares about is key to keeping subscribers interested and reducing unsubscribe rates. Providing value in every email, whether through exclusive deals, informative content, games, or loyalty rewards, helps maintain engagement.
Create an email campaign calendar with a regular cadence that your audience gets used to. If they know that you send out engaging emails every 2nd day, and they're valuable to readers, it'll help establish brand loyalty and readership.
Email marketers should aim to achieve a 60:40 split between content and promo sales emails. You can do this by developing a series of educational emails about cannabis & CBD, covering topics like health benefits, usage tips, and the latest research, positioning your brand as a knowledgeable resource.
Then you can update subscribers about new product benefits, launches, updates, and sales to generate revenue.
Personalizing promotions based on past purchases and sending targeted offers to specific segments enhances the relevance of your emails. Featuring customer stories and testimonials provides social proof and makes your brand more relatable.
By focusing on email list hygiene, segmentation, authentication protocols, and engaging content creation, cannabis ecommerce brands can significantly improve their email deliverability and overall campaign performance.
Personalize Email Content
Personalization is more than just adding the recipient's name to the subject line or greeting. By leveraging demographic and behavioral data, you can tailor your content to resonate with each segment of your audience.
For example, if you're promoting a product you can create a segment of subscribers who viewed that product category and/or similar ones in the last 90 days. Use a subject line aimed at creating a sense of urgency or FOMO (fear of missing out) by emphasizing exclusivity, scarcity, and time-sensitive offers.
However, be cautious not to overuse spam keywords like "limited time" or "sale" in your subject lines. Instead, focus on crafting clear, compelling subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your emails [52].
Welcome emails are a great opportunity to engage new subscribers and create a personalized experience making a positive first impression. Welcome emails have an average open rate 4x higher and a click-through rate 5x higher than standard email campaigns.
Collect zero-party data when a new subscriber opts into your list and use that information to tailor the content they get in the first email of the Welcome Flow. For example, if you sell CBD products ask new subscribers what problems are they looking to solve. It could be pain management, anxiety, insomnia etc. You can they use that to address their issues and position your products as they solution in your Welcome emails.
Building and Maintaining a Clean Email List
Maintaining email list hygiene is one of the most important things cannabis ecommerce brands can do to ensure their messages reach subscribers' inboxes.
Ensuring you're only emailing engaged subscribers, based on activity signals such as open rates, click-through, on-site activity, and shopping activity of the brands' products, is key.
A monthly suppression of unengaged subscribers ensures ongoing list cleanliness [5]. Better deliverability is achieved through clean email list practices and effective segmentation.
You can suppress these unengaged subscribers automatically by setting up a sunset unengaged flow to help remove inactive subscribers and maintain list health.
Provide straightforward and easy-to-find options for subscribers to opt out of your messages. Compliance with anti-spam regulations is crucial, and offering an easy unsubscribe opt-out process builds trust with your audience.
By focusing on permission-based marketing and regular list cleaning, cannabis ecommerce brands can significantly improve their email deliverability and overall campaign performance.
Permission-Based Marketing
Building an opt-in list for cannabis email marketing requires careful consideration. Retail dispensaries must contend with regulations before getting into CAN-SPAM and TCPA regulatory guidelines, which protect consumers' rights and privacy.
To opt-in is to give consent and choose to participate in receiving communications from a brand around events, promotions, and phone, SMS, and email communications [46]. Most businesses use software to track marketing opt-ins, as consumers need to be able to revoke their consent at any time by law.
Always seek explicit permission from individuals before adding them to your opt-in list. Use clear language to inform them about the content they will receive and how frequently. Identify your business, the nature of your message, and potential additional fees.
Mobile Responsiveness
With 53% of emails being opened on mobile devices, optimizing your cannabis email marketing campaigns for mobile is a must. You should be designing your emails for mobile first and desktop second.
To ensure your emails are mobile-friendly, prioritize placing the most important information above the fold so that subscribers don't have to scroll to click.
When designing your emails, use a responsive template that automatically adjusts to different screen sizes. This ensures that your content is displayed correctly, regardless of the device being used. Keep your subject lines concise and compelling, as they are often truncated on mobile devices.
CTA buttons should be easily tappable on a mobile screen, with enough space around them to avoid accidental clicks. Use a clear and contrasting color for your CTAs to make them stand out.
Test your emails on various mobile devices and email clients to ensure they render correctly. This helps identify any issues with layout, images, or links, allowing you to make necessary adjustments before sending.
Optimizing Email Send Frequency
Finding the right email send frequency is crucial for engaging your cannabis audience without overwhelming them. Striking a balance between staying top-of-mind and avoiding subscriber fatigue is key to maintaining a healthy email list and achieving better deliverability.
This used to be sending out a monthly or biweekly newsletter to your whole list but in 2024 you can no longer do this. Your customers' inboxes are a fight for attention and if you're not always top-of-mind your competitors will be.
In 2024 you need to be sending a minimum of three email campaigns per week to different list segments; better would be one per day. This keeps potential customers engaged, and your brand products top of mind, and establishes a strong sending frequency for better deliverability.
The key to not annoying your audience is to use different segments for each campaign and exclude those subscribers who clicked on the previous email campaign.
During peak seasons or special promotions, it's acceptable to email to your largest engaged list every day until the sale is over.
Landing In Spam; This is What You Need to Do
Cannabis email marketing can be highly effective, but it also comes with its own set of challenges. Two of the most common issues faced by cannabis businesses are high spam rates and low open rates. If this is you, this is how you can improve sender reputation and get out of spam.
High Spam Rates
To reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam, avoid using overly promotional language, excessive exclamation marks, and all-caps text. Instead, focus on providing value using clear, professional language and only send to audiences that have engaged with your emails in the last 365 days maximum.
Additionally, make sure to use a reputable email service provider that is cannabis-friendly and has high deliverability rates, such as Klaviyo.
Maintaining a clean email list is also crucial for avoiding high spam rates. Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses, as sending emails to these addresses can lead to a poor sender reputation and increase the chances of your emails being flagged as spam [67].
Low Open Rates
Another common challenge is low open rates, which can indicate that your subject lines are not compelling enough or that your emails are not reaching your subscribers' inboxes.
To improve your open rates, craft clear and concise subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your email. Use personalization techniques, such as including the subscriber's name, to make your emails more engaging. Use subject lines that create mystery and intrigue.
Timing is also key when it comes to open rates. Experiment with different send times and days to determine when your subscribers are most likely to engage with your emails. Use A/B testing to compare the performance of different subject lines and send times, and adjust your strategy accordingly.
Tools and Technologies to Aid Deliverability
Leveraging the right tools and technologies can help to optimize your email deliverability and ensure messages reach subscribers' inboxes. Two essential categories of tools that can significantly enhance deliverability are email verification services and analytics tools.
Email Verification Services
Email verification services play a vital role in maintaining the health and quality of your email list. These services help identify and remove invalid, inactive, or potentially harmful email addresses, reducing bounce rates and improving overall deliverability [79].
By regularly cleaning your email list using verification services, you can minimize the risk of being flagged as a spammer by ISPs and protect your sender reputation. You can also monitor your inboxing rates with deliverability tests.
Some popular email verification services that cannabis businesses can consider include:
These services offer features such as real-time email validation, bulk email list cleaning, and integration with various email marketing platforms, making it easier to maintain a clean and deliverable email list.
Analytics Tools
Analytics tools are another essential component of a successful email deliverability strategy. These tools provide valuable insights into the performance of your email campaigns, allowing you to track key metrics and how they relate to other software tools in your tech stack.
By monitoring these metrics, you can identify areas for improvement and optimize your email content, subject lines, and sending frequency to enhance engagement and deliverability.
Some popular analytics tools that cannabis businesses can leverage include:
- Maaly Hubb
- Google Analytics
- Litmus
- Return Path
- 250ok
Incorporating email verification services and analytics tools into your email marketing strategy can significantly improve your deliverability and help you build stronger relationships with your subscribers.
By ensuring that your emails are reaching the right people and monitoring their performance, you can maximize the impact of your email marketing efforts and drive better results for your cannabis business [83] [84].
Common Pitfalls to Avoid
When navigating the complex landscape of email marketing for cannabis & CBD brands, it's crucial to be aware of common pitfalls that can hinder your success. Two significant mistakes to avoid are purchasing email lists, ignoring spam rates, and unsubscribing options.
Purchasing Email Lists
Buying email lists may seem like a quick way to expand your reach, but it comes with serious risks. Reputable email marketing services don't allow sending emails to purchased lists [85]. Moreover, good email address lists aren't for sale, and if they are, they've likely been spammed extensively.
Sending emails to a purchased list means the recipients don't know you and are more likely to mark your messages as spam. This will harm your email deliverability and IP reputation. Violating the rules of consent under GDPR can also lead to legal consequences [87].
Ignoring Unsubscribe Options
Another critical mistake is neglecting to provide clear and easy unsubscribe options in your emails. The CAN-SPAM Act legally requires including a way for recipients to opt out of future emails. Failing to do so can result in penalties and damage to your brand's reputation [90].
Unsubscribe links help maintain a clean and engaged email list by allowing uninterested subscribers to remove themselves. This improves your email deliverability and sender reputation.
Focus on organically growing an engaged email list and respecting subscribers' preferences are key to achieving long-term success in this dynamic industry.
Future Trends in Email Deliverability
Embracing emerging technologies and staying attuned to shifting consumer preferences will be crucial for cannabis brands aiming to maintain a competitive edge in their email marketing efforts.
One significant trend on the horizon is the increasing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning in email marketing. These technologies enable more sophisticated personalization, allowing brands to deliver highly targeted content based on individual subscriber behaviors and create more campaign templates faster [91].
Another key trend is the growing emphasis on interactivity within email content. Using AMP emails brands can set these interactive elements within email designs boosting engagement.
Incorporating interactive elements such as polls, quizzes, and embedded videos can foster a more immersive experience [92]. Cannabis brands that embrace interactive email content will likely see improved open rates, click-through rates, conversions, and overall customer satisfaction.
Finally, prioritizing text over images in emails, maintaining a healthy text-to-image ratio, and employing techniques like including a primary tab footer will help ensure that even image-heavy emails land in subscribers' primary inboxes.
By staying attuned to these future trends and continually refining their email marketing strategies, cannabis brands can position themselves for success in an increasingly competitive landscape.
The Conclusion To Email Deliverability
In conclusion, achieving A+ email deliverability for cannabis & CBD ecommerce brands requires a multifaceted approach that combines best practices, strategic planning, and continuous monitoring.
By focusing on key elements such as maintaining a clean email list, segmenting subscribers based on zero-party data, behavior and habits, and prioritizing text over images, businesses can significantly improve their email performance metrics.
Regularly cleaning unengaged subscribers through techniques like a sunset flows and monthly suppressions ensures ongoing list health and better deliverability.
As the industry continues to evolve, businesses that remain committed to email deliverability best practices will be well-positioned for long-term success in their email marketing efforts.
You're losing revenue if you have poor deliverability and your emails are being sent to spam. We’ve helped dozens of brands improve their cannabis email deliverability with our Klaviyo email deliverability protocol to get out of spam within 90 days. Schedule a consultation to start the process.
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