Monday, September 7, 2015

A Quick Guide to Understand How Email Appending Works

When marketers talk business and marketing techniques, email marketing tops the list! And when discussing email marketing one cannot help but address its challenges, the most prominent of all being the dynamic nature of data. Research shows that almost 25-30% email addresses get obsolete annually. And to add to that it is estimated that almost 84% email traffic could be spam (Radicati). All those figures are too much to roll out campaigns without planned action. And that’s why email appending is recommended. E-append is supposed to be simple and thorough so that once your database is appended your campaigns can be free of email bounces and spam. Email appending is more than a process, so let’s understand how email appending works!

Identifying the Right Vendor

Email address appending starts with identifying the right vendor. There are several email appending companies in the market that fight for supremacy. As a marketer be prudent and identify a vendor who adheres to best practices such as having an exhaustive suppression file, offering opt-in ids, providing the source of email and more.

Sharing Data

Once the vendor has been identified, the nest step involves sharing your present customer database with the vendor. For best results it is recommended that all data is shared including your present list of opt-out addresses. Since you are going to pay for each email appended it is best not to pay for data that won’t prove beneficial. Sharing customer data such as name, phone, title, company name, mailing address or any other detail, ensures data accuracy and efficiency.

The Process of Email Address Appending

The email append process starts with existing marketing database being matched against vendor master base in strict confidentiality to identify missing data, misspellings, obsolete data, new data and updated accordingly. Based on the nature of data present and extent of e-mail append expected, this process takes about 24-72 hours. Though automated procedures are followed, some appending service providers also check for accuracy manually so that no data is missed or duplicated.

Sending the Welcome Mail for Permission Pass

Getting the permission pass simply means to get all “opt-in” addresses instead of “opt-outs”. The ICO (Information Commissionaries Office) in fact recommends opt-in email appends and a credible vendor will ensure that all your appended email addresses are permission based. Once the appending process is complete, a “welcome” message is drafted and sent to all addresses for permission for future communication usually in the form of an “unsubscribe” option or link for validation. So in order to have brand credibility and positive list deliverability it is recommended to get your permission pass through the welcome emails.

Closing the Deal with Appended Emails

Once the welcome emails are sent it is advisable to wait for 3-5 days for response. Though in case of emails one or two days are enough to determine permission, yet there’s no harm in waiting for the additional days. Once the permissions are achieved a comprehensive list can be designed and delivered to the client, hence closing the entire email appending process.

So yes, email appending is totally worth the effort! At the end of the day you want to keep your customers engaged and ROI to improve – and that cannot be achieved if you are using an obsolete email database.

At iAppend we understand the losses your campaigns will make if data is not authentic and hence offer affordable email appending services for small, medium and large businesses. You can even try our sample appending process to judge for yourself the quality of our appending services before buying. So why wait and waste time? Give us a call today or write to us for a free consultation today!