Optimizing Email Campaigns

NetSuite provides tools the marketing department needs to maximize the deliverability of the email campaigns and build our reputation with ISPs as a legitimate marketer.

The NetSuite Marketing Application Terms of Service specifically prohibit the use of email marketing campaigns for sending spam. Spam is defined as any email that is sent to recipients who do not want to receive it.

Spam is not restricted to email with inappropriate or harmful content. Spam is defined only by whether the recipient has agreed to receive it. For example, email sent to a list purchased from a third party is considered spam.

We can ensure that those who use campaigns irresponsibly do not adversely impact legitimate marketing campaigns. NetSuite employs criteria to separate appropriate email campaigns from email that might be spam.

Email campaign messages that meet the characteristics of legitimate marketing email are sent at a higher priority than those that do not. Additionally, email that meets these characteristics has a higher delivery rate because it is less likely an ISP would consider it spam.

NetSuite email policies abide by the standards set by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group (MAAWG), of which Oracle is a supporting member.

These standards apply only to the following types of email in NetSuite:

Campaign email
bulk merge email
Email initiated by SuiteScript (by the nlapiSendEmail() or nlapiSendFax() API calls)

In accordance with the CAN-SPAM act, NetSuite campaign email is not sent to email addresses with wireless domains. Recipients whose email addresses have domains that are listed on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Web site will not receive campaign email.

This section provides an overview of how we can maximize the deliverability of our email campaigns.

Characteristics of Legitimate Campaign Email

Campaign email that abides by our Terms of Service is sent with a higher priority than email that does not meet the criteria below.

Legitimate marketing email has the following characteristics:

The recipients have opted in to our campaigns. This is the most important indicator in determining whether an email message is spam.
The campaign recipients have purchased or responded to our campaigns in the past.
The email uses a campaign email domain.
The email uses domain key identified mail (DKIM).
We can use the same domain we use for our campaign email domain for DKIM.
We have garnered a positive sender reputation through our previous campaigns.

Characteristics of Possible Spam

Email that does not exhibit the characteristics of legitimate marketing email is sent with a significantly lower priority.
Email that might be spam has some or all of the following characteristics:

The recipients have not opted in to the campaign. This is the strongest indication that a campaign might be spam.
To ensure that our recipients list includes only those who want to receive our email, send campaign subscription invitations.
We have garnered a poor sender reputation based on previous campaigns.
The recipients have not purchased from we or responded to previous campaigns.

Campaign Email Limits

If we have not set up DKIM and an email domain, we are limited to 10,000 messages per campaign.

Our system administrator can set up DKIM and campaign email domains. Our company must first purchase a domain from a domain provider like GoDaddy.com or Network Solutions. DKIM and email domains are required to send more than 10,000 email messages per campaign (email merge), or more than 100,000 bulk email per month.

If we have DKIM set up, there is no limit to the number of email messages we can send in a single merge or campaign. The only limit is the monthly allotment of email messages we have purchased. Email that is sent by NetSuite servers is counted toward our monthly allotment even if it does not reach its target recipient.

Subscription opt-in email does not count against our monthly email allotment.

Choosing Email Recipients

After we create our email template, it is time to create a group of recipients to whom we will be sending our marketing campaign. For best results, we should send email campaign messages only to:

Customers who subscribed to our marketing campaigns with a Confirmed Opt-In status.
Email addresses that are not in bounced email.

Before we add a customer to a recipient group in NetSuite, it is important that we give them an opportunity to subscribe to our campaigns. Campaigns sent to subscribed customers have a much higher delivery success rate than those who have not explicitly subscribed. NetSuite provides a variety of tools we can use to invite recipients to opt in.

Repeatedly sending email to an invalid email address damages our sender reputation. To help with this, NetSuite automatically logs when email messages return hard bounce responses. NetSuite does not send email to those addresses for a designated period of time.

To ensure that we send email only to valid email addresses, ensure we set a suitable time increment for bounced email addresses. Go to Setup > Marketing > Preferences > Marketing Preferences > Subscription.

Select the right group of recipients is important in to ensure that our email is delivered quickly and successfully.
When we create a target group with search criteria, consider adding the following criteria to the other criteria we use to select our recipients:

Global Subscription Status is Confirmed Opt-In
Send to recipients who have confirmed that they want to receive our email. This is the most important factor to determine if our email meets the Marketing Automation Terms of Service.
We can send email campaigns to recipients with the status of Soft Opt-In. However, our email might not be delivered as quickly or as successfully as it would be to Confirmed Opt-In customers.
Hard Bounced is false.
If we use the Remove email addresses from Bounced Email Addresses list preference, these email addresses are not sent emails. However, when we add this criterion we do not incur a charge for these messages.
Campaign Response Fields: Campaign Response Filter: Response is none of Failed: spam
This criterion filters recipients who have flagged our email as spam.

Careful management of our recipient lists improves our campaigns’ performance, and it also creates trust between us and those with whom we do business.

Developing a Positive Email Sender Reputation

NetSuite uses our email history to determine whether our email meets best practice criteria. This includes:

The percentage of campaign email that is replied to.
The percentage of email sent to invalid email addresses.
The percentage of our campaign email that leads to spam complaints from recipients and ISPs.
The purchase and response history of recipients.

When we maintain a positive sender reputation, our email campaigns receive faster delivery.

Improving the Deliverability of Our Campaign Email

If we want our email sent at the optimal rate of delivery, we should do the following:

Invite recipients to opt in to our campaigns.
We can send campaigns to recipients with the Soft Opt-In status. However, letting recipients subscribe can increase the deliverability of our email.
We can invite our customers to opt in by going to Campaigns > Other > Mass Updates. Under the Marketing heading, select the Send Subscription Message update we want to perform.
Only send campaign email to customers who have purchased from we or responded to prior campaigns.Set up a campaign email domain.
Set up domain key identified mail (DKIM).