cutting email marketing costs

Cutting Email Marketing Costs: ClickZ Tech Talk with Brian Minick

Could your email marketing dollars be walking out the door? It’s something every brand wonders. Are we spending too much on our email service provider? Is gaining new subscribers too expensive? Also, are all those subscribers genuine? These questions lead many people to email validation as a method of cutting email marketing costs and boosting ROI.

It also lead ClickZ to invite us to host a Tech Talk on their digital marketing platform and answer a few crucial questions for the ClickZ community.

Who hosted the Tech Talk? Our COO Brian Minick, who explained:

  • why sending great emails isn’t enough – you have to make sure they land in the inbox,
  • how an email verification service can help boost your deliverability, and
  • how Image Source, a ZeroBounce customer, reduced its bounce rate from 19% to almost zero.

Cutting email marketing costs: start by assessing your list quality

Although email marketing is the top-producing marketing method, there’s a “big difference between the top and low performers,” Brian says in the ClickZ Tech Talk.

In many cases, the difference between a lucrative email campaign and an ineffective one comes down to cutting costs and maximizing your resources.

More specifically, when things seem to be going in the wrong direction, it’s best to:

  • stop sending campaigns to invalid and poor-quality email addresses
  • focus on crafting engaging emails and reconnecting with your subscribers.
cutting email marketing costs

Sending emails to bad addresses is a big email marketing loss

As Brian mentions in the TechTalk, millions of businesses are sending emails daily. The overall volume is mind-blowing. What companies sometimes overlook is how many of those emails end up in the spam folder: 20%.

They’re never seen, never read.

The fact that some of your emails are slipping through the cracks is more problematic than you may realize. They lead to an increase in costs and a decrease in effectiveness.

Email service providers charge based on the number of subscribers and the number of emails you’re sending. Now, let’s say 15% of your email list is invalid or made up of poor-quality contacts.

First, you’re spending resources on marketing to addresses that will never convert. But that’s not all: by ignoring your bounce rate, you’re jeopardizing your entire email marketing program.

“If some emails bounce, but the majority get through, I’m all good, right?”

Well, the problem is that every bounce or spam complaint you get is a stain on your sender reputation. Even if you aren’t sending unsolicited emails, Internet service providers can classify you as a spammer if your reputation starts to slip. Check out this article where we explain in-depth why your sender reputation is so important.

In a nutshell: if you continue to email addresses that bounce, you’re throwing money out the window. You’re not only paying for them, but they also prevent you from connecting with the people who are looking forward to receiving your newsletters.

tips for cutting email marketing costs

Making sure your emails reach people

In the talk, Brian mentions that 31 billion emails bounce every day and 20% of emails end up in spam. He also emphasizes what that means for email marketers.

“You put time, energy, resources, graphics, links, tracking, passion into all of your email marketing. And if the person doesn’t see it, it meant nothing.”

It’s a key point in email marketing – and companies often overlook it. It’s not just the expenses incurred from email service providers. Your time, resources and operating costs result in a poor return when emails have virtually no chance of being seen.

Email validation and other deliverability tools can easily alleviate the problem and help companies cut costs.

And when it comes to the quality of your email list, the more information you have, the better. Minick explains:

“We don’t just say an email address is good or bad. Instead, we give you statuses and sub-statuses on those email addresses. This way, you can pinpoint the ones that you want to send to and make sure your campaign is effective.” 

using email validation to reduce email marketing costs

Is using an email validator hard?

Brian mentions our customer Bruce Herwig of Image Source, who contacted us with an out of control bounce rate of 19%. So, in this case, roughly 1 out of every 5 emails were a waste of expense, time and effort. Not to mention the fact that his list’s health was spiraling downward.

After using our email verifier once, his bounce rate dropped to below 0.85%.

Is using an email validation service hard? “If you know how to click a mouse and enter a password, you know how,” Brian explained.

Is it expensive? With ZeroBounce, you can pay as you go, or if your list is getting constant sign-ups, you can save with a subscription. Email validation pays for itself because it reduces your total expenses.

Getting started with ZeroBounce

If you’re new to email validation, it’s not hard to try it and see the benefits. You can sign up for free and will be able to check 100 emails for free every month. Furthermore, you get access to our deliverability tools: 

  • One free email server test, to see if your mail server is configured correctly.
  • One inbox placement test, to find out where your email goes (inbox, spam, not delivered) before you send.
  • Whether you’re a customer or not, you also have access to around the clock customer support.
Start an account and clean your email list

Watch the ClickZ Tech Talk

There’s so much helpful information in Brian’s concise Tech Talk. You can view the short video here.

Whether you’re getting just a few bounces or you know your list needs attention, it’s easy to cut email marketing costs and protect your investment.

No matter how good your emails look and how great your writing is, email list hygiene is vital to getting the most from your campaigns.