Email Campaign Setup

INTRODUCTION

Email remains one of the most effective and versatile tools for reaching prospects, nurturing leads, and engaging customers. With an average return on investment (ROI) of $42 for every $1 spent, it’s no surprise that email marketing continues to dominate the digital marketing landscape. However, crafting a successful email campaign isn’t just about creating great content—it’s about ensuring your messages land in your recipients’ inboxes and compel them to take action. This Blueprint will help you set up your email campaigns to ensure high deliverability and response rates and by extension, high ROI.

The Challenges of Email Campaigns

Despite their advantages, email campaigns face several challenges:

Deliverability Issues: Without proper setup (e.g., warming up your email address, configuring authentication protocols like DKIM and SPF), your emails may end up in spam folders.
Compliance Requirements: Regulations like CAN-SPAM and GDPR require adherence to strict rules to avoid penalties and protect consumer privacy.
Competition for Attention: With inboxes inundated daily, standing out requires exceptional strategy, design, and personalization.

GETTING STARTED

Email List Preparation

Preparing your email list is a critical step to ensure your campaign’s success. A well-maintained and properly segmented email list improves deliverability, increases engagement, and reduces the risk of your emails being marked as spam.

1. Use Email Verification Tools

Email verification tools help identify and remove invalid email addresses from your list.

Use platforms like NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, or Hunter to check for syntax errors, inactive domains, and fake email accounts.
Verify emails in bulk before uploading them to DealTrail to ensure accuracy and save time.

2. Remove Hard Bounces

Hard bounces occur when emails cannot be delivered due to invalid addresses.

Regularly review campaign reports to identify and delete hard-bounced emails from your list.
Enable automatic bounce removal in DealTrail to streamline the process.

3. Identify and Remove Role-Based Emails

Role-based emails (e.g., info@domain.com, support@domain.com) are often flagged as spam traps.

Filter and remove these addresses from your list unless you’re certain they belong to engaged recipients.

4. Eliminate Duplicates

Duplicate entries can waste resources and create an unprofessional impression.

Use Excel or a CRM feature to de-duplicate your list before importing it into DealTrail.
Avoid sending multiple emails to the same recipient to maintain trust.

5. Check for Inactive or Unresponsive Contacts

Inactive contacts can drag down your engagement rates and harm your sender reputation.

Identify contacts who haven’t opened or clicked on your emails in the last 3-6 months.
Run a re-engagement campaign for these contacts, and remove those who remain unresponsive.

6. Validate New Leads Immediately

Newly added leads should be verified as soon as they enter your system.

Use real-time verification tools integrated with DealTrail’s forms or lead capture processes.
Apply filters to catch and discard fake signups or mistyped emails.

Taking the time to clean and verify your email list is an investment in your campaign's success. It boosts deliverability, reduces wasted efforts, and ensures that every email you send is targeted and effective.

Anti-Spam Measures

Anti-spam measures are essential for ensuring your emails are delivered to recipients' inboxes and comply with legal requirements.

Understanding Spam Laws

Spam laws like CAN-SPAM, GDPR, and CASL regulate how emails are sent and received to protect consumers. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines and damage your reputation. Familiarize yourself with the laws in the regions where you operate to avoid penalties.

Mandatory Elements in Emails

Every email must include the following to comply with spam laws:

Unsubscribe Link: A visible and functional link that allows recipients to opt out of future emails.
Accurate Sender Information: Clearly display your company name and email address in the "From" field.
Physical Mailing Address: A valid postal address for your business.

Avoiding Spam Filters

To prevent your emails from landing in spam folders:

Use a Recognizable Sender Name: Ensure your sender name and email address align with your brand.
Craft Engaging Subject Lines: Avoid spammy words like “Free,” “Limited Offer,” or “Urgent.”
Balance Text and Images: Use a 60/40 ratio of text to images for better deliverability.
Test Emails Before Sending: Run your emails through tools like GlockApps or MailTester to check for spam triggers.

Configuring DealTrail to Comply with Spam Laws

DealTrail provides built-in features to ensure email marketing compliance. Follow these steps to set up Unsubscribe Links and Footer Details for all your emails:

Enable the Unsubscribe Link

Navigate to Settings → Email Services in DealTrail.
Locate the Default Unsubscribe Link option.
Toggle the feature on to automatically include an unsubscribe link in every email.
Customize the link text (e.g., “Click here to unsubscribe”) if needed.
Save changes to ensure compliance across all campaigns.

Add Footer Details with Company Information

Go to Settings → Company Information in DealTrail.
Fill in your business details:
- Company Name
- Physical Address
- Phone Number (Optional)
Save the changes to auto-populate this information in the footer of your emails.
Alternatively, customize the footer for individual campaigns:
- In the Email Builder, scroll to the footer section.
- Add or edit text blocks to include your company name, address, and a privacy disclaimer (e.g., “You’re receiving this email because you signed up for updates from [Company Name]”).

Email Warmup

Email warmup is the process of gradually increasing the number of emails sent from a new domain or email address to build a positive sender reputation. It ensures email providers recognize your domain as trustworthy and reduces the likelihood of your messages being flagged as spam.

Why Email Warmup Is Important

New domains or email addresses often have no reputation with email providers, making their emails more likely to be filtered or blocked. Warmup helps establish credibility by showing consistent, non-spammy sending behavior.

Without warmup, a sudden surge in email volume can trigger red flags with email service providers (ESPs), damaging your sender score. A poor sender reputation can result in lower deliverability, even for legitimate campaigns.

How to Warm Up Your Email Address

Start by sending emails to your most engaged contacts—those who are highly likely to open and interact with your messages. Engaged recipients signal to email providers that your emails are relevant and desired.

Gradually increase your email volume over 4–6 weeks, starting with small batches of 20–50 emails per day. Incrementally scale up by 20–30% each week while monitoring deliverability metrics such as open rates and bounces.

How DealTrail Can Help

Warming up your email can be a very time-consuming and honestly, a task you wouldn't have time doing and keeping track of, but that's where we come in— DealTrail provides an email warmup service so you can jumpstart your email campaign without worries. We ask that you contact us to warm up your email at least 15 days before your target campaign start date.

Setting Up a Custom SMTP in DealTrail

A Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server sends your emails to recipients. DealTrail lets you use its default email service or configure a custom SMTP, giving you more control and improving deliverability. Custom SMTPs allow you to send emails from your domain, reducing spam risks and enhancing your sender reputation.

Steps to Configure Custom SMTP in DealTrail

Log in to your DealTrail account and go to Settings → Email Services under Business Settings.
In the SMTP Configuration section, click Add SMTP to begin setup.
To add a custom SMTP using your domain:
- Use your domain email hosting provider’s SMTP details (e.g., provided by Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, or cPanel):
  - SMTP Server: This is typically in the format mail.yourdomain.com or provided in your hosting documentation.
  - SMTP Port: Use 587 (TLS) or 465 (SSL).
  - Username: Enter the full email address associated with your domain (e.g., yourname@yourdomain.com).
  - Password: Enter the email account password or an app-specific password, depending on your provider’s requirements.
  - Encryption Type: Select TLS or SSL based on your hosting provider’s instructions.

Configuring DMARC, DKIM, and SPF

Properly configuring DMARC, DKIM, and SPF is essential for authenticating your emails, protecting your domain from spoofing, and improving deliverability. These DNS records validate that your emails are sent from authorized servers, ensuring recipients’ email providers trust your messages.

Steps to Configure DMARC, DKIM, and SPF

Log in to your domain hosting provider (e.g., GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare) and access your domain’s DNS Management or Zone Editor.
Add the following records to your DNS:
- SPF Record (Sender Policy Framework):
  - Add a TXT record with the value:
    - v=spf1 include:your-smtp-provider.com ~all (replace your-smtp-provider.com with your email provider, such as sendgrid.net or google.com).
  - This tells email providers which servers are authorized to send on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM Record (DomainKeys Identified Mail):
  - Retrieve your DKIM key from your email provider (e.g., DealTrail SMTP settings, SendGrid, or Gmail Workspace).
  - Add a TXT record with the Host Name (often default._domainkey) and the Value provided by your SMTP/email provider.
  - DKIM digitally signs outgoing emails, proving they haven’t been tampered with.
- DMARC Record (Domain-Based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance):
  - Add a TXT record with the value:
    - v=DMARC1; p=none
  - Replace dmarc-reports@yourdomain.com with your preferred email for receiving DMARC reports.
  - This instructs email providers on how to handle emails that fail SPF or DKIM checks (e.g., quarantine or reject).
Save your changes in the DNS settings and wait for propagation, which can take up to 48 hours.
Use tools like MXToolbox, DMARC Analyzer, or your email provider’s testing tools to verify that SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured.