Relax, email is not dying, despite wild predictions, crazy rumors, or the popularity of temp mail. Are there people who go to extremes of fake email generators to avoid getting on your email lists?
Yes. And believe it or not, that’s not a roadblock to your email marketing. So settle in for solid reasons email is king and will remain on the marketing throne for the foreseeable future.
This statistic should ease any worries right off the bat:
*83% of consumers say they prefer to hear from their favorite brands via email
Key Stats to the Email Kingdom
We’ve talked before about all the obstacles email marketers face.
- Privacy apps
- Spam filters
- Unengaged readers
- Content competition everywhere
So temp mail and other fakery with email sign-ups are just another challenge for email communicators and marketers, right?
Stats to back that → digital communication methods or channels people prefer when receiving communications:
- Video call 8%
- Social app 20%
- Messaging app 23%
- Text / SMS / MMS 39%
Remember the email percentage from above? 83%. More than double the runner-up!
Still, we know inboxes can get outta hand.
Twilio’s research: “While most consumers are annoyed by communications from businesses, they will also reward businesses who listen to their preferences and communicate with them in the right way.”
Don’t be the reason your readers get annoyed. Listening goes a long way.
How Brands Annoy Subscribers
Twilio’s research tells the tale. Give readers what they want, when they want, and communicate how they want, then you don’t have to worry about irritating your audience.
And temp mail sign-ups won’t be an issue either because it’ll be easy to recognize who’s engaging with your campaigns.
Don’t worry, we’ll get to tools to rid you of fake email addresses in a minute.
First though, you have zero control over:
- How many emails other brands are sending
- How valuable their content is
- Or how inbox owners manage all their messages
All you need worry about is sending super-useful emails to your audience. An audience that signed up to hear from you. And will keep wanting to as long as you give them what they were promised.
Before we move to the next section, how about more evidence email is still king?
Fact: Email rarely gets moved off smartphone home screens. Pretty telling, since less than 50% of consumers put corporate mobile apps on their home screens.
A Case for Temp Mail
I can also make a decent case for fake email addresses.
Some folks use fake email names because they get annoyed by spammers and certain emailers. But that will be of little concern for your organization. As long as you scrub your list regularly (here’s how), fake address issues will be a non-issue.
Besides, having a temp mail sign-up on your list is not ideal but preferable to having that person mark your email as spam. Which some people do for no reason. Users of temp mail and other phony email address generators might be the type to hit the spam button without regard for your sender score.
See, you can rid yourself of fake email addresses. Erasing spam complaints is not as simple.
*Know the enemy temporary mail’s own FAQ. It’ll help you fight fake addresses.
So in a twisted way, temp mail might be keeping uninterested users off your list. People who would never ever:
- Reply
- Give feedback
- Click
- Buy
Key point → It’s on you to keep those fake users off your list though. Here comes help…
Shred Fake Email Addresses
The deal with temp mail is that those type email addresses are temporary. The user may use the email once then delete the address or use it for a week then tap the delete button.
So the next time you send out your weekly sale email or newsletter, let’s say, that email address bounces. You’ll want to clean your list before those bounces pile up.
Scrubbing your list every blue moon won’t cut it then, right?
Staying on top of it is key. Catching the temp email at sign-up is even better. So let’s look at tips and tools built to ensure your emails only go to people who want to receive your messages.
*Tip → Quick first step is to shred duplicate email addresses on your list. Keep one of them, of course!
**Also, require suspect subscribers to opt in again to continue receiving your emails.
***Maximize temporary addresses by getting multiple opens from them with Inbox Mailers. They open email 1 then email 2 is triggered to send while they’re in reading mode!
List Cleaning Services for Fakes & Temp Mail
- Uplead – Prices start at $0.003 per email verification without any annual contracts
- Briteverify – 1 cent per email. Or in bulk (5,000 for $40 / then up to 500k addresses for $2,250)
- Debounce – Try free, no CC required to test
- Never Bounce – 1,000 free verifications each month
- Zero Bounce – Claims 98% accurate email validation + you can test an email immediately on their home page
That’s the shortlist, folks. With free options available to start off, I can’t see why temp mail would put your email marketing on shaky ground. Clean your lists today and get rid of fake addresses that will hurt your sender score and deliverability.
Such an easy step that ensures only subscribers truly interested in your email content will get it.
Have you signed up for the Inbox Hacking Newsletter yet? Get it for free.
Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing
Email campaigns will produce the positive results you’re looking for as long as your focus is on giving readers content they want.
To do that, just stick to the data. Twilio’s research dug up more key findings about communicating with audiences:
- Subscribers like easy opt-outs
- Choice in how they receive communication appeals to them
- Messages are unwanted unless they opted in
Each of those 3 survey results came from roughly 50 percent of respondents. It shows a clear pattern – don’t annoy subscribers, give them options, and make everything easy for them. Including opting out of your email campaigns.
Summary
I don’t see any serious marketer giving up on email anytime soon. Even if the problem of temp mail grows, spam filters take steroids, and other forms of fake email addresses pop up.
Email has stood the test of time. No other communication / digital marketing channel can boast that fact. Because email has been around the longest and it’s not even close.
Don’t let privacy apps, advancing filters, or naysayers slow your email campaigns down. Focus on your engaged audience and keep them engaged, keeping in mind that key stat we began with…
*83% of consumers prefer hearing from their favorite brands via email
Plus, Forbes agrees with me on email’s reign.
Take your email campaigns next-level with up to 70% open rates – Demo Inbox Mailers
