Do you want your email subscribers to whitelist your email address? Let me share when is the right time to ask and how to get it done
Do you want to make your subscribers whitelist you so they continue to receive emails from you in their inbox, and it doesn’t accidentally land into the spam folder or promotions tab in Gmail?
Few reasons to get subscribers to whitelist your email address:
- Improves email deliverability.
- Your subscribers won’t miss an email.
- Your emails will land in the inbox each time.
Let me share how you can make your subscribers whitelist you, along with a special tip that always works.
But before we begin on how to ask subscribers to whitelist emails from you, let me share the right time to ask the subscribers to whitelist.
When to Ask Subscribers To Whitelist
You will never have an option to make a first impression again. Moreover, the first impression is the last impression. So, in my opinion, the best time to ask your readers’ to whitelist you is to do that at the first possible opportunity itself.
So here is how I ask my subscribers to whitelist.
Welcome Email
The well written welcome email can set the right expectation of the subscriber. Moreover, it should give them a better call to action that can benefit both the reader and the sender.
However, the welcome email is the first email that your subscribers get as soon as they have shared the details with you. It is the most read email in the sequence of email that you will send.
So if you tell your subscribers the “from” email address that you plan to use, it can help them create the needed filters. Moreover, it will help them whitelist you.
The critical aspect is to let them know how to whitelist.
Thank You Page
Thank you page is the page that a user lands one after they submit the name and email address.
So, on the thank-you page, one should direct users to check the email for the welcome email.
However, one can also let them know if they don’t see the email to check the spam folder and ask them to whitelist your email address.
Here is what I have on my thank you page.
As you can see in the above screenshot, I provide details to help them whitelist me. It makes sure they receive my future emails.
PS in Every Email
Don’t assume everyone had whitelisted you when you sent them the first email. So, a line at the end of each email might even work for you – mainly if you include other exciting content in the broadcast.
Instead of asking me to whitelist, I ask them to email me. Later on, we will see how it is not only a great way to interact with the subscribers but also get on their email contacts.
How to Get Subscribers to Whitelist
In email marketing, everyone wants the emails to land in the inbox of the subscribers and skip the spam folder. Moreover, in Gmail, you also want the emails to skip the social and promotions tab.
So let me share with you what one needs to be doing about it.
1. Use a Reliable Email Sending Option
The first and most crucial aspect of any email marketing campaign is the delivery of emails. For that matter, the use of any of the email marketing service provider like AWeber or Moosend is recommended.
The reason I like AWeber or Moosend is their reliability when it comes to the delivery of emails. Moreover, they take care that they remain whitelist on the service provider level to the email provider level like Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail.
However, if you use your server to send emails and if you don’t remove bounced emails or track people reporting spam, soon your domain or IP can be blacklisted. Further, when you send emails, they will be rejected at the email service provider levels itself.
Once your emails are being delivered on the service provider levels, then only you can work on an individual level with your subscriber to whitelist emails from you.
2. Ask (And Share how to whitelist)
The best chance of your subscriber whitelisting you is to ask them to whitelist you. If you don’t ask, your subscribers will not know to whitelist your email. It is as simple as that.
Often, it seems so obvious, but the fact of the matter is all your subscribers may not be aware that they even have to whitelist emails from you to keep getting them.
As you can, I share the from-email I will be using to send the emails as well as let them know why they should add my email to their contacts.
I even go one step further and share how they can whitelist. Feel free to copy the content from my Whitelisting instruction page of BizTips here.
Most of your subscribers may not even know how to whitelist. So help them so they can help you deliver your emails.
3. Provide Value, so Subscribers Want to Whitelist You
Someone found your blog and wanted to download the lead magnet that you offer. So they subscribed to your blog.
As an example, if you are reading this article and want to download my ebook, you may not whitelist my email address right away.
So asking your subscribers to whitelist you in the welcome email doesn’t mean they will do it right away. They may want to wait before they want to whitelist your email or create a filter for your emails.
Keep adding more value to each email you send, and over time the subscribers will surely want to get more emails from you.
Moreover, in each email, a PS to make them aware of the from email address and the way to whitelist you can help.
One should also keep in mind that what may be valuable for you may not be as valuable to the subscriber. On top of that, it is vital to set the right expectations as to when they can expect an email from you and how often.
4. Ask for a Reply
The best way to get whitelisted by subscribers is to be on their contact list. Every email service provider and especially Gmail adds the email to their contacts as soon as they send an email to it.
So when you ask your subscribers to reply to an email you have sent, it adds the email to their contact list, which in turn automatically is a way to ask the subscribers to whitelist you.
Some of the key points to note here is:
- You shouldn’t be using the noreply@yourdomain kind off emails because it means you can’t ask your subscribers to reply
- Use a personal email that subscribers will be replying to. I see it works well for me, where my blog readers and subscribers can interact with me.
- Interact with your subscribers. If you are a new blogger who has just started blogging, it is not too difficult to interact one on one with your subscriber. Once you grow beyond a point, it can be a tough task.
The way to ask to reply is to ask for feedback about content, what type of content they want you to write, or let them ask questions. Anything that can help them trigger that reply button is good enough.
The way I do it is to have a line at the end of the email for any questions my subscribers want me to help them with.
