My apologies as this is going to be … long. I have now completed my first large scale test of the email marketing feature and I survived. I did run into a few bugs that are in the process of being squashed. This is why they call it “beta testing”.
I sent the messages in groups of 500 so that I could easily monitor and manage the results. I sent some batches with both open and link tracking and others with link tracking only. I saw no overall appreciable differences between the two.
My average open rates approached 30% and my click through rate was approximately 15%. My research would indicate that both of these were well above average. This is likely because this was a targeted group with a solution tailored to this industry. However, after 4,000 invitations I only got one registration.
I did tag everyone who had visited my registration pages and sent a second invitation to those. The results were … zip, nada, zilch, nothing:) Over 80% of the recipients went to the webinar registration page again but not one person signed up and I have no idea why. That’s o.k.. I’ll figure it out.
Finally, I sent one last invitation after having ChatGPT rewrite my registration pages and … a 97% click through rate to the registration page and … nothing. This is why I hate webinars AND marketing:) Apparently, my education is just beginning.
We enter uncharted territory …
Should you decide to utilize Nimble to do email marketing, in all likelihood you will be sending these emails to contacts who are already in your Nimble database. These contacts are probably a mix of customers, prospects, vendors … you name it.
They do, however, likely have one thing in common. I’m guessing that few to none of them have agreed to receive your marketing emails. Even your current clients are running on top of a fine line. Can you create a marketing email opt-in form with Nimble? The short answer is yes. A topic for another day.
Read this article about “email lists” on Mailchimp.
One reason, the main reason, why this is so critical is that if you are not very careful, you run the very real risk of being labeled as a spammer either by the recipient, their email service provider, or even your email service provider.
Your sender reputation …
There will be a field in your bulk mailer settings that lists your “sender reputation”. What is it and what effect will it have on your ability to use this feature? Here is a snippet from an upcoming support document (subject to revisions) and I have highlighted the critical points …
Under Stats & Manage, you’ll see “Your Send Reputation”.
Sender reputation is an integrated score designed to ensure that your emails will be delivered at a high rate. While each email server decides to accept emails on its own, maintaining a clean domain and reputation is essential to sending promotional or transactional emails.
Your sender reputation will go up if your emails are delivered and engaged with and it will go down if your email bounced or is marked as spam.
As a simple rule, your score will significantly go down once your bounce rate is above 0.75% and we will put you into quarantine once you’re above 1%. To prevent bounces, make sure that you verify the email addresses you send to.
Here’s the rub. Every bad egg can spoil the collective basket. These platforms, including Nimble, are staking their sender reputation on the collective whole (all users). My accumulated bounce rate is now well under 1% and my score shows as being “very good”. I earned that! I verified all email addresses and I deleted even the “risky” ones.
These standards may present challenges for the average Nimble user. The main reason being … your mailing list was not created with that purpose in mind. People did not subscribe to your list let alone with a double opt-in. You are working with your contact records. That is not to say that you can’t make this work. It just says that it will take work. I did the work and you can too!
Some tips …
I asked my chatbot, Hal … If a message bounces, hard or soft, Nimble automatically moves them to the unsubscribed list. The challenge we have is that people will be using their contacts in Nimble to send to. These contacts were not added to Nimble for the purpose of mass mailings.
They are also not purchased lists. As these people were not added to Nimble for this purpose, there was no need to even request an opt-in which would be standard for email marketing. Additional thoughts?
Hal said:
That makes sense, and it presents a unique challenge since you’re leveraging existing Nimble contacts for outreach rather than a traditional opt-in email marketing list. Here are some key considerations and best practices:
Key Considerations & Challenges
No Prior Opt-In for Mass Emailing:
- Since these contacts were not originally added for bulk outreach, they may not expect to receive mass emails.
- Some recipients might mark the emails as spam, which can hurt sender reputation and deliverability.
Nimble’s Auto-Unsubscribe on Bounces:
- This is both good and bad:
- Good: It helps keep the list clean by preventing future sends to bounced addresses.
- Bad: If a soft bounce is temporary (e.g., full inbox or server issue), you could lose a valid contact unnecessarily.
Deliverability & Engagement Risks:
- Some contacts may have changed jobs, making their emails inactive (leading to bounces).
- Others may not engage with the message because they don’t recall subscribing to anything.
How to Minimize Issues & Improve Results
Pre-Clean the List More Rigorously
- Even though you removed the risky/undeliverable emails, consider also removing:
- Contacts with no email activity in 12+ months.
- Generic emails (info@, sales@, etc.), as these often bounce or trigger spam filters.
Segment the List & Personalize the Email
- Instead of blasting everyone, segment by relevance:
- Who has engaged with you before?
- Who has shown interest in similar topics?
- Adding a personalized intro line can reduce spam complaints.
- Example: “Hi [First Name], I wanted to personally invite you to this webinar because I know you’re involved in [industry/topic].”
Send a “Pre-Engagement” Email First (If Feasible)
- Before the webinar invite, a warm-up email could help gauge interest and reduce surprises.
- Example Subject: Craig, is this topic relevant to you?
- Body:
- Brief intro.
- Ask if they’d like an invite.
- Non-promotional tone.
Monitor Spam Complaints & Unsubscribes Closely
- Even with a low bounce rate, high spam complaints (above 0.1%) can get you flagged.
- Keep an eye on open rates—if they’re below 10%, your list may need refining.
The short answer is to be sure to clean your lists! If you are not prepared to do this, my best advice for you is to bypass utilizing the new bulk mailer and to take a cold hard look at whether or not to even deploy group messages and sequences. I might suggest a three-step process to keep this manageable …
- Segment – Use tags and/or search to segment your contact records into groups for specific campaigns or newsletters. You should not be sending everything to everybody!
- Clean – Before sending to a new segment, clean that list. It will be a much easier task to clean say 500 vs. 5,000. Rinse and repeat for each new segment.
- Personalize – Personalize the email message itself and also ensure that your messages will be pertinent and welcomed by those who are receiving them.
Note that bounced emails will automatically be added by Nimble to your unsubscribed list. This is a good thing! It will protect you from resending to these people via group messages or sequences. In that sense, Nimble will be cleaning your list for you. However, it is much more preferable that you clean your list first, via a verifier, to avoid these bounces altogether!!
More from Hal …
I wanted to get Hal’s suggestions for some tools to investigate for list cleaning. Verifalia worked fine except that it generated a separate report and I was forced to edit the source files manually.
Hi Hal! Are you aware of an email list cleaning service that will clean the source file rather than generate a separate report identifying risky or undeliverable emails. Verifalia, for example, generates a separate report meaning I then have to clean the source file manually although you have previously indicated that you could assist in that process.
Hal said:
Hello! I understand you’re seeking an email list cleaning service that not only identifies risky or undeliverable emails but also provides you with a cleaned version of your source file, eliminating the need for manual processing. Several services offer such capabilities, allowing for a more streamlined and efficient workflow.
- Clearout
Clearout is renowned for its high accuracy, boasting over 20 advanced validation checks. It offers real-time verification and integrates seamlessly with popular email marketing platforms. After processing your list, Clearout enables you to export the cleaned data in formats like XLSX or CSV, ensuring your source file is updated without manual intervention.
- Kickbox
Kickbox is a leading email list cleaning service known for its accuracy and user-friendly interface. It allows you to verify email addresses individually or in bulk and provides integrations with over 30 top marketing tools. After verification, you can export your cleaned list directly back to your platform, ensuring your source file is updated seamlessly.
kickbox.com – link reviews several tools
- Snov.io
Snov.io offers email verification as part of its suite of tools. It provides both single and bulk email verification options and integrates with various platforms. After cleaning your list, Snov.io allows you to export the validated emails, ensuring your source file is updated accordingly.
snov.io – link reviews several tools
These services are designed to streamline the email verification process, providing you with a cleaned list that minimizes the need for manual adjustments. By utilizing such tools, you can maintain a high-quality email list, improve deliverability rates, and focus more on your core marketing activities.
Some of you may already have a great option! If you are currently using another application for email marketing such as Mailchimp or Constant Contact, you can take those list segments, export them, and then import them into Nimble. I’m going to assume that these lists are clean and that they have opted into your messages. Here’s how …
- Export each of your segments as separate .csv files.
- Separately import each segment into Nimble and, when you import that segment, assign a Nimble tag to each.
- Ditch your old email application and, voila, you are good to go! You save money and you now have a unified database that will record all messaging.
This is all extremely powerful stuff and with a potential for very high returns, but only if done correctly! Here is what my good friend, Neal Schaffer, has to say about email blasts. If this is an area that interests you but lies outside of your area of expertise, I would humbly suggest that you book time with me to assist you in this endeavor after it has been released.
That being said, you should be aware of my limitations. I am not an I.T. professional. Nor am I an email marketing or list cleaning guru. I can point you in the right directions but the heavy lifting will have to be assigned to you and/or to others.
Please be sure to check out these top 100 sales blogs on Feedspot. I am honored to be one of them!
Are you thinking about a CRM? If you would like to explore whether or not Nimble CRM might be right for you, please book a free 30-minute Zoom consultation with me by going to my calendar. To learn more about our Nimble training and implementation services, please visit our Nimble CRM training services page.
In addition to Nimble CRM, I also offer sales training and training on LinkedIn as well as getting started with AI (Artificial Intelligence). I can even assist with hiring new salespeople with initial interviews and pre-hire DISC personality assessments.
I would also be happy to connect you to managed I.T. and telephony services or to a marketing professional who I know and trust or to an automated yet personalized and human-to-human LinkedIn prospecting system. Please reach out to me at craig@adaptive-business.com for an introduction!
Craig M. Jamieson
Latest posts by Craig M. Jamieson (see all)
- Nimble CRM Tips & Updates – March 5, 2025 - March 5, 2025
- My Email Marketing Baptism - February 26, 2025
- Nimble CRM Tips & Updates – February 19, 2025 - February 19, 2025