FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions

First view at the system

I need a nice email template. Can you help me with it?

We can create a free template in your website style for every new system user. A template includes an email’s header and footer in company’s color, as well as a set of typical blocks.

Our services: Creation of email templates in editor

Do you have a system manual? Maybe, video tutorial?

Right now we are preparing a detailed manual with video instructions on any issue you might have. Meanwhile you could have a look at the articles with video tutorial (only in Russian), which we have already created. On our YouTube channel there is also video about working in the system.

Do you have API integration?

Yes, sure. Please follow API to work with the system for more information and description of API.

How to avoid SPAM folder?

• Don’t send SPAM :)
• Make campaigns to those subscribers who confirmed subscription with Double-Opt-In (confirmation link in email). This is the main rule. If you follow it and you are not a spammer, you are safe.
• Don’t use misleading information in subject line or sender’s name line not to alert the client and not to be marked as spam.
• Make Unsubscription link distinct. It is better to get unsubscription, than complaints about email.
• Make sure you have correct SPF, DKIM settings.
• Ask your subscribers to add you to Address book.

Article in Blog: How to avoid Spam reporting

Should I know HTML for work in the system?

HTML skills are not a must. Basic set of elements in the system is enough to create a nice email with no effort.

If you need a sophisticated and unique email layout and don’t want to deal with HTML editing, please contact us.

How long should I wait for moderation?

Moderation takes up to half an hour in working hours (Mon-Fri from 9 a.m. till 6 p.m., GMT+02). In the evenings and at weekends it is 3-5 hours. Moderation has not been done at night.

Can I attach a file to email?

We don’t facilitate attachments to email, as it increases chances to go to spam. What is more, it isn’t possible to get statistics of email attachment downloads, which contradicts principles of efficient marketing.

In this case the best you can do is to upload the file in the Internet and to insert file link in your email.

How can I add funds in the system?

On Dashboard of your account you will find the button “Add funds”. Follow it and you will see all payment methods we accept. If you recharge your account in built-in systems (LiqPay,), money will be credited automatically. If you pay cash in a cash desk or terminal, please send us a scanned copy or photo of check to our sales team.

Manage contacts

How many contacts do I need to start campaigns?

The more contacts you have, the better. However, there is no limitations. If you are willing to add new contacts to your email list, you can start right now.

Do you have email lists for sale?

No.

Never buy email lists to save face and reputation. Those people, who know nothing about you, are likely to mark your email as spam, and in that case they will be right, as they haven’t given you permission to send them anything.

Article in Blog: Forbidden methods of collecting email list

What if I bought email list?

We don’t recommend to buy email lists from third-party. Such email lists may content so called Spam trap (email addresses registered by anti-spam services and aimed at spammers’ identification). If such addresses are identified in campaign and if unsubscribe rate is high, which is inevitable with purchased email lists, you get label “spam”. Email services like gmail and mail.ru block further campaigns from such email address. In this situation they will also downgrade anti-spam reputation of our servers, that is why we keep track of suspicious campaigns and can require confirmation that email list has been collected personally by you.

How can I collect email list for campaign?

The first thing you can do is a Subscription form on your website. All email addresses from this form will go to the system. To encourage people to give you their contact information offer them a bonus in exchange.

Article in Blog: How to enlarge email list

Can you help me with Subscription form?

To ensure that Subscription form corresponds to all efficiency principles we help everyone to create it free of charge. Just contact our support team.

Article in Blog: How to create your ideal subscription form

How can I make sure that my emails do not go to Spam?

The simplest free way to get an idea of your email delivery to different email services is to create several test email addresses in each domain and to add them to contact list for campaign. Control of delivery to these addresses allows to get rough idea of the situation.

What is a Blacklisted contact?

It means that someone (you or another user) has already sent emails to this address and email service has responded that such address doesn’t exist. We put such email address to Black list and further campaigns aren’t sent to it.

This is a system wide Black list, which means that the contact you might add to the system may already be blacklisted.

What is a grey contact in contact list?

It means that the contact has been added to the system through Subscription form and hasn’t confirmed his/her subscription by following confirmation link.

Can anyone steal my email list?

According to our service rules, this is out of question. We can sign a Non-disclosure agreement for legal basis of this guarantee.

How can I be sure that my email list is “clean” and people won’t unsubscribe?

If you aren’t sure that clients will be happy to get your emails, don’t send campaign to them. If you collected contacts at exhibitions, seminars, conferences, it will be better to send them email with request to subscribe to your campaign. You can add them to the list of regular campaigns only after their confirmation of subscription.

Article in Blog: Forbidden methods of email list collection

Sending the first email

What is better: sending campaigns on behalf of company or specific person?

It is not a single answer question. Every target group has different preferences, which can be identified by A/B test. If percentage of email openings is lower after sending email with specific name, that means that your company is known better than this person.

Don’t change sender all the time in search of best variant. After all, recognition requires long and persistent work..

Mind also that email from different senders should be different in style.

Article in Blog: Why field From is one of the most important email elements

How many symbols should be in subject line?

Most of email clients on PC show up to 90 symbols. However, mobile devices don’t allow to show this number of symbols and your subject can be cut anywhere. It is safer when subject length is up to 50 symbols. If most of your subscribers read your emails on mobiles, the length should be up to 20 symbols.

Our system has a simple visual tip for your convenience.

You can leave a subject long, but be sure that beginning of the subject is inspiring enough to make your reader open email.

Article in Blog: 7 methods to write a short email subject

What is the influence of figures and special symbols in subject line on open rate?

You shouldn’t expect that percentage of openings will increase twice only because of symbols. Foreign companies are discarding symbols little by little, but in Russian-speaking countries they are gaining popularity.

When it comes to symbols, the key is not to overuse exclamation marks, arrows and other symbols. It can elicit readers’ negative emotions and won’t have a positive effect on your campaign. What is more, abuse of symbols may be associated with spam, because spammers often use tricky symbols in subject line and users already know that.

Article in Blog: Use of special symbols in subject line

How many links should be in email?

Numerous links can confuse a reader and won’t have a desired effect. If you need links in the text, don’t use them very frequently, insert only the most important ones. Add several links, but make one main emphasis in button view. It is better to replace the rest of the links, like http://mysite.com/registration, to call to action (i.e. “Register right now”).

Don’t delete three important links from email, which are: “View online”, “Unsubscribe”, website address.

What is a good click rate in my industry?

You should be careful with different reading and click rates in emails. These are average figures, which can be inapplicable in your specific situation.

First of all, open/click rate depends on email type. Transactional emails about order confirmation have the highest percentage of opening, Subscription confirmation emails — the highest CTR, newsletters — the lowest open/click rate. CTR in promo emails varies depending on email content quality. Percentage of openings depends on email subject and on frequency of contact database update. In other words, it is really individually and the best reference is your previous similar campaigns.

Article in the Blog: 7 important email marketing metrics

What is CTR?

Click-through rate (CTR) is the ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view an email.

Glossary of Email-marketing

What is a good unsubscribe rate?

Up to 3%. There are some factors, which can influence on unsubscription. There are the following:

• unattractive and irrelevant emails;

• frequency of campaigns;

• change of sender’s name.

Unsubscription can also have a positive side: you have less inactive email addresses and spam reports. Anti-spam filters aren’t dangerous with clean email list. If unsubscribe rate is less than 1%, you shouldn’t worry.

Article in the Blog: 7 important email marketing metrics

How can I improve statistics of campaigns?

Every case is individual. We are always happy to consult you on any question. If you have doubts about your emails, make a request for audit.

What days and time are better for sending campaigns?

“Tuesday noon”, everyone will start sending emails at this time :) However, it is better to make tests and find your frequency and time.

The most favourable days for sending emails are from Tuesday till Friday morning. These days most of people work and check mail and this means that you have good chances that your email will be opened.

Three factors, which should be tested:

• time;
• day of the week;
• emails per week.

How can I change sender’s name?

To change sender’s name in email campaign, go to Message creation mode and click link “Add” at the field “Sender”. After filling the fields “Name” and “Email” you will receive email to the specified email address for activation of the new sender. After following the link in received email a new sender’s name will be available.

Why should I use ALT tags on my images?

ALT-text shows to mail services and people that email contains an image which needs to be downloaded.

Article in the Blog: Work with images in email

What triggers spam filters the most: email content, unsubscribe rate, marking emails as spam, number of non-existent email addresses?

General impression. Emails of a big company with great number of contacts can be also filtered by volume. However, If you have a clean contact list for campaign, take care only of email content.

Article in the Blog: How to avoid spam reporting

Email services are constantly blocking images in emails. What shall I do?

• Check that your email looks fine without images.

• Ask readers to add your contact to address book.

• Give link to web version.

• Change template layout keeping the most important information.

Article in the Blog: Work with images in email

Technical questions

What should I do to ensure that all users see email correctly?

At first stages we advise to check emails in different mail clients. Create different accounts and test view of emails you get. It can take a lot of time, but it is worth of it in a long-term outlook.

If you create emails in eSpunik, you get layout adjusted to different mail clients automatically. All blocks in our email constructor have been verified in the way mentioned above.

Should I make a mobile version of email?

Mobile version of email can be created only for IPhone. However, you can simply adjust your email for mobile devices: make big buttons, user-friendly navigation, large images.

How can I automate campaigns?

The simplest automation method is planning date and time of campaign. It can be easily done in system’s calendar. You can select date just before sending ready message.

You can also configure automatic email series and start of campaign in response to different events in section “Triggers”. The system can also take into account events from your CRM or CMS through API. Contact us and we will help to configure your campaign automation.

How can I integrate campaign system into website/CRM/ERP for automatic sending?

There is API description on website. If you have any questions or need some help, please contact our Support team.