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THE PROMOTIONS TAB
I've found that my brand's emails that hit the *primary* tab of Gmail inboxes can generate almost twice as much revenue per send compared to the promotions tab.
Here are some things I found that help your emails hit the primary tab more often. A thread
I've found that my brand's emails that hit the *primary* tab of Gmail inboxes can generate almost twice as much revenue per send compared to the promotions tab.
Here are some things I found that help your emails hit the primary tab more often. A thread
First off, Gmail users make up about 75% of my brand's email profiles.
You can check this for your brand by building a segment of profiles that include " http://gmail.com " (or any other platform) to see if it's true for your subscribers.
You can check this for your brand by building a segment of profiles that include " http://gmail.com " (or any other platform) to see if it's true for your subscribers.
While making sure your emails work in *all* inboxes is great, it doesn't hurt to focus on the masses and make sure you're driving high-converting emails to the largest majority of your audience.
Now, on to the findings...
Now, on to the findings...
1/ Image to text ratio is one of the biggest things that impact promotions vs primary tab.
100% image-based emails will most likely not cut it. Make sure your emails have a solid mix of live text + live buttons
100% image-based emails will most likely not cut it. Make sure your emails have a solid mix of live text + live buttons
There's no ratio rule published by Google, but we've found emails that are ~60% or greater live text + live buttons hit the primary inbox much more often than promotions.
Plus, emails with more live text + buttons are great for deliverability and accessibility long term :)
Plus, emails with more live text + buttons are great for deliverability and accessibility long term :)
2/ Subject lines that include sales language may trigger the promotions tab by itself.
Some brands can get away with it, but if your emails routinely have "XX% off!" or "limited-time" or any other promotional type language, they may automatically be filtered out
Some brands can get away with it, but if your emails routinely have "XX% off!" or "limited-time" or any other promotional type language, they may automatically be filtered out
Try to find unique angles to take with subject lines and preview texts!
Either engage more personally with your customers or pull tidbits of copy from the email's body that are less promotional and more fun or eye-catching
Either engage more personally with your customers or pull tidbits of copy from the email's body that are less promotional and more fun or eye-catching
3/ Your reply-to address matters!
If your emails are being sent from email addresses with "no-reply" or similar, there is a GOOD chance that Gmail will automatically throw you into promotions.
Try to use team/help/[email protected] and have replies forwarded to your helpdesk
If your emails are being sent from email addresses with "no-reply" or similar, there is a GOOD chance that Gmail will automatically throw you into promotions.
Try to use team/help/[email protected] and have replies forwarded to your helpdesk
4/ Try to reduce the number of blocks in your email, as well as the different styles of text, headings, etc
When sending emails to colleagues, you're more than likely using paragraphs and maybe some bolded or underlined sentences. Nothing fancy, right?
When sending emails to colleagues, you're more than likely using paragraphs and maybe some bolded or underlined sentences. Nothing fancy, right?
If you're doing the exact opposite for your brand's emails, Gmail can easily recognize that as an email that shouldn't be in a user's primary inbox.
Combat this by reusing global styles and limited the different types of formatting your text has in an email.
Combat this by reusing global styles and limited the different types of formatting your text has in an email.
6/ Make sure to preview your emails in a Gmail client before sending (easy to forget when using Apple mail, outlook, etc)
Most of the time, you can tell if an email is going to the promotions tab simply by sending yourself a preview to a Google inbox and seeing where it lands
Most of the time, you can tell if an email is going to the promotions tab simply by sending yourself a preview to a Google inbox and seeing where it lands
This is definitely not fool-proof, as I have had emails that hit primary during a preview but still hit promotions after pressing send.
However, if your email is hitting promotions during a preview, there's a very good chance that's going to hold true for your main send
However, if your email is hitting promotions during a preview, there's a very good chance that's going to hold true for your main send
IN CONCLUSION
You'll never 100% guarantee that an email will hit the primary tab. At the end of the day, Google does want Google wants
However, using these best practices regularly, you may start to see some emails perform better and generate more $ per send :)
You'll never 100% guarantee that an email will hit the primary tab. At the end of the day, Google does want Google wants
However, using these best practices regularly, you may start to see some emails perform better and generate more $ per send :)
