How an adult brand sending 5M emails a month went from 20% to 88% deliverability

TL;DR

Email providers watch the adult industry more closely than most. This brand sends around 5M emails a month, and email is how it turns subscribers into customers. But only about 20% of its emails were delivered, and the open rate was stuck at 5%.

We segmented the list, helped get the sender off email blocklists, and set up a dedicated sending subdomain with a proper warm-up. After 12 months of work, deliverability is at 88% and the open rate at 35%. We are still working with the brand to push both further.

Objectives

Get the sender off the email blocklists that were blocking delivery
Protect the main domain by moving sending to a dedicated subdomain
Rebuild sender reputation with a gradual, low-risk warm-up
Send the right emails to the right contacts through segmentation
Turn more emails into opens, and more opens into customers

Strategy

1. Get off the blocklists. At 5M emails a month, the brand was listed on email blocklists. We identified the listings and helped get them removed. Without this step, nothing else would have worked.

2. Segment the list. We split the list into groups so each contact receives emails that fit them. Fewer irrelevant emails means fewer ignored emails and fewer complaints. Providers see that, and they trust the sender more.

3. Create a dedicated subdomain. We set up a dedicated subdomain for sending. This keeps the reputation of the main domain safe from any future problem.

4. Warm up gradually. We followed best practices and ramped up volume step by step on the new subdomain. Providers got time to see healthy, steady sending. We did not go back to full volume overnight.

Results

Deliverability rose from 20% to 88%, and the open rate from 5% to 35%. That's 7 times more emails opened, at a volume of 5M emails a month. More emails reach the inbox and get read, which means more chances to convert subscribers into customers.

The work is still ongoing. The open rate keeps improving as segmentation and sending practices are refined.

Loading…

How an adult brand sending 5M emails a month went from 20% to 88% deliverability

TL;DR

Objectives

Strategy

Results

Want results like these?

More case studies

TL;DR

Objectives

Strategy

Results