How can I get better results from my email lists?

Lisst Management Founder and CEO Liss Graham has spent years in the email marketing space and discovered multiple ways to increase email revenue with a few well-placed AI enhancements. But for those emails to work, you have to convince the ISPs that you’re on the up-and-up first.

3 ISP Keys to Unlock Inboxes 📥

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have been in the spotlight in 2024 as both Google and Yahoo announced new requirements for senders that are designed to reduce spam and improve deliverability. One of the most notable changes was increased security around domain authentication.

1. Domain Authentication

ISPs run emails through multiple protocols to ensure that they’re not linked to anything suspicious or dangerous.

The most common authentication protocols are DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC), and Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records.
How to test your SPF, DKIM & DMARC

We won’t bore you with the details of each one, but Liss recommends tools like Mail Genius, MX Toolbox, and SendForensics to identify and troubleshoot any domain authentication issues.

2. Engagement Metrics

ISPs like Gmail also look at engagement metrics like open rates and click rates within their platform to ensure your messages belong in recipients’ inboxes. Your open rates need to stay above 25% and click rates above 2% to avoid trouble.

One way to ensure engagement is with a reply-back campaign. For example, you can send an email with a discount or free sample offer for recipients who reply. That engagement — in addition to the email you’ll send confirming their reward — will whitelist your email address so that all of your future messages will land in their inbox.

Liss also points out that when deliverability goes off the rails, it can take weeks to get it right again, so monitoring these metrics is crucial for your campaigns.

3. Spam Triggers

Every niche has specific spam trigger words that prevent delivery if they appear in the subject line.

A simple search will reveal which words to avoid in your niche, but testing subject lines for engagement and deliverability will help ensure that you don’t trigger any trips to the spam dungeon.

Ways to Enhance Marketing Emails with AI 🤖

Artificial intelligence and machine learning tools aren’t ready to run their own campaigns (yet), but they’re a great way to enhance the work you’re already doing. Let’s look at three ways AI can improve your marketing emails.

1. Rewrite Copy with Generative AI

If you’re creating or running existing email campaigns, using a generative AI tool as your copy editor can have a major impact on revenue.

In one example, Liss showed that rewriting the top line of a sales email increased revenue from that email by almost 400%:
Using AI

Liss’s preferred tools for rewriting emails are ChatGPT, Jasper, and Simplified, but you can test those and other tools with a variety of prompts to get more compelling text — and more revenue per email.

2. Image Creation

Tools like Nightcafe, Starry, and the ChatGPT plug-in Argil are paid tools that Liss and her team use to create images for emails. Unlike photo shoots or custom graphic design, these images can be generated and adjusted in minutes, and you don’t have to worry about licensing or usage rights.

3. Improve Auto-Responses

Another AI enhancement that email marketers can use is an improved auto-response series when users make a purchase or sign up for a subscription

Instead of pre-written “your package is on the way!” messages, you can use AI to inform the buyer how they are getting their purchase, but also reassure them that they made the right choice and direct them to relevant information like their order number or customer support.

Additional messages, such as shipping notifications, tracking information, and how-tos can also be improved and streamlined by implementing AI tools.