What is graymail?
Graymail is an email the recipient signed up to get, but is not actually interested in. It lies somewhere between full-on spam and an email the recipient actually volunteered to get by signing up for a newsletter or submitting their email and other contact information in exchange for a lead magnet.
If you want a more in-depth understanding of this topic, check out the FAQ section below:
Question #1: How does it affect my brand?
Graymail can negatively affect your brand because it limits your ability to keep your email list engaged. Since graymail usually goes directly to secondary email folders instead of the recipient’s inbox, there is a big chance that it will be missed or ignored on purpose.
Some people may even mark graymail as spam. When enough people on your email list do so, ISPs and email service providers may completely block your email and IP address, completely eliminating your ability to communicate with leads, potential customers, and existing customers.
Question #3: How do I avoid this?
To avoid graymail, you need to make your emails more desirable and engaging. Craft them in such a way that people cannot help but open them and read their contents.
But you could also try tactics such as:
- Trimming your subscriber list
- Changing up your game and trying to rekindle old flames
- Asking the people in your email list to add you to their contact list
- Putting your emails to the test before blasting them out
- Setting the stage
Let us take a look at each one in more detail:
First, do not send emails to recipients who never open them or have marked you as spam. Not only will it mess up your numbers (e.g., open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates), it might also send a negative message to ISPs and email servers.
Second, try to win back your old subscribers by finding what makes them tick and creating more of that kind of content. You can even segment your email list and send more targeted emails to each one.
Third, a great way to boost your chances of getting your emails to land in your target recipients’ inboxes is to get your email address in their contact list. This tells their email service provider that they actually want to hear from you.
Fourth, do email A/B testing to find out what version of a particular email resonates better with the people on your email list.
Finally, let everyone who joins your email list what they should expect right from the get-go. Tell them what topics you will talk about, how often you would get in touch with them, and what types of content you will be sending.
Question #4: Why do I receive graymail?
You receive graymail because you signed up for them. They are email marketing efforts by real businesses trying to reach out to you to let you know about the latest arrivals, seasonal promotions, or to simply tell you about products and services they think you might be interested in.
Companies can also share, buy, and sell email addresses, however. This means that if you don’t remember subscribing to an email list, they may have gotten your email address from a site or brand you did subscribe to.
The good news is that if the company sending you graymail is legitimate, you should be able to unsubscribe from their list easily. You should be able to find the unsubscribe link at the end of their emails.
Check this article from Precision Marketing Group to know on how graymail will ruin your email sender score.
Question #5: What are other names for graymail?
Graymail is also sometimes called bacon or ham. It is not quite spam, but it comes from the same family. As we have seen earlier, the main difference is that it is something that the recipient has signed up to receive.