## New to Email? A Beginner’s Guide to Choosing the Best Email Platform

A lot of marketers know that the higher your open rates, the better. But what those new to email marketing might not know is that sending an email doesn’t automatically land it in your customers' inbox. Emails might bounce, go to the spam folder, or get sender-rejected. Every brand has different email marketing needs, so choosing the right Email Service Provider (ESP) or Marketing Automation Platform (MAP) is crucial. When choosing the best email platform for your business, we advise you to stick to the five W’s: who, what, where, when and why.

## WHO will you be sending email to?
Who is your target person? Do you have multiple personas that you will be sending email to? Asking yourself “who” is a great first step to identifying the best platform for your business. Segmentation may be a huge factor for you. Unsure of what segmentation means? It is the act of breaking your contact lists into smaller, more targeted lists based on behaviors, locations, etc. If you have a simple segmentation strategy, a more cost-effective platform might be right for you. To implement a more in-depth segmentation strategy for your audience, one that includes features such as lead scoring, a more advanced MAP may be a better choice.

## WHAT types of email will you be sending?
There are many different types of emails: transactional, newsletters, “drip” campaigns, automations and more. Depending on the type of emails you plan to send, you will need to invest in the appropriate platform. Be sure to crosscheck all platforms you are investigating to see if they offer the ability to send every type of email in your strategy. A great example of this is MailChimp’s platform Mandrill, which plugs into MailChimp instances for transactional-based emails.

## WHERE will you be sending email?
Compliance is a very hot topic within email strategy these days. Between CAN-SPAM, CASL and GDPR, you will want to ensure that your email strategy addresses the different rules and directives outlined in each of these regulations. If you fail to be compliant, your company could potentially face very high fines. Your email strategy and platform needs may be entirely different if you plan on sending to email addresses within the United States only — versus sending to email addresses across North America or in Europe. With the complexities that arise in this new age of regulation, we recommend working with a trusted email expert to ensure your marketing efforts and platforms follow best practices based on the target audience’s country in your email list.

## WHEN will you be sending email?
There has always been a quest for the PERFECT time to send an email. After all, if you get into an inbox at the right time, your chances of getting higher open rates dramatically increase. Different industries will experience different open rates, and depending on your industry or email content, one day of the week may be better for sending versus another. Different providers have integrated various formulas and recommendations based on user activity. One of our favorite platform features from Maropost is the Send Time Optimization tool. If send time is a focus for you, keep this in mind as you review different platforms.

## WHY are you sending email?
This question drives back to your basic email strategy. What goals do you have for your email program, and how are you measuring against those goals? Ensure that the platform you go with has the correct reporting features to be able to track back to your KPIs so you are not spending extra money on other third-party tools to track the KPIs you need. No matter what your who, what, where, when or why reasoning brings you, it is important to remember you’re not in this journey alone. When it comes to finding the right email platform for you and your brand, perhaps the most important place to start is with a trusted advisor. At Fruition, we specialize in placing clients with the best email platform for their company size, audience, budget and goals. Contact us today to learn how we can help pair you with the right platform!

### Learn more about Fruition's email marketing services
Email Marketing Services

Uncover key aspects to consider for choosing the most fitting email platform for your business. Delineate your goals, identify your target audience, comprehend the legal compliance, and evaluate different platforms for success.

Fru_Page2-Email.png

Ultimate Guide: Choosing The Perfect Email Platform for Your Business Needs

# Fruition’s Digital Marketing Software Streamlines Campaign Management

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — 21 February, 2019 **The newly released digital marketing tool helps marketing professionals automate and simplify their processes to increase ROI.** Denver, Colo. — Fruition Growth, LLC, developed an industry-leading tool for digital marketers that allows them to efficiently gain visibility into their website, track and manage campaigns, and understand Work to Work on Next™. Fruition CEO Brad Anderson envisioned a machine-learning tool that would give clients insight and control to support digital marketing initiatives and strategize ways to increase business growth. Along with a team of statisticians, mathematicians and marketing industry experts, Anderson developed Fruition Tools over a few years’ time and launched version three in 2019. The Fruition digital marketing software offers users a free version with access to Google Penalty Checker, a tool that tracks Google algorithm updates and analyzes whether or not the updates negatively affect a website. As part of the tool’s premier support service, the paid and enterprise versions offer an advanced Google Penalty Checker, a site analyzer, Google Analytics visibility and click fraud analysis. What to Work on Next™ (WTWON™) is an additional paid feature within Fruition Tools. The overall concept is to deliver clients a list of items on their websites that need to be fixed in order to fully benefit from their digital marketing efforts. The WTWON™ to-do list is organized based on importance. Clients of Fruition marketing have access to this feature, which is intended to give project managers, account managers, analysts and experts the data and confirmation needed to make informed decisions. Along with support from the Fruition Service Desk, clients are able to clearly see areas of improvement, be educated about how to implement them and start seeing results in a short time. Fruition Tools is being constantly developed and improved, and new features will soon be released, including a billing system that will automate and simplify invoicing for both clients and Fruition accountants.
###

Fruition marketing builds, grows and protects digital properties to help middle-market companies increase their online presence while reducing risks. Unlike niche agencies who only offer development, marketing or hosting support, Fruition has experts in each service area needed for your company to beat your competitors online. PRESS CONTACT Lindsay Maynard, Content Manager Fruition Growth, LLC 616 Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80203 (720) 573-1229

Harness the power of automation and optimization in your marketing process with Fruition’s cutting-edge digital marketing tool, designed to drive ROI and nurture business growth.

Updated Content: 

# Streamline Your Campaign Management with Fruition's Cutting-Edge Digital Marketing Software

**Efficiency, visibility, and increased ROI are now within your reach.** Discover the power of automation in digital marketing with our groundbreaking tool, developed by Fruition Growth, LLC. 

Denver, Colo. — Reiterating our commitment to innovation, we've designed a state-of-the-art platform that streamlines the complexities of digital marketing campaigns, driving impressive results that outperform expectations. Our CEO, Brad Anderson, envisioned a tool that puts insight and control in your hands, enabling you to accurately strategize targets for quicker business growth.

Developed meticulously over the years, boasting inputs from statisticians, mathematicians, and industry experts, our digital marketing software, Fruition Tools, is dedicated to empowering marketers. The software provides a comprehensive suite of features, from tracking website activities, managing campaigns efficiently, to our unique Work to Work on Next™(WTWON™) feature.

Pushing the boundaries, our free version delivers impressive Google Penalty Checker, a tool that monitors algorithm updates and provides deep insights into their impacts on your website. Our premier support service, alongside paid and enterprise versions, includes advanced Google Penalty Checker, Google Analytics visibility, site analyzer, and click fraud analysis. 

Get organized with WTWON™. We furnish a prioritized to-do list highlighting website aspects needing improvements - an invaluable asset for project managers, account managers, analysts, and experts. Supported by our Service Desk, users can easily identify, understand, and implement the required changes, leading to prompt, noticeable results.

Stay ahead of the curve with Fruition's agile development - we're always introducing new features to optimize our tool further. Keep an eye out for our automated invoicing system aimed at simplifying the billing process.

At Fruition Growth, LLC, we strive for excellence by helping middle-market companies build, grow, and secure their digital properties, ensuring a robust online presence that outperforms competitors.

Lindsay Maynard, Content Manager 
Fruition Growth, LLC 
616 Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80203 
(720) 573-1229

Generic-Blog-Hero-1.jpg

Streamline Campaign Management with Fruition's Innovative Digital Marketing Software | Fruition Growth, LLC

# The Importance of Good (List) Hygiene: The Signals

Whether you are just getting your email program started, are a seasoned sender, or are looking to start refining your email marketing program, a clean list is a must and should be part of your email marketing best practices. What do I mean by “clean list?” Great question! There are many factors that signal you have a healthy list, so in this blog we’ll dig into why clean your email list and look at three of the top signals for email list hygiene to help you immediately clean up your list. We'll also discuss the top 3 email list hygiene best practices and go over the action items to help you easily implement these list cleansing tips.

## Subscribers:
A clean list starts with ensuring the individuals on your list have expressly asked to receive your emails. Purchasing lists, emailing to users who have not opted to receive email, or continuing to email people who have unsubscribed or marked your email as spam is the first indicator you do not have a clean list. **Action items:** 
- Audit your lead capture forms for opt-in options and language.
- Review your list to ensure you’re removing unsubscribes (and not adding them back in as you update your lists).
- Setup feedback loops (FBLs) to ensure you are removing individuals who have complained or marked your email as spam  from your list.

## Bounce Rates:
A good indicator that your list may not be clean is high bounce rates. There are a couple of different types of bounces when it comes to sending email. Soft Bounce: These types of bounces happen when an inbox is full, servers are down, or there is some sort of temporary issue.* Hard Bounce: These types of bounces occur when the email address no longer exists, or has ever existed (typos or fake email addresses).* Ideally your bounce rates should be under 0.5-0.9% for soft bounces, and under 0.3-0.5% for hard bounces. However, bounce rates vary by industry.** **Action items:** 
- Researching some competitive benchmarks for bounce rates is a good place to start when trying to understand how your email program compares to other industries.
- As people subscribe to your list, there is a possibility they may make a typo or provide you with a false email address. This can lead to higher bounce rates and an unclean list. Implementing an email validator into your subscription forms will help ensure only valid emails are being added to your list.
- If you’ve been sending to your list for a long time, and have never implemented a list validator, running your list through a list cleansing tool is a good next step.
- Keep an eye out on your bounce rates. Your email service provider (ESP) should be automatically removing hard bounces from your list, but keeping an eye on your soft bounce rates and trend data is a good idea to keep your list clean.

# Complaint Rates:
High complaint rates are a good indication that your list is not clean. People who want to be receiving your email will not mark it as spam. If email providers are seeing high complaint rates from your sends, you’re less likely to land in the inbox. **Action items:** 
- Make unsubscribing easy. People either want to receive your email or they don’t. Make sure it is easy for users to unsubscribe from your emails, or they may mark your email as spam.
- Research competitive benchmarks for complaint rates in your industry. Similarly to bounce rates, complaint rates vary by industry. Ideally, you’ll want to keep your complaint rates as low as possible, but reviewing benchmarks in your industry will help you understand how your email program is performing.
- Only send to people who subscribe to your emails. Purchasing lists or sending to people who have not asked to receive your emails is a really easy way to increase your complaint rates and land in the spam folder.
- Send re-engagement campaigns. If somebody hasn’t opened an email from you in 3-6 months, they may not be interested in receiving your email anymore. Check in with your list periodically to see if they’re still interested in your content or if they want to change their communication preferences.

Did you know that in 2018 the ROI for email marketing was $44 for every $1 spent ***? The better your email program, the higher ROI you’re likely see. However, keeping your list clean is just one of the many factors that indicate a healthy email program. Interested in learning more about how you can improve your email program? Contact us about email list hygiene services!

Boost your email marketing effectiveness with top-notch list hygiene practices. Discover the importance of list cleansing in increasing email deliverability and improving ROI.

Fru_CleanList.png

Maximize Email ROI: Enhance List Hygiene & Marketing Practices

# The Secret to Email Cadence

It may surprise you to learn the word cadence, grammatically speaking, was not historically applied to email because cadence is defined as "the modulation or inflection of the voice" or "a sequence of notes or chords compromising the close of a musical phrase." However, if you work in digital marketing, you’ve undoubtedly heard this phrase. Over time, it has morphed to fit into the email landscape to define the rhythm of email sends. So we shall continue, unbothered, to refer to email cadence as the amount of email you send, spread out across how frequently you send it. With the holidays fast approaching, you’ve probably started (or should start) outlining your content calendar for the season. Email is a crucial aspect of holiday marketing, so much so that at certain times during the holiday season, volume can be roughly 90-120% higher than average.[1] So going into the holiday season, what are some things to consider when it comes to your email program? When it comes to your sending cadence, there are some simple best practices to follow, but since we appreciate you taking the time to read our blog, we’re gonna throw in some "secrets" for you as well.

1. Sending Volume:
When it comes to sending volume, the best practice is simple: keep it consistent. When ISPs see you sending to a small audience, and all of a sudden sending to a gigantic list, they’ll immediately sense some red flags. Have a larger list you only send to occasionally? Break up the send over the course of a few days to avoid raising too many of those red flags.
2. Sending Frequency:
We don’t like to repeat ourselves too often, but again, simple is best. When it comes to sending frequency keep it consistent. In order to get the best results from your email program, decide how often you should send to your contacts. From there, create a content calendar. It’s best to have a few months at a time mapped out so you aren’t scrambling for content last minute in order to get your send out. Having a consistent frequency will help keep your contacts engaged and will help ensure your emails land in the inbox.
3. Warm It Up, Keep It Warm:
Whether you’re starting a new email program or migrating to a new platform, ensure your sending cadence ramps up slowly in order to "warm up" your program. When it comes to keeping it warm, the process is fairly simple. Follow the best practices outlined above (namely, keeping your volume and consistency stable) and you should be golden.
4. Ramp it up:
The holidays are right around the corner, which means email (so much email) is coming. If you’re one of the (many) senders who increases their sending volume during the holidays, now is the time to start ramping up your sends. Gradually increase your volume and sending frequency over the next couple of months in order to increase your chances of landing in the inbox. We hope you found these tips on email cadence helpful. A better email strategy means you’ll have more engaged senders, a higher chance of landing in the inbox, and overall, a higher ROI.

**Do you need to up your email game? Talk email strategy with the experts.**

Get in Touch →

**Learn more about Fruition's email marketing services**

Email Marketing Services
[1] https://returnpath.com/newsroom/email-volume-and-inbox-placement-exceeded-yearly-average-during-2017-holiday-season-but-so-did-spam-complaints/

Master holiday email cadence and strategically enhance your campaign. Discover key techniques for effective send volume, launch strategy, and frequency to optimize engagement and ROI.

Fru-EmailCadence.png

Proven Holiday Email Marketing Techniques | Master Email Cadence for ROI Boost | Fruition

# Improve Your Website Rankings with Schema Markup

To rule the rankings, you’ll need to make great content, target the right keywords, and build authority. But to catapult your content to the top of Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs) and get your website in front of the right audience, you’ll also need to master the microdata on your website - including schema markup. 
READ MORE: What Are Long-Tail Keywords And Why Should You Use Them? 

## What is Schema Markup?
Schema markup is a structured data format that uses a vocabulary recognized by search engines to explain what a web page is about. Schema does not appear on the page like other content, but talks to search engines behind the scenes to more simply “tell” Google what a page is about. Google and other search engines read the HTML, schema, and h1 and h2 tags to determine what the content is and what search terms it should rank for. 

## Achieve Google Rich Snippets With Schema
Along with simplifying the analysis that search engines perform on webpages, schema markup also enables pages to rank for different types of “rich” results. You may have noticed that the Google SERP has changed pretty drastically over the last few years to include more sections and search result formats, such as products for sale, carousels, job boards, videos, and much more. Being featured in one of these sections is completely free, but in most cases require schema markup. By using schema, your website will be able to rank as a “rich” result in some of the following ways: 

## Shopping Schema
With product schema, eCommerce websites have the ability to show up in Google’s shopping results. When a user types in a search, Google scans product schema in order to return relevant results. If your eCommerce site has product schema in place that matches the original search, Google will pull a snippet of your site into the “shopping results” section. In the example below, each listing contains product schema on its landing page that tells Google the title of the book, the price, and the cost of shipping. This particular type of schema can be extremely impactful for eCommerce websites. 

![Shopping-Schema-1024x556.png](https://s3.us-east-1.wasabisys.com/cdn.fruition.net/Shopping_Schema_1024x556_b27c69311f.png)

## Jobs Schema
Google has also created its own job board that pulls results in from web pages that contain job schema. Although results will usually be a mix of postings from Indeed or Zip recruiter, job schema will pull in listings from companies’ own websites for free. Getting your website’s listing into this type of snippet is a great way to get more visibility without spending additional capital.

![Job-Schema-1024x987.png](https://s3.us-east-1.wasabisys.com/cdn.fruition.net/Job_Schema_1024x987_d2a2f68bc1.png)

**Events Schema** Similar to Google’s job board, Google also has an extensive library of featured events for relevant searches. This pulls from all pages that have event schema. Google has even begun to include filter features that allow people search for just about anything without ever having to go to a company website. Websites that have event schema in place, like Stubhub, are populated as featured events. If your event isn’t selling through another website that features event schema, it’s crucial that you create this on your own website to stay competitive and show up in search results.

![Event-Schema-1024x929.png](https://s3.us-east-1.wasabisys.com/cdn.fruition.net/Event_Schema_1024x929_426c12270d.png)

## Recipes Schema
When a user searches for a recipe, recipe feed dominates most of the SERP. To get the most views possible, your recipes should include recipe schema. This type of schema includes useful information that allows users to quickly pick the recipe that most closely resembles what they are looking for. 

![Recipe-Schema-1003x1024.png](https://s3.us-east-1.wasabisys.com/cdn.fruition.net/Recipe_Schema_1003x1024_d3eba9ec76.png)

## Local Business and Organization
We also recommend including Local Business Schema and Organization Schema. This is helpful for Google to learn more about your company and what you do. It’s also a great place to include keywords.

## Article Schema
Using article schema on blogs and press releases tells Google more about the post, including the author, published date, description, title, citations, and more. With Google’s stricter enforcement of E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, & Trustworthiness), adding article schema ensures Google correctly establishes the authoritativeness of your site.  

## Getting Started with Schema 
There are many schema examples and online generators that you can use to build custom schema for your website. While there are many different types of schema, the one thing they all have in common is that they follow the rules outlined on Schema.org. Once you’ve built the code for your desired type of schema(s), test it out with Google’s Structure Data Testing Tool. Just plug in the snippet of code or URL of the page to see your results.You’ll even be able to preview how your pages will look in search results. 

## Lets Get Schema Setup on Your Site
Our team of SEO schema experts can find the perfect solution to increase views, find more customers, and boost your bottom line.  Lets take a look at how we can improve your traffic with the proper markup. 

Discover how mastering schema markup can elevate your website rankings and create rich results in Google. Embark on a transformative journey, from understanding schema to implementing it successfully.

Fru-Blog-Schema.png

Master Schema Markup for Optimal Website Rankings & Rich Google Results

## Why Your Business Needs An Email Marketing Program

Whether your business is product-based, service-based, B2B, or B2C, implementing a strong email marketing program should be at the top of your to-do list. 99% of consumers check their email daily and most consumers report that email is, by far, their preferred method of receiving updates from brands. If those two stats alone aren’t enough to convince you to prioritize email in your marketing efforts, read on to discover the top 4 reasons why your business should develop an email marketing program. 

## Benefits of Email Marketing Programs 
### 1. Boost Sales
Email allows you to use strategies like cart abandonment, browse abandonment, and product recommendations to keep your company top of mind and drive more revenue. Since the visitor has already done the legwork for you by browsing and selecting products they’re interested in, an automated email program can remind them of those products and encourage them to complete their purchase.  These emails aren’t just for B2C companies - B2B business can use email as a touchpoint in lead nurturing. By using email in addition to phone calls and other outreach strategies, you can create a much more robust lead nurturing process that works for all team members. 
### 2. Build Trust 
Use your email program to build brand recognition and establish a connection with your subscribers. A welcome series is a valuable addition to keep your customers coming back for more. These types of emails allow you to:  
- Explain who you are and what you do 
- Invite subscribers to get involved in your community by sharing links to social media platforms and forums 
- Share reviews/testimonials 
- Provide more information about your company culture and values 

At this stage in your customer relationship, avoid sending welcome emails from a “do not reply” address. Sending from a real replyto address allows your customers to directly reply with issues, questions, or even their thanks! If your business is B2B or service-based, take this a step farther by adding a calendar link for their primary point of contact so your subscriber can easily get in touch. 

### 3. Keep Customers Updated 
Since so many people check their emails on a daily basis, you can quickly send out information if there’s a change in your company’s processes - like COVID updates, holiday changes, new products, training, webinars, and more. Communicating important updates through email adds a new touchpoint to your digital marketing strategy that gives you more control and visibility into who is reading your content.  For example, imagine your business is launching a new product. While making an announcement on social media is a necessary part of your marketing strategy (and a great way to create excitement!) not everyone uses social media regularly, and news feed algorithms can prevent those that are active on social media from seeing your content. By communicating via email, you can track openers and resend emails to people who didn’t open the email, especially if it’s an urgent or time-sensitive message.  
### 4. Leverage Data To Strengthen Your Overall Marketing Strategy 
Email platforms provide robust metrics to help you better understand your audience. eCommerce businesses can track sales and revenue, see what products people click on most, and understand what type of messaging is causing people to unsubscribe. Reusing subject lines that get higher open rates can also be used in captions on social media or help develop the tone for the website.  B2B or sales-based teams can use these metrics to track open rates and responses, put leads into workflows, and help the sales team identify high-quality prospects.  If you’re ready to see the benefits that email marketing can bring your organization, contact Fruition today. Our team will help you build a unique strategy to meet your business goals, delight your customers, and maintain great list hygiene to help you reap the benefits of email marketing. 


Learn how an effective Email Marketing Program can drive revenue, build trust, keep customers updated, and strengthen your overall strategy in customer engagement.

Strategy & Research

Digital Marketing

Web Development

Creative

AI Data & Analytics

Amber Blacharski

Email Marketing Specialist

More articles by Amber Blacharski

Ultimate Guide: Choosing The Perfect Email Platform for Your Business Needs

Streamline Campaign Management with Fruition's Innovative Digital Marketing Software | Fruition Growth, LLC

Maximize Email ROI: Enhance List Hygiene & Marketing Practices

Proven Holiday Email Marketing Techniques | Master Email Cadence for ROI Boost | Fruition

Master Schema Markup for Optimal Website Rankings & Rich Google Results

Boost Your Business with Email Marketing: Top 4 Benefits