📦 - My Campaigns Bring All The Buyers to The Yard

DTC 298 - Evergreen as Adv+ and improving email deliverability [DTC]( Banter And please, explain like I’m five (ELI5). P.S. The DTC team still has [free tickets available to GROW LA]( this Thursday, February 23rd. Don’t miss out on DTC growth talks, workshops, meetings, and tactical lessons from 1000+ high-growth retail brands. In this newsletter, you’ll find: 👇 📦 Optimizing your evergreen campaigns and AI site/shop split on Meta 📦 Are abandoned carts a problem or a revenue opportunity? 📦 Nine steps to improve your email deliverability 📦 The free answer to TikTok success Read till the end to access exclusive DTC swag. 😎 👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, [subscribe,]( so you never miss out. Meta Are you sitting on some winning evergreen campaigns but don’t know how to optimize them? Have no fear; the Pilothouse Meta team is here! 🦸‍♀️ Here’s the sitch: try duping your evergreen winners into an Advantage+ campaign (if available on your Meta account). Recently, the team employed this tactic for a client where the Adv+ campaign was set up with: - No return customer cap - A website/shop split Not sure what a site/shop split is? At an ad set level, Meta lets you choose where to send your traffic. When choosing a site/shop split, Meta’s AI will send clickers where they think they’re most likely to convert! In the same timeframe, this new Adv+ campaign had a 1.91 return-on-ad-spend (ROAS), compared to the 1.44 account average ROAS for the same timeline. The [Pilothouse Meta team]( says to use Advantage+ to your advantage! Start testing campaigns because you never know what might work for your account. 👀 Sponsor Are abandoned carts a problem or a revenue opportunity? Looking to reduce cart abandonment rates, increase your brand's ROI AND make shoppers excited to purchase from you? (Of course, you are. That's why you are reading this newsletter 😉) You, like many of us, were probably stuck indoors in 2020. This shifted shopping behavior. Now many people window shop and add items to online carts that they never expect to buy. Knowing the right psychological cues allows marketers (like you) to combat abandonment and drive higher conversion rates. 🚀 By following the tips and strategies outlined in [this guide,]( you will: - Say goodbye to negative checkout experiences - Gain a deeper understanding of why shoppers abandon carts - Implement powerful psychological cues to reduce cart abandonment - Skyrocket your conversion rates on the first visit - Encourage repeat purchases from your loyal customers 👉 [Take your marketing efforts to the next level. Download the guide today and start boosting your ROI!]( Email Spam/Promo Folder, Be Gone! We all know about the darn Promotions inbox and the dreaded Spam folder. Nobody wants their emails ending up in either of these tabs 🙀. Luckily, we’re got the tips you need to help hit that Primary inbox like a champ. But first, a heads up… 🤔 No one really knows all the secrets behind reaching the Inbox 100% of the time. Gmail, for example, is highly variable. Your message could go to the Primary inbox for one user and Spam for another. It’s not black and white. However, one thing is clear: if you send emails people don’t want to read, you’re probably gonna end up in Spam. No way around it. 🤷 Additionally, if you don’t have the basic tech stuff in place — like a solid sender/domain reputation, custom authentication with DKIM/SPF/BIMI, and a good ESP — these tips may only get you so far. So, assuming you’ve got all that taken care of, here are some straightforward ways to improve your email deliverability. 👇 1️⃣ Optimize for engagement One of the best ways to improve your email deliverability is to send emails that prompt engagement. When a user opens, clicks—and even better, replies to—your email, it signals to ISPs that people like getting your messages. You’re probably familiar with best practices for optimizing for opens and clicks, but what about replies? 🤔 Here are some ways to elicit a response to your email, which can do wonders for deliverability: - Offer something valuable in exchange for a reply (best option) - Ask a question in your email and prompt your reader to reply - Have the reader confirm they got your email or a download with a reply 🦸 Pro Tip: Having high engagement early on in your welcome emails is the best way to ensure the rest of your emails end up in the Inbox. 2️⃣ Get whitelisted Fast-track to the Inbox by asking users to whitelist you, or add you as a contact (instructions vary for email providers). This tells providers that you’re essentially a VIP and shouldn’t be sent to Spam. 3️⃣ Ask for a manual move Suggest that users drag your email to the Primary Inbox from Promotions or Spam, which will make it more likely that your subsequent few messages end up there. (And if they like your emails, they’ll probably do it.) A nice little Gmail shortcut is to “star” the email, automatically moving it to Primary. ⭐ Heads up: these strategies may not keep you in the Inbox indefinitely, so you might need to include reminders once in a while. 4️⃣ Avoid “trigger” words and phrases (especially in the subject line) While this isn’t a sure bet, there’s a theory that certain words, phrases, and tendencies trigger providers to send your email to Spam. This is especially true when it comes to your subject line, although the body of the email applies as well. Spammy triggers to avoid: - ALL CAPS LIKE HOW YOUR MOTHER-IN-LAW WRITES - Excessive and unnecessary use of punctuation (!!!) or special characters ($@!#) - The words “free,” “urgent action,” “XXX” and many more - “RE:” or “FWD” in the subject line of an original email In other words: if it looks like Spam, and it quacks like Spam… well 🤷 If you’re still working on improving deliverability on those pesky emails, keep scrolling for part 2. 👇 Sponsor Are you looking for the answer to TikTok success? Do you want it for FREE? 1000's of DTC brands have created scroll-stopping, thumb-mashing, and product-selling campaigns using content strategies from Cohley's TikTok Creative Brief Template. 🔥 Now, they are cranking the dial to 11! 🤘 They are inviting YOU to a webinar hyperfocused on creator-led TikTok Content. You are just one FREE sign-up away from: - Powerful TikTok tips forged from hundreds of successful campaigns on Cohley - How to address challenges such as bandwidth constraints and in-house creative limitations - TikTok best practices and creative requirements for both organic and paid content - Expert guidance on creator recruitment and communication strategies, compensation recommendations, and more 👉 [RSVP here for your ticket to TikTok success.]( Email – Part 2 5️⃣ Test variations in your “From” line If you aren’t doing it already, use your brand name in your “From” line. This helps reduce Spam complaints and improve open rates, which will help deliverability. You could also test sending emails from a company individual to give messages a more personal feel. Others, like Chase Dimond, have experienced better open rates by using their email domain in the “From” line. The options are endless — just remember to test and see what’s working! 6️⃣ Consider simple emails Image-heavy emails with very little copy can be hallmarks of Spammers, so providers tend to be wary of them. Additionally, some ISPs don’t display images by default, which means they may not even show up for some users. Images are also slower to load, which impacts UX and engagement. This is why many brands are experimenting with simpler, text-based emails to improve load time and deliverability. 📮 Of course, this is all highly brand relevant. If your emails are extravagantly designed, full of GIFs and crazy animations but have killer engagement keep fighting the good fight! 👊 (And if you use images, make sure they’re properly compressed and include alt text.) 7️⃣ Clear Unsubscribe button This should be a no-brainer, but the sad truth is we all experience the “where the F is the unsubscribe” moment on a much-too-regular basis. 🤦 It doesn’t have to be in screaming red letters. Just make sure your unsubscribe button is easy to find because if readers can’t see it, they’re more likely to hit Spam/Complaint — a guaranteed killer for deliverability. Here’s a pretty good example of a subtle yet clear unsubscribe link: 8️⃣ Practice good list hygiene Just like your hands, regularly cleaning your list is an excellent idea. Unopened emails, unengaged subscribers, and bounce rates can all affect your sender reputation and overall deliverability. A few tips for good list hygiene: - Build out re-engagement campaigns to regularly check in with short-term unengaged subscribers (every 3-6 months, depending on how much you mail) - Periodically segment unengaged subs into their own lists and remove them from regular mailings - Every 12 months, fully clean your list of anyone that hasn’t engaged. At this point, permission to send emails has expired, and you run the risk of low open rates, high bounce rates, and spam complaints 9️⃣ Use Spam checkers And finally, the sure-fire way to know if your emails are making it to Primary or Promos… is to test them! Free email spam checker tools like [Litmus,]( [Email on Acid,]( and [GlockApps]( are extremely helpful. Add them to your email workflow if you want to maximize deliverability. 📨 Did you find these tips helpful? Did we miss any? Hit reply and let us know! (See what we did there? 😉) Quick Hits 🛍 [Instagram]( announces removal of live stream shopping elements. 👀 [Meta:]( Increasing our ads transparency. 📺 [Google:]( Improve how you plan, buy, and measure your CTV campaigns. 🤖 [You.com]( takes aim at Google and Microsoft with multimodal chat search. 🥪 Sandwich chain Subway is [exploring a possible sale.]( SHARE DTC NEWSLETTER 🔥 NEW REFERRAL PROGRAM HAS OFFICIALLY DROPPED 🔥 Want to level up the marketing skills of your teammates and employees? Just grab your referral link below and you'll earn points toward cool gear for every new subscriber you bring to the DTC fam. 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Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight](, [Kelsey Hess](, and Michael Venditti. Edited by [Claire Beveridge]( and Eric Dyck. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. NEED MORE DTC? 🚀 [Advertise]( in DTC Newsletter. 💰Check out our course on [Facebook and Instagram]( ads! Rate Us [Fueled by Pilothouse] [Share]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [LinkedIn]( [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( At Direct to Consumer, we are strongly committed to protecting your privacy and providing a safe & high-quality online experience for all visitors. We understand that you care about how the information you provide to us is used and shared. We have developed a Privacy Policy to inform you of our policies regarding collecting, using, and disclosing information we receive from our Website users. Federal Filing operates the Website. Our Privacy Policy, along with our Terms & Conditions, governs your use of this site. 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