Online Express and G Mail Filters

Bob Wiebe

I have a question for users of Online Express about how to optimize deliverability of e mail. We currently use I Contact to send monthly e newsletters.  Our experience is that e mail sent to recipients who have G mail accounts goes into secondary folders, unless the recipient has specifically tagged the e mail as desirable.  In that case the e mail goes into their primary inbox.  Does the same thing happen with Outlook Express, i.e. large portions of the mailing list get blocked by filters? Or is Online Express better able to get past G mail filters than other e mail programs?  This information will be helpful in the decision as to whether to switch our newsletter and similar mailings to Outlook Express.

 

Rachel Nigro

Hi Bob, 


This is a great question! Gmail's new settings favor the actions of your recipients, so the more frequently your constituents open, click, and interact with your emails, the more likely these emails will be delivered straight to your recipients inbox. We have a great blog post from one of our Interactive Consultants here if you'd like to read more: What Gmail settings mean for nonprofit email strategy.


Sending your newsletter through Online Express could help with this since you can use information from The Raiser's Edge to create your list of recipients. This allows you to segment your communications and deliver relevant content based on what you know about your constituents. For example, if you're not already, you could send a newsletter specifically to your Alumni with content crafted to them--or a newsletter for your donors. 


I hope this information is helpful! What are others doing to help optimize deliverability to Gmail?