So your email creative is highly relevant, the subject line is compelling and your landing pages are primed and ready to convert. Ready to hit "send"? STOP! Unless you've taken the right steps to ensure email deliverability, hitting send could actually damage your reputation with subscribers and ISPs. Here's what you need to know about email deliverability and how to ensure your message reaches the inbox every time.

According to MarketingSherpa's 2010 Email Marketing Benchmark Report, there are five top reasons why consumers unsubscribe from email lists:

1. They find the content irrelevant

2. They get messages too frequently

3. They believe that their address has been sold

4. They don't remember signing up with your business

5. They have concerns about how you will handle their private information

It's easy to see from the list above that trust is a huge part of your relationship with your email subscribers. To build that trust, you must invest the time and effort necessary to build and maintain your company's positive online reputation - which requires an unwavering commitment to follow email marketing and deliverability best practices. We'll explore the specifics of deliverability best practices in this two-part series.

Ask for Permission

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, our first suggestion is to ensure that you get people's permission to send them email. Gaining opt-in permission is not only a best practice - it's also the law. However, some companies choose to go above and beyond what the law requires and request a double opt-in, which confirms a subscriber's intent to join a specific list. If you've ever signed up for a mailing list and then received an email with a link that allows you to confirm your subscription, you've successfully completed a double opt-in process.

Companies are also giving subscribers an easy way to both unsubscribe and to change their email preferences. How often do they include these options? In every email they send. From your opt-in confirmation email to your standard newsletter, consider providing subscribers with an option to "update your profile" or "change your communication preferences". By assuring subscribers that they are in control of their email experience with your company, you are building a stronger relationship with them.

Consider it an investment in the future of your email marketing campaigns. Sending anything that even seems like unsolicited email jeopardizes your company's reputation among consumers and ISPs, and resolving deliverability issues and spam complaints that result from unwanted communications is both time consuming and expensive. Think of the double opt-in and subscriber preferences options as a bit of insurance against future deliverability issues.

According to the previously mentioned MarketingSherpa Benchmark Report, the double opt-in process that can have such a positive impact on deliverability is one that is being largely ignored by email marketers. While it is true that a double opt-in process may reduce your email list's growth potential, it also substantially decreases your list churn, which leads to increased subscriber engagement and improvements in email deliverability. In this case, the advantages of the double opt-in process outweigh any perceived or real disadvantages.

Give Email Subscribers What They Want, When They Want It

During the sign up process or the welcome program, ensure that you ask your subscribers about their preferences and then follow those preferences. Did your subscribers sign up for an exclusive list of tips to help them improve the ROI of their advertising spend? Then ensure the list is exclusive - not just something they can browse through your site and see. Did your subscribers sign up for a weekly newsletter? Make certain their newsletter is delivered on time, but resist the temptation to send them additional messages during the week.

Following through on what you've promised email subscribers by communicating with them in a way that works best for them shows them that you value their preferences and that you are a company that keeps your promises - and can likely deliver on even greater promises like your service's benefits or product's features.

Don't Forget About Spam

Even if you've had your head under an email marketing rock for the last decade you've heard of "spam". But did you know that there's more to spam than simply sending an unsolicited email? It's important that you keep up with the laws and understand what the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) defines as spam, so that you can take the proper steps to protect your online reputation and your email deliverability.

The FTC, working with consumers and online industry experts, has created and enforced a set of laws known as CAN-SPAM. These laws clearly define exactly what is permissible and what is not when sending commercial email marketing. But the FTC isn't the only player in the game - ISPs also play a big role in determining what is considered spam. And the ways that ISPs determine spam have more to do with email recipient behaviors and filtering techniques than a legal edict.

For example, ISPs pay close attention to those email messages that are added to a blocked sender list, as well as those that are consistently ignored or moved to a spam folder. They also use advanced automated filtering techniques to try to stop the flow of spam, though many legitimate messages are inadvertently caught in the filter.

When it comes to improving deliverability, there are a number of things that email marketers can do to address the challenges that spam creates:

*Stay current on CAN-SPAM laws

*Double-check that every email campaign follows CAN-SPAM laws

*Follow email marketing best practices in every campaign

*Regularly review your unsubscribe methodologies to ensure CAN-SPAM compliance

You're Off to a Great Deliverability Start - Now What?

Asking for permission, following subscribers' preferences and being mindful of spam issues are all great ways to have a positive impact on your deliverability, but they're just the beginning. Elements like name recognition, relevance and consistency, and even authentication methods can have a direct effect on whether your email makes it to your subscribers' inboxes.

Are you sure you have everything covered, or is there a deliverability element you could be missing? Why risk it--find out! If you're already a Lyris newsletter subscriber, simply hold tight: we'll share the full deliverability story with you in next week's newsletter. Not yet a Lyris newsletter reader? Sign up now to receive the Lyris newsletter so you don't miss Part 2 of Improving Deliverability: What to Do Before you Hit SEND, and a variety of other helpful email and online marketing tips and techniques.