Tips

Don’t bet your job that someone read your email.

Email, Tips / By /

Can you count on your email getting delivered or read? Don't bet your reputation or job on it!

Email is still one of the most widely used tools in business—but it’s not foolproof. Just because you hit “Send” doesn’t mean your message was received, opened, or even delivered. Between spam filters, full inboxes, misaddressed emails, and security systems, your message may never reach the person you intended.

If you’ve sent an important email and haven’t received a response within a reasonable amount of time, don’t just wait and hope. Take action:

  • Check your Sent folder to confirm the message actually went out.
  • Verify the recipient’s email address—a small typo can send your message to the wrong person or nowhere at all.
  • If there was an attachment, consider its size. Many email systems still have limits on incoming message sizes. Large or multiple attachments can cause your email to bounce or be rejected.
  • Review your email. If you used CAPS LIKE THIS, your email could easily have ended up in the recipients SPAM folder.
  • Follow up. A polite second email can help. If it’s time-sensitive or critical, pick up the phone. Simply ask if they received your message—no pressure, just a quick confirmation.

Email Delivery ImageToday, email deliverability is more complicated than it used to be. Filters and firewalls are stricter, and email services are cracking down on anything that seems suspicious. One major way to improve your email’s chances of making it to the inbox is to ensure your domain is properly authenticated.

This is where SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records come in.

These are DNS (Domain Name System) records that help verify you are who you say you are when sending email from your domain. Without them, your messages are more likely to be marked as spam—or blocked entirely.

  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework) tells email servers which IP addresses are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your messages that proves they haven’t been tampered with.
  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on SPF and DKIM, giving domain owners control over what happens to unauthenticated messages.

Together, these records protect your reputation and improve deliverability.

The takeaway?

Don’t assume your email was seen. Take the time to double-check your message, follow up when necessary, and make sure your domain is set up correctly behind the scenes.

Your reputation—and sometimes your job—depends on it!

Are Your Emails to Gmail Accounts Bouncing?

Customer Service, ecommerce, Email, Google, Marketing, Tips / By /

If you send email to Gmail users, this information is extremely important! It is about getting your email delivered to Gmail users.

Don't think it is important? Consider this: In the United States, Gmail holds a 53% market share for email clients! (Source: TechReport)

While Google has not widely publicized it, they are bouncing legitimate emails regularly. With that in mind, I asked Bard, Google's AI application: "Does google bounce email if the sender account does not have a DKIM record?"

Bard's reply: "Yes, Google will bounce emails from sender accounts that do not have both SPF and DKIM records. This is because SPF and DKIM are two email authentication mechanisms that help to prevent email spoofing and fraud. Spoofing is when someone sends an email pretending to be from a different sender, such as a legitimate company or organization. Fraud is when someone uses email to scam or deceive people.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that specifies which IP addresses are authorized to send email from a particular domain. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) is a cryptographic signature that is added to an email message to verify its authenticity.

When Google receives an email, it checks the SPF and DKIM records for the sender domain. If the email does not pass these checks, it will be bounced back to the sender."

So, NOW you must have a "SPF" and a "DKIM" record in your Domain DNS. If you do not have those records created, email sent to a Gmail account will likely not be delivered.

For many years when most Domain Registrars created a new domain registration, they automatically generated a SPF record, but not DKIM records. That remains true for nearly all domain registrars unless you purchase email services through them.

Ask your email provider if your domain has SPF and DKIM records in your DNS records. It takes time to create any DNS record, so expect to be billed by whoever creates the records for you.

If you are a WebWise Design & Marketing client, and need DNS records created, we will email you about them, and explain what you need to have done.

 

Is Your Website Ready For Visitors?

Customer Service, Marketing, Tips, Web Design / By /

Is your website, the place you hope to convert prospects to customers, ready to receive visitors?

When we use links to our websites using Social Media, we essentially invite people to our website. When we invite people to our homes, we generally check to see if everything is in its place and that there is nothing seriously amiss. Is that true with your website? When was the last time you reviewed your website to see if it reflects your business and your products or services as they are today?

Here is a little check list to make sure your website is ready for visitors.

  • Know and state who you are, what you do, and the benefits of what you offer to your visitor.
  • Know who you would like to visit your website.
    • Knowing your audience is critical. If you believe your audience is everyone, you will likely fail.
    • Who are they? Why would they want what you offer? When would they want it?
  • Speak to your visitors from their perspective, not with an industry-speak sales pitch.
    • Explain that you know some of their challenges, and how they can benefit from your products or services. If possible, show some specifics.
  • Does your navigation present a clear and easy path to your most important content?
  • Is your contact and location information readily visible?
  • Is your website mobile friendly?

If your website looks as good as you would like, and you check off all the items in the list, your website should be ready for visitors.

Of course, we are always happy to help. Email or call us today! — 1-800-281-9993 or 608-822-3750

3 Summer Estore Tips To Increase Sales

ecommerce, How To, Tips / By /

Sales growth chartSummer sales lead quickly to the beginning of the holiday season. Now is the time to make some changes to your estore that will help improve your holiday sales. Here are 3 tips for your ecommerce website that will increase sales.

  1. Fine-tune Your Product Descriptions — Search Engine Optimized, yet engaging and inviting product descriptions.  Your descriptions are your sales pitch for each of your products.
  2. High-Quality Product Photos — Great photos sell products!  Money spent on professional-quality photos will translate into sales. It is that simple. Photos snapped with your phone are not high enough quality to be used in your estore.
  3. Auto-responder “Thank You” 15 Days after sale — Schedule an email follow-up with a “Thank You again for your order” message with the order summary and customer service contact info. When possible include, “Customers who purchased this (these) item(s) also purchased (or viewed) these items.”  Please don’t make it one big sales pitch. The message should focus on appreciation for their business, ending with a “Thank you” and “Hope you are enjoying your new ____________,” or “Hope your ____________ is __________. “

Doing those three things, will take some time but will, without a doubt, increase your estore sales.

As always, we are happy to help.  Please call us at 800-281-9993 or 608-822-3750.

5 Quick and Easy Tips to Improving Your Website

Content, Tips, Web Design / By /

It doesn’t always take a complete redesign to improve your website traffic and engagement. Do it quickly using these quick and easy tips.

  1. Prominently display your Toll Free (or Local) Phone Number at the top of all your pages.
    1. In the top right-hand corner, in a size and color that will make it easily seen.
    2. This is an item where function over form pays dividends.
  2. Review your contact information, and update it if needed.
    1. We believe your contact info should be in the footer of every page.
    2. Be sure your phone numbers, address, business hours, and events calendars are current
  3. Quick, Easy TipsIdentify your audience, and start your copy with the benefits you offer them.
    1. You only have moments to convince visitors to look at more.
    2. Don’t place your value proposition at the bottom of the page.
  4. Make sure your home page copy has links to your most important pages
    1. Google loves properly coded internal links to relevant pages
  5. Real, verifiable testimonials can help change a visitor to a customer.
    1. Having canned-appearing testimonials from a name with one initial for either name is simply a waste of time.