A note on Transactional vs. Marketing emails

Before getting into best practices, it’s important to be aware of the two primary types of Business to Consumer (B2C) emails: 

• Transactional emails are messages where the primary purpose is to confirm a purchase or transaction the recipient has made
• Marketing (or commercial) emails are messages where the primary purpose is the promotion of a product or service

Your Zaui system is set up to send transactional emails only, while the measures being put in place by email senders are primarily designed to prevent unsolicited marketing emails.

In theory, most of these changes should not impact senders of transactional emails, however, in practice we are observing instances of transactional emails being identified as spam. For this reason we strongly advise making the following update: 

REQUIRED: Verify and Authenticate your website's domain

Through the verification and authentication of your website's domain, you establish a connection between the domain sending emails on your behalf (zaui.com) and your website’s domain. This action signals to mail service providers that Zaui is a legitimate and authorized sender of your emails. The steps to complete this process are outlined in this article.

Email Best Practices  

The following are recommended best practices for sending any B2C emails, including newsletters, updates and promotions to your customers.

Be moderate in usage of Pre tour and Post tour emails from Zaui 

Although the ability to automatically schedule Pre Tour and Post Tour email notifications to communicate tour-related information prior to and after guests travel is a fantastic feature, we recommend using these sparingly and close (within a week either side) of the tour date. This avoids the risk of your emails being considered marketing emails, which require customers to opt in to receive. 

To that point:

Add a flag for customers to opt in to receive marketing emails

Emails in Zaui are transactional. As such, there is no way for guests to unsubscribe from receiving them (as they would have with marketing emails). If a customer receives a marketing email they do not want with no option to unsubscribe, they may flag it as spam.  If you wish to collect customer emails for future marketing opportunities, be sure to include a flag in the booking process to opt in for marketing emails; or add a reference to this in your terms and conditions.  

Use a platform specifically designed to send marketing emails

Platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, Campaign Monitor, or your CRM’s email feature come equipped with built-in functionalities designed to assist users in sending marketing emails. These include features like double opt-in processes, unsubscribe links, and clear indications of the reasons recipients are receiving the communication.

Keep Your Spam Complaint Rate Under 0.3% in Gmail's Postmaster Tools

Monitor and manage your spam complaint rate through Gmail's Postmaster Tools. Consistently maintaining a spam complaint rate below 0.3% indicates healthy email practices.

Avoid using spam-triggering words and phrases in the subject line and email content

Words like "free," "guarantee," and excessive use of exclamation marks can raise red flags for spam filters. Keeping the subject line concise, clear, and focused, providing necessary information without overwhelming the recipient can help increase the chances of the email being recognized as legitimate.