The success of any email marketing campaign is assessed on the basis of different factors by means of engagement metrics. However, Apple altered the way of evaluating the results of email marketing campaigns by launching Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) in 2021. It was put in place to assist users in monitoring their data. All emails which are delivered to recipients are considered opened according to the MPP report. It’s important to figure out what MPP implies and its effect on email engagement metrics, including email deliverability which can be checked at https://folderly.com/email-deliverability-test. Keep reading this guide to understand the functioning of MPP and how to take it into account.
To Check Email Deliverability or Not: Make Sense of Apple MPP
Privacy of internet users has been at the forefront over the previous few years.The European and US regulations, as an example, secure personal data of internet users. Constraints of third-party cookies don’t allow admen gather data regarding users’ behavior and choices.
Recognizing the trends towards securing personal info, Apple established Mail Privacy Protection which lets recipients hide their IPs from email senders. That is why they can’t monitor the whereabouts of users of the Apple Mail application. Moreover, email marketers can’t access the data about email openings. However, marketers should still consider email deliverability to make sure their messages get into inboxes. To produce better results of an email marketing campaign, it’s crucial to check email deliverability with email deliverability services.
It is necessary to highlight that this option isn’t included by default for all accounts. On the contrary, they can opt for it deliberately and should have this function synchronized on all Apple devices using the identical Apple ID.
The Basic Working Principles of MPP
Every message contains a little picture which is called a tracking pixel. Its particular characteristic is that it’s incorporated in the email body and it’s transparent so users don’t notice it. When an addressee opens a message, its content is downloaded from the web host of the sender and the system tracks the pixel and verifies the opening. That is a mechanism of how senders get to know when the message is opened and which ESP does it. Furthermore, they discover the location of the recipient.
Let’s examine how Apple Mail Privacy Protection differs. Apple downloads all the obtained messages to its own proxy server which is regarded as a halfway storage place with the IP attributed to a large region. Thus, the users’ location is not specific but generalized. Moreover, it’s the Apple Mail app which activates the tracking pixel. The action is regarded as a new opening by email marketing software without even knowing whether recipients have really opened emails. It’s a good idea to test email deliverability to make sure your messages land in the inbox even without knowing if they are opened. So the difference is favorable for app users but it’s a drawback for email marketers.
The Impact of MPP on Email Marketing and The Necessity to Test Email Deliverability
Creating personalized content tends to produce a higher response, boost conversions and, therefore, revenue. To receive a highly topical and well-timed proposal, it’s necessary to provide your confidential information. To implement MPP or not is a matter of balancing between privacy and getting relevant content.
Apple Mail users prevail among users of other ESPs. Therefore, this policy affects marketing, in general, and is considered to be an issue for marketers
Marketing and sales are affected by MPP in the following ways:
- It is impossible to identify unengaged accounts. Making use of a follow-up email is a good idea if a user disregards your cold email. However, you won’t find out if the mail privacy-enable mode has kept your message unread as the system informs about its opening by a proxy. Hence, you may lose a lead as the automation software, which is based on opening, won’t send out a follow-up message.
- It is difficult to implement drip campaigns. Drip campaign implies sending a number of messages written beforehand. Their sending is provoked by the previous action.
- The location of your readers is not specific. It’s impossible to apply email list segmentation on the basis of geographical option, even if this data is crucial for your content or sales. The location of Apple Mail users is so general that it can’t be considered.
- A/B testing is irrelevant. The objective of A/B testing is to increase the target group’s engagement. Marketers may offer several options of subject lines or CTAs and, in general, the preferable option is indicated by open rates. In the case with Apple MPP, monitoring email openings is impossible, so it’s better to consider other metrics.
Despite the privacy policy of Apple MPP, bear in mind to check email deliverability. Even if you can’t be sure whether your emails have been looked through, you should make certain that you do your best to deliver your messages, including testing emails.
Metrics Which Can Be Applied to Evaluate Marketing Campaigns
While Apple users care about the privacy and open rates appear to be higher but irrelevant, there are certain metrics which should be considered to control your marketing campaigns:
- Conversion rate which is determined by dividing the quantity of users who finished the CTA action by the quantity of emails in the inbox.
- Email sharing rate which demonstrates the quantity of messages which have been shared by users via social networking sites.
- Click-through rate which is measured by dividing the quantity of users who clicked on your links by the quantity of emails in the inbox.
- Bounce rate which is the ratio of non-delivered email to email in the inbox. To get better results, it’s essential to check email deliverability.
- Unsubscription rate which is the ratio of the volume of unsubscriptions to the volume of messages in the inbox.
That is not a complete list of indicators. Various indicators represent different aspects of the efficacy of your email campaign so it’s essential to implement several ones for best results.
Make Sure Your Emails Are Delivered
There exist several techniques which stimulate your prospects to read the messages and click on CTAs and consider Apple MPP rules:
- Warm up your address. If you make bulk mailing from a new address, you are likely to be banned. It’s essential to increase the email volume incrementally. It’s easier to make use of email warm up services to persuade ESPs you aren’t a scam.
- Set up certain parameters. To make your domain trustworthy and avoid spoofing, you need to install DNS records. Although these parameters don’t affect the Apple MPP, they tend to have better deliverability. Don’t ignore deliverability tests.
- Keep your contact list tidy. It’s crucial to get rid of all invalid addresses not to be marked as spam. Apply cleansing tools to test the available email addresses.
- Provide an option to unsubscribe. It’s a question of respect for your readers and protecting your messages from getting into spam if they are irrelevant to somebody. It’s forbidden to send out cold messages without providing a link to unsubscribe.
Following these tips, your messages will be more likely to be shown to your prospects and subscribers. There’s a much higher rate of genuine email openings instead of Apple MPP reports.
Final Thoughts
Since the Apple MPP was released, several updates have appeared. At present Apple users can select mail privacy on their own. Though they get less personalized content, users prefer to keep their confidential information private.
It is just a feature of Apple that open rates are irrelevant and marketers can consider other parameters which matter to the efficacy of an email campaign. Bear in mind that your emails must be delivered to be opened and clicked on, so it’s crucial to have your email deliverability tested and create unique content to engage more prospects.
