If You’re an Email Marketer, Here’s What You Should Know About Phishing

Email phishing is one of the most common techniques used in scams. Each day, a staggering 3.4 billion phishing emails go out, costing unsuspecting email users billions of dollars annually.

It is not just the email receivers who stand to lose thanks to malicious phishing attacks. Scam emails are a headache for email marketers as well. They hurt businesses in multiple ways, damaging brands and making campaigns ineffective.

But some marketers are still unaware of the looming threat of email phishing and its often unforeseen impact on their marketing activities.

In this article, we shed light on how phishing emails can harm your campaigns and brand and what you can do to mitigate the potential risks.

The Threat of Email Phishing

Phishing is a general term used for deceptive activities that trick victims into revealing sensitive information. Attacks that involve emails are particularly prevalent. This is mainly because of the lower costs of emails and the ease of execution.

From a victim’s standpoint, the consequences of falling for a phishing email can be pretty devastating. They can lose money and critical identity-related details (like usernames and account passwords) and expose their friends and family to countless frauds.

But how does email phishing impact email marketers?

Phishers often impersonate legitimate organizations. And separating their emails from those sent by regular businesses can be fairly difficult. So, email users may adopt a cautious approach to all emails, especially when they don’t recognize a brand or company name.

And if they suspect your marketing email is phishing-related, they can hit delete and send it to trash without ever opening it. They might also mark it as spam so that anything you send them there onward goes into their spam folder.

Even if they don’t, there is a chance that email providers will flag your emails as spam if your communications resemble spam or phishing messages.

When your emails don’t reach the intended audience’s inbox or get opened, the entire email campaign’s effectiveness can take a nosedive, wasting precious marketing dollars.

Things can get worse. If a scammer imitates your brand for phishing fraud, potential customers could become reluctant to trust your business. A negative perception among the general public in such instances could have damaging effects on your brand reputation.

Here’s How to Avoid Being Mistaken for a Phisher

Let’s face it—email phishing is bad for business. But emails are a highly cost-effective medium. And it is a shame not to add them to your communication mix.

Here’s the good news: There are simple ways to avoid looking like a phishing scammer and ensure your customers open your emails and follow through with the CTAs.

Pay Attention to Your Sender Address

Most people check the email address in question when they suspect an email is a scam. You can help your customers confirm it is you by sticking to an official business email address and name.

Implementing email authentication is important, too, for improving the probability of your messages reaching the inboxes of the intended audience.

Keep the Content Concise and Professional

Generic greetings and spelling/grammatical errors are typical red flags of phishing emails. So, professionally crafting your messages, personalizing them, and proofreading the content is vital if you don’t want your emails to get mistaken for spam.

Also, keep the content short and to the point without rattling on with unnecessary details. 

Use Credible CTAs With Safety in Mind

Consider your audience’s safety when adding a call-to-action.

Malicious links, for instance, are a huge safety threat associated with phishing messages. So, instead of encouraging email users to click on email links to go to a specific web page, ask them to visit your company website to find more information or chat with an agent. In addition, never request personal details via emails, insert attachments, or exert unnecessary pressure to respond.

Help Your Customers Confirm Your Identity

There are several ways you can make it easier for your customers to know your emails come from a legitimate source. For example, you can include the relevant customer’s first and last name or customer ID or refer to a past conversation you have had with them.

Including your company contact details instead of a personal number to get in touch will also help. 

Avoid Spammy Subject Lines

Keep your subject lines crisp and concise, and ensure they don’t appear overly salesy or contain misleading messages. Clean up any words and phrases (like “guaranteed”, “limited time”, “earn”, and “free”) that could trigger automatic spam filters.

Staying clear of all caps and exclamation marks in both the subject line and body is also best.

Include an Unsubscribe Option

Always add an unsubscribe button to allow email receivers to remove their email addresses from your mailing list (if they want). While this won’t necessarily guarantee that your message gets through to their inbox, it will add credibility in the eyes of the receiver.

At the same time, using the email addresses of those who have opted to receive marketing emails can help minimize the number of occasions your emails are marked as spam.

Track Your Email Sender Reputation

An email reputation assessment helps you gauge how your IP and domain addresses fare so you can take necessary steps to rectify issues. It is an important matrix for internet and email service providers when determining whether to deliver your emails to a receiver’s inbox or spam folder.

There are a variety of free and paid tools, from Google Postmaster and Microsoft SNDS to Sender Score and MxToolbox, to gain insights into your sender reputation.

Summing It All Up

Phishing emails are creating trouble not just for email users but for marketers, too. If your marketing messages get mistaken for unsolicited scam emails, your entire campaign effectiveness can go down the drain.

But with the measures we have outlined in this article, you can mitigate many of the issues and increase the likelihood of your emails landing in your customers’ inboxes.

Taking proactive measures to educate your audiences is also essential. It will help them separate authentic messages from deceptive ones and protect themselves from phishing attempts.