Suppression lists are fairly easy to understand, but they could be of more help than just making you compliant with the law. That’s why it’s Term of the Week this week.
A suppression list is a record of email addresses that you don’t want to receive particular emails. Usually, when someone unsubscribes from your emails, they will be added to a global suppression list so they won’t be sent any future campaigns.
But there are other scenarios that you could use for a more segmented approach to your email marketing.
In a B2C scenario, we sometimes recommend setting up a Preference Centre. So if you have lots to communicate about different products and you don’t want to overwhelm your subscribers, you can let them choose what they would like to receive. When they select their preferences, suppression lists will prevent them from receiving the unwanted emails.
On the B2B side, a lead nurturing programme is a common example. In this case, you might want to block a contact from receiving those lead nurturing emails once they become an opportunity. Or you might want to separate your prospects and clients emails. Just in case a client’s email address has ended up in your prospect list, you can use suppression to prevent that client from receiving the prospect email.
What do suppression lists mean for us? An example of how we use them is to protect the collective reputation of our clients. If an email address bounces three or more times in a 15 day period, it is added to a MessageFocus general suppression list. And this suppresses it across all accounts.
If you have a term you’d like explaining, simply leave a comment below. Or see other Terms of the Week.