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Don’t Panic but… BIG Changes Mean Your Library Emails Might End Up As Spam. Here’s What You Can Do.

Photo courtesy of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

If you send emails for library marketing, you may have been scared by recent articles on X, LinkedIn, and other marketing blogs that predict doom and disaster for email marketing in the coming months.

Last October, Gmail released this blog post, outlining changes coming to the algorithm they use to determine whether incoming emails make it into the regular inbox or go to the spam or promotions folder. Yahoo soon followed suit.

The response in the marketing world to these announcements took on a somewhat frantic tone.

“Are our emails going to be delivered?”

“What changes do we need to make to ensure we don’t end up in the junk folder?”

The short answer is that with a few small changes, your library emails will be delivered. Yahoo and Gmail want you to:

  • Authenticate your email
  • Enable easy unsubscribe
  • Reduce unwanted emails

Let’s go through each of these steps, beginning with authentication. Authentication means that your library’s email sender reputation is sound.

What is email sender reputation?

Email sender reputation is a score that an Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns to any organization that sends an email. The higher the score, the more likely an ISP will deliver emails to the inboxes of recipients on their network.

Like any algorithm, Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, and other email providers use ranking signals to determine the folder in which your email lands—or if it’s delivered at all.

Here is what we know about those ranking signals, according to my research. Sources I’ve used for this post include marketing expert Michael Barber, Mailmeteor, and my co-workers in product management at NoveList.

Sender Authentication and IP Address Reputation

Sender authentication involves verifying the authenticity of the sender’s domain. The email providers are looking at past sending behavior coming from your IP address.

The bad news is that your library has very little control over either the sender authentication or the IP address reputation of your emails.

For example, MailChimp’s website says their customer’s emails, including those from many libraries, are sent from an IP address that is shared by multiple customers. If one or more of those customers send emails that negatively impact MailChimp’s overall IP address reputation, your library’s emails could be affected. Your library can purchase a dedicated IP address from MailChimp for an additional monthly fee.

Domain Reputation

Email service providers also consider the reputation of the domain name in the email address. The domain is the part of your email address behind the @ symbol.

The email providers look at past sending behavior and the overall quality of emails from that domain. Specifically, they are looking at 3 factors.

Spam complaints

Email recipients click the spam (or junk) button for three reasons:

  • They don’t realize the email is coming from your library.
  • They can’t remember signing up for your library’s emails.
  • They can’t find the unsubscribe link.

Get ready for a shock, because I’m changing my position on a major part of my email marketing advice.

In the past, I was a proponent of opt-out emailing for libraries. But because of recent changes in the algorithms used by Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo to sort messages…

Your library should make your emails opt-in. This ensures your emails are going to community members who want your content, which protects your sender reputation.

You can also reduce the likelihood that someone will mark your library emails as spam by making sure your “friendly from” line includes your library name. Add a first name to the friendly from (it doesn’t have to be a real person!) like “Angela from The Central Library.”

Make sure your reply address is a real email address as well. Let subscribers know how often you’ll be sending emails. And don’t send so few emails (yes, you read that right!) that subscribers don’t remember signing up!

Recipient inaction

When your email recipient either deletes your library’s email without opening it or leaves your library’s email sitting unopened in their inbox, that’s recipient inaction.

You can reduce recipient inaction by making sure your library emails are targeted to the audience that most want that information. Create interest groups and an opt-in page like this one from Delafield Public Library.

Letting your community members choose the information they wish to receive by email from your library will reduce recipient inaction and spam complaints against your library.

You can also reduce recipient inaction by spending time making sure your email subject line is as good as it can be.

Engagement metrics

Open rates and click-through rates play a significant role in email reputation. Higher engagement indicates that recipients find your emails valuable and relevant, leading to better deliverability. Low engagement metrics tell the email algorithms that that your emails may be unwanted or irrelevant.

One-click unsubscribe

The biggest change is that Gmail and Yahoo are asking marketers to add one-click unsubscribe. Most email marketing providers are addressing this issue and have plans in place to include one-click unsubscribe this year.

A fun tip to improve your sender reputation

Ask your library email recipients to reply to your emails! Marketing expert Ann Handley says this is actually the one important email metric you need to track.

To encourage your library email recipients to reply, ask for their feedback on a service within your email. Or ask recipients to reply with the name of a book they think should be included in your next booklist or book display. This is a chance for you to be creative!

You don’t have to respond to every email reply. But it is an opportunity to improve your sender reputation while gathering information that will help you to better serve your community.

PS You might also find this helpful

4 Simple Ways You Probably Haven’t Thought of To Boost Signups to Your Library’s Email Newsletter 

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2

The 7 Important Things You Need To Consider Before You Buy a Radio Ad for Your Library

Watch this video now

#LibraryMarketing Show, episode 224

Morning drive time. Evening drive time. Afternoon talk show. Radio stations, their formats, their audiences, and their ad prices vary greatly.

You might be wondering if an ad on a radio station is an effective use of your limited library marketing budget.

I’ll break down the list of things you’ll need to consider if you want to buy a library radio ad in this episode.

Plus, kudos go to a library for media coverage of a new service at their organization.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Or do you want me to come and speak at your event? Let me know here. And thanks for watching! 

Miss the last episode? No worries!

Will I see you soon?

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

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An Up and Down Experience: How One Library Used a Challenge To Educate Their Community About the Freedom To Read

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Most of us think libraries are a magical place. But the library Patrick Culliton frequented as a child was truly a place of wonder.

It was in the William E. Telling Mansion in South Euclid, Ohio. Built in 1928, the Telling Mansion now houses the Museum of American Porcelain Art. But back when Patrick was a kid, this historic building was home to the South Euclid-Lyndhurst branch of the Cuyahoga County Public Library system.

“I remember going to storytimes with my mother, studying with friends in junior high, and even exploring the wooded area on the back part of the lot,” recalls Patrick.

Nowadays, Patrick works on a marketing team of two at Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library. He and his coworker manage all the digital and print promotion for the library, which serves a population of  67,000 residents with four locations.

A few months ago, Patrick and the team at Willoughby-Eastlake launched a Banned Book Challenge. The idea came from the library’s Collection Services librarian, who was concerned about calls to remove library materials from shelves.

“I noticed other libraries and educational institutions in Ohio conducting their own events about “controversial” materials, including art shows, book discussions, and guest presentations,” says the librarian, who wishes to remain anonymous. “It felt right to involve the Willoughby-Eastlake libraries in the effort to combat book banning and to educate the public about the matter.”  

“To promote the Banned Books challenge, I had our four library branches create a display for their building that encouraged patrons to sign up for the challenge and retrieve a small prize from the circulation desk for noticing the display.” 

“The primary goal was to engage readers and encourage them to check out library materials. That is always the main prerogative for all reading challenges—to get patrons in the door and circulating those library materials!”

“The second goal was to show the public what materials are up for debate—currently and throughout history. I assembled a list of 450 books that have been challenged at any point in time in the United States. Patrons and staff alike were surprised to see their favorite books from childhood, such as Where the Wild Things Are on the list with A Clockwork Orange and The Bluest Eye. The public had an opportunity to learn why books were challenged, as well as what is challenged.”

Library staff published a blog post to explain the threat that book challenges pose to all readers. The challenge itself was simple: patrons were asked to read 5 books from the banned books list and enter a drawing for a gift card.

Patrick and his team promoted the challenge using a press release, a graphic for our website carousel, scheduled social media posts, and the library’s e-newsletter.  

“The experience itself was up and down,” remembers Patrick. “Our local paper ran a story on it from our press release, and they shared their article on their Facebook page, which got a lot of traction. The comments there were mostly positive.”

“Then, when we sent our e-blast the following Monday, with the Banned Books Challenge as the lead, we received a few angry phone calls and emails. While this was concerning, it spurred us to have a good conversation at our Staff Day. Marketing and Administration then updated some policies related to materials challenges and first amendment audits and then supplied staff with the necessary support and documentation, should these issues arise in the buildings.”

“And I should say, we also got a few positive emails from patrons, too, along with positive comments on our posts about the Challenge. That e-blast had a marked increase in clicks, naturally.”

The email had a click-through rate of 6.5 percent. That’s three times higher than Willoughby-Eastlake’s average click-through rate.

163 people of all ages signed up for the challenge and 35 people completed it, reading five banned books. Two of those patrons won Target gift cards.

“We received a lot of positive feedback both online and in-person,” says the collection services librarian. “Patrons enjoyed the displays and shared the social media posts about the challenge.”

“We also received a handful of disputes, which were handled accordingly. Complaints were mainly made over the phone to the director. Willoughby-Eastlake employees also hosted a panel for the staff, in which they learned more about banned books on a larger scale and how to handle argumentative patrons.”

Now Patrick and the staff are turning their promotional attention to their winter reading Warm-up Challenge and the Solar Eclipse in April.

“We have a LOT of eclipse glasses, programs are being planned, and one of our Librarians received Eclipse Ambassador training from the Great Lakes Science Center,” relays Patrick. “It’s going to be a fun, wild day!

For inspiration, Patrick and the team follow lots of other libraries on social media. And one non-library account: the NE Ohio Regional Sewer District’s Twitter account.

“They are hilarious,” explains Patrick.

PS You might also find this helpful

The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How Two Neighboring Libraries Teamed Up To Create a Fake Rivalry Video for Promotional Success

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

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Millennials and Gen Z Could Be the Key to Your Library’s Success! What the Results of a Massive New Survey Have To Say for Libraries

Watch this video now

#LibraryMarketing Show, episode 223

The final result of a massive new survey on Gen Z and Millennial users of the library has been released.

And I think right now is the time to read it and analyze it as we move into 2024 because it may have big implications for your marketing.

We’ll break down the topline results in this episode.

Plus, a whole list of libraries will walk away with our Kudos award in this episode! Watch the video to see what they did that was so incredible.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching! 

Miss the last episode? No worries!

Will I see you soon?

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

2

The State of Library Marketing in 2024: Survey Reveals Major Shift in Goals and Struggles for Many Libraries

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

You asked for it and this week, I’m sharing the results of the latest Super Library Marketing Survey.

Surveys are an effective form of market research. They illuminate the services that are needed to help a target audience. And you, my dear readers, are my target audience.

For the past 8 years, I’ve asked questions that help me get a better sense of who you are, and how this blog and The Library Marketing Show can be as helpful to you as possible. The Monday posts and Wednesday videos are direct responses to the questions and concerns you share in the survey.

The struggles and goals of libraries shifted in some major ways. As we begin 2024, here is the state of library marketing. 

Basic methodology

The survey was conducted for two weeks in early September 2023. The survey response rate rose this year by a whopping 32 percent. The survey was a mix of multiple-choice and open-ended questions.

Type of library

Respondents to the survey consist mainly of public library workers.

  • 86.6 percent of respondents work in a public library.
  • 7.1 percent work in an academic library.
  • The remaining 6.3 percent of respondents work in school, special, or state libraries.

Marketing experience

Most of the respondents are experienced marketers.

  • 69.3 percent of respondents say they’ve been managing promotions for 3 years or longer.
  • 19.7 percent have been doing marketing for 1-2 years.
  • The remaining 11 percent said they have been in promotions for less than 12 months.

Time spent on library marketing

The average respondent estimated they spent about 60 percent of their daily work time on marketing and promotions. This means that many of you are also managing other job duties, such as programming and collection development.

Marketing as a priority

Every year, I ask respondents to tell me if their library has a dedicated marketing department. A marketing department can consist of one or more people, whose sole job role is marketing. The presence of a marketing department is a clear indication of whether marketing is a priority for senior leaders.

This year, the results were:

  • 50.4 percent said no.
  • 49.6 percent said yes.

The number of libraries with a dedicated marketing department fell two percentage points this year. That’s not enough to call it a trend but I will keep an eye on this.

The most pressing question or concern

Last year, the top concerns of my readers were how to reach new users, storytelling for marketing, email marketing best practices, and budgeting.

This year, the answers can be broken down by five categories.

How to reach new users

Respondents said they struggled to promote to community members through traditional means, like newspapers, as well as on social media. Several named specific target audiences they hope to reach, including young adults, parents and caregivers of young children, and non-English speaking communities.

One respondent said, “How do we make sure we are effectively reaching patrons and members of the community without overdoing it or over-communicating? I am a one-person marketing team for my library.”

Time

Respondents shared frustration over a lack of time to adequately plan, create, and analyze their marketing. They struggle with the coordination of tasks, especially when working with other library staff. Balancing priorities and goals is difficult.

Said one respondent, “We’re a progressive system that’s constantly adding new things (which is great) but it seems like there’s never enough time or space to share it all and get real awareness out there.”

Buy-in and strategy

Many of the respondents said they are struggling to get supervisors and co-workers to understand their jobs: the difficult parts of marketing, the time this work takes, and the value of doing it right.

“There are not enough marketers for everything Admin wants us to do,” said one respondent. “Others don’t understand how many priorities we’re trying to balance or how time-consuming our work is. I feel like some coworkers think we’re doing our jobs badly, but they don’t understand our jobs.”

Another respondent asked, “How can I best unify staff? My biggest challenge is encouraging everyone to follow our style guide or at least inform themselves about marketing best practices.”

Social media

Respondents shared frustration with changing social media algorithms and the burnout that can happen. “They’re showing more Reels, then they are showing still pictures, then they aren’t showing unless there are comments…you know what I mean?” asked one respondent.

Other concerns

Content creation, audience segmentation, reaching volunteers, burnout, budgeting, metrics, competing with nearby libraries for attention, and AI all round out the list of concerns this year for library marketers.

These topics will all be addressed this year.

Social media use

Here is the percentage of libraries using specific social media platforms, according to the survey respondents. Of note was the jump in Facebook and Instagram use this year, as many libraries moved away from Twitter/X.

  • Facebook: 97 percent
  • Instagram: 92 percent
  • YouTube: 54 percent
  • Twitter/X: 38 percent
  • LinkedIn: 21 percent
  • TikTok: 16 percent
  • Pinterest: 9 percent
  • Threads: 6 percent

In the open-ended questions, many of you said you rely on this blog for social media news and analysis. And I will continue to provide that this year.

However, I have made the decision not to promote the blog on Twitter/X anymore and will not cover any best practices for that platform this year, unless something drastic changes.

Email marketing

I asked my respondents how often their library sends promotional emails.

The big takeaway: more of you are sending emails. Only 9 percent of respondents said their library doesn’t send any email at all. That’s down ten percentage points from 2022!

Here is how the rest of the sending breaks down:

  • Once a month: 38 percent
  • Once a week: 36 percent
  • Several times a week: 12 percent

The most important library goals

Last year, I asked respondents if they set goals. This year, I got more specific. I asked respondents to check all that applied. Here is how the results break down.

  • Driving visitors to your physical location, website, or catalog: 76 percent.
  • Increasing program attendance: 67 percent.
  • Reaching non-patrons: 63 percent.
  • Getting current cardholders to use the library more often: 60 percent.
  • Driving the use of services like databases, Makerspace, Library of Things, etc.: 57 percent.
  • Advocating for the freedom to read: 18 percent.

Facing book challenges

This year, I added a question asking respondents if they’d faced a book challenge in the past 12 months.

  • 55 percent said no.
  • 30 percent said yes.
  • 15 percent were not certain.

And though most readers said they hadn’t been targeted; this issue does loom large over the work you are doing for promotions.

“Our library is choosing to keep our head down on the book-banning issue, hoping no one will notice or bring it up,” reports one respondent.

Says another, “We’ve had to be careful about how we promote everything. For example, we used to hand out these fun rainbow-colored pens to kids but stopped because we were called groomers during the book challenges. We have also been having a rash of bomb threats to the libraries in our area which has also affected the feeling of security with our staff. I feel like my job is less about promoting programs and services and more about crisis management these days and how to communicate feelings of safety etc. This is not something I was really trained to do so it can feel overwhelming.”

More changes for Super Library Marketing this year

Readers asked for posts about how to create interactive and impactful community presentations to outside groups and tips for print promotions. I’ll cover these in the next year.

Some want the videos to be released as podcasts on Spotify. I will consider that if time and money allow.

Many of you requested more advanced subject matter in the blog posts and videos. I will try to do more of that this year.

I’m also hoping to more profile school libraries and special libraries this year. Do you work at a school or special library and have a library marketing success story to share? Contact me here.

I always try to share tips and strategies for library marketers who wear multiple hats, and that will continue in 2024.

Finally, someone asked for subtitles for the videos. This year, I started providing captions for all my videos on YouTube and LinkedIn. Click the “CC” icon on the screen to see the captions.

The CC button circled in white is where you click for captions on YouTube.

PS Want more help?

How to Create an Effective Library Survey to Pinpoint the Needs of Your Community

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6

Tips for the Biggest Marketing Conflict Libraries Face: How Do You Balance Your Library’s Needs and Your Community’s Needs?

Watch this video now

#LibraryMarketing Show, episode 222

Library marketing… it’s sometimes a balancing act.

There are things that your library wants to promote. And there are things that your community wants from your library. Sometimes, those two things conflict with one another!

In this episode, you’ll get some tips for finding the balance between building things that your cardholders and community need versus working on your library’s overall vision. Plus, a library gets kudos for a patron as hero story!

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching! 

Miss the last episode? No worries!

Will I see you soon?

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

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Library Marketing Show Blooper Edition: Behind the Scenes Look at the Messy Process of Recording

Watch this video now

#LibraryMarketing Show, episode 221

Recording The Library Marketing Show does not always go as smoothly as planned. In fact, sometimes it’s downright messy.

So, today I’m showing you some of the biggest bloopers from recording sessions in 2023. Thank you for sticking with me, even when I’m not entirely polished. 🤪 Small warning: There are a few curse words in here. Sorry!

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching! 

Miss the last episode? No worries!

Will I see you soon?

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

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Library Marketing Year in Review: The Top 10 Pieces of Advice for Library Promotion

On this holiday week, I wanted to let my loyal readers catch up on the most popular Super Library Marketing posts you may have missed.

Top Posts of 2023

#1: A Major Research Study Sheds Light on the Reading Habits of Millennials and Gen Z: What the Results Mean for Your Library Promotions

#2: 5 Surprisingly Easy Ways to Write Email Subject Lines That People Actually WANT to Read

#3: Putting ChatGPT to The Test: Will It Help Your Library With Promotions?  

#4: You Don’t Have To Be Cool To Promote Your Library to Teens! Here Are Seven Seriously Easy Ways To Connect With Gen Z

#5: The Dreaded Library Annual Report: How to Create a Masterpiece that Showcases Your Library’s Value and Inspires Your Readers

Top Episodes of The Library Marketing Show of 2023

#1: A Former TV Star May Use Your Library as a Publicity Stunt: How To Prepare Now Through Promotions 

#2: Is This the Beginning of the End for Social Media Marketing at Your Library? 4 Ways To Prepare Now! 

#3: Controversial Opinion: Why Your Library Should Stop Using the “R” Word in Your Promotions (Please!) 

#4: The Best Advice From the Top 4 Library Marketing Professionals

#5:  Be More Like Walmart! How To Build Library Marketing Success Like a Giant Retailer

I hope you are looking forward to 2024 as much as I am. We’ll be tackling new library marketing and promotion subjects. I welcome your suggestions.

Special note: there will be no post on Monday, Jan. 1, 2024. 

PS Want more help?

Two Key Areas of Marketing Focus That Will Deepen Your Community’s Loyalty to Your Library and Create the Truly Engaged Library User

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

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Is Your Library Closed? That’s No Excuse To Stop Promotions! Why Your Library Marketing Must Continue Even When No One Is in the Building.

Watch this video now

#LibraryMarketing Show, episode 220

There is a very easy way to promote your library — even when nobody is in the building! And in fact, marketing when you’re library is closed for any reason is effective, and important, especially for one target group of library users.

I’ll explain in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.

Plus, we’ll give away kudos to a library for creating a video to explain the impact of their winning grant entry.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching!

Special note: The next Super Library Marketing post will arrive in your inbox on Tuesday, Dec. 26.

Miss the last episode? No worries!

Will I see you soon?

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:

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