Getting a consumer's opt-in isn't enough. New research indicates your legitimate email promotions are still being discarded as spam. Here's what you can do about it.

MarketingSherpa recently released the results of a consumer survey that looked at the use of "report spam" and "junk" buttons among popular email clients, and its findings are not encouraging for email marketers. While 52 percent of email users hit the spam button when they received messages from senders who don't have their permission, the second most common reason -- coming in at 41 percent -- is because the email received wasn't of interest to them.

We've heard time and time again that sending relevant emails is a best practice that results in higher conversion rates and customer satisfaction, but this study links relevancy (or lack of it) to a consumer action that can significantly damage your sender reputation. One of MarketingSherpa's key takeaways is that recipients "define spam by the quality of the email itself -- not by the overall reputation of the company emailing them."

And don't think about launching a marketing campaign to educate consumers about how they're affecting your sender reputation. The survey also found that consumers aren't worried about how their spam-button pushing affects your organization.

So, with consumers broadening their definition of spam to include irrelevant messages -- and your sender reputation at stake -- what is an email marketer to do? The answer is simple. It's what you should be doing already: sending highly relevant messages based on preferences given by consumers and gleaned from their behaviors.

Of course, sending relevant messages does require some effort, including tight integration with your customer databases. However, the effort involved is definitely worth the benefits of sending messages that are both wanted and valued by the recipient.

One of the most effective ways to ensure relevant messages is to use behavioral targeting. However, many marketers shy away from this valuable tool out of fear that it takes too much work or is outside of their pay grade. Although it's true that it may take some initial work to get going, you won't look back once you start seeing the results. It will also give you an edge over your competitors because, like most things, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it.

When it comes to behavioral targeting, start with email metrics such as opens or clicks and remarket to them. Make sure you categorize your links so you can key off those categories when you create your content blocks. Behavioral targeting can be even more powerful than targeting based on stated preferences -- after all, actions speak louder than words.

This is where tight integration with your backend systems and customer databases comes in handy. Having real-time access to these data can empower you to deliver relevant messages not just based on content, but timing as well. Sending a delayed promotion for something that a consumer has been searching for won't be effective if that person has already made a purchase or no longer has interest. In marketing, there is truth to the saying "strike while the iron is hot." Integration with web analytics data can help you strike effectively.

Keep in mind that relevancy can take many forms. It doesn't just mean sending an email about a new golf club to a golf aficionado. Frequency also plays a role. If you send email too frequently, recipients will begin to devalue your messages. Plus, frequency plays a prominent role in generated spam complaints. Send email too often, and recipients are likely to hit the spam button to stop the flood of messages.

Testing is the key to find the best frequency for your line of business. If you're thinking about increasing frequency, start sending slowly and watch for an increase in unsubscribes, complaints or a reduction in opens and clicks. On the flip side, sending messages too infrequently can cause consumers to forget why they have a relationship with you in the first place.

Relevancy also means making sure you're identifying your email in a way that the consumer is going to recognize it from a prior interaction. For example, if your company has multiple brands, be sure the "from" line of your email identifies the company with whom the recipient has a relationship. If consumers don't recognize your brand or a prior relationship, they will likely hit the spam button.

In the end, while these survey results expose the risk that consumers will hit the spam button for legitimate emails for which they've opted in, it's a good wake-up call and motivator to get email marketers thinking about how they can make their emails more relevant. And that's better for everyone involved. You'll earn greater respect from your customers, and they'll respond by sending more business your way.

Good luck and good sending.

Spencer Kollas is director of delivery services for StrongMail Systems.