Sending more emails doesn’t mean more leads—especially if those emails never reach the inbox. In roofing marketing, where timing is everything, poor deliverability can kill your chances of closing high-intent leads. That’s where intent-based audience updates come in.
By segmenting and updating your email list based on real-time intent signals, you can dramatically improve deliverability, reduce spam complaints, and reach the homeowners who actually want to hear from you.
In this article, we’ll explain what intent-based audience updates are, why they matter, and how they directly impact your email performance and lead quality.
What Is Email Deliverability?
Email deliverability refers to the ability of your messages to land in your recipient’s inbox instead of being blocked, bounced, or sent to spam. It’s influenced by a number of factors, including:
- Sender reputation
- List quality and engagement
- Bounce rates
- Spam complaint rates
- Open and click activity
If you send emails to unengaged or uninterested contacts, you increase the likelihood of landing in spam—even for future messages that are relevant and valuable.
What Are Intent-Based Audience Updates?
Intent-based audience updates involve regularly adjusting your email list based on who’s actively showing signs of interest. This isn’t just about opening emails—it includes signals like:
- Website visits
- Form submissions
- Ad engagement
- Clicks on service pages or landing pages
- Recent search activity or lead form fills
Rather than emailing everyone on your list, you focus your outreach on people who are currently demonstrating .
Why Intent-Based Updates Improve Deliverability
1. You Avoid Emailing Cold or Inactive Contacts
Sending to stale contacts hurts your sender reputation. By only emailing engaged, active users—based on intent—you keep bounce rates and spam complaints low.
2. You Get More Opens, Clicks, and Engagement
Email providers like Gmail and Outlook use engagement signals to determine if your emails should go to inbox or spam. When your list includes high-intent contacts, they’re more likely to open, click, and reply—which tells email filters that your content is valuable.
3. You Reduce Complaints and Unsubscribes
No one likes receiving roofing offers when they’re not in the market. When you update your audience based on behavior, you avoid annoying low-intent contacts who are more likely to hit “spam” or unsubscribe.
4. You Maintain a Clean, Compliant List
Intent-based updates act as a natural list hygiene system. If someone hasn’t opened or interacted with your content in months, they likely don’t need to be contacted until they show intent again.
5. You Stay Out of Spam Filters Long Term
Email providers monitor patterns. If you consistently send to active, interested users, your domain and IP gain a good reputation. This boosts long-term deliverability and ensures your future emails get through.
How to Track and Apply Intent Signals to Your Email List
1. Monitor Website Behavior
Use tools like Google Analytics or Hotjar to track:
- Visits to your roofing service pages
- Clicks on “Book Inspection” or “Get a Quote” buttons
- Repeat visits within a short timeframe
Flag these users as active and consider adding them to an email nurture or follow-up sequence.
2. Sync CRM and Ad Engagement
Pull engagement data from Meta Ads or Google Ads campaigns. Users who clicked or submitted forms recently should be tagged as high-intent and moved to a “hot leads” list.
3. Use Open and Click Tracking
Track who is actively engaging with your emails. Set up automated rules to remove or suppress contacts who haven’t opened or clicked in 60–90 days.
4. Segment by Service Interest
Segment contacts based on interest: roof replacement, storm damage, emergency repairs, etc. Only send emails that match the service they’re actually exploring.
5. Run Re-Engagement Campaigns
Before removing cold contacts completely, run a last-chance re-engagement sequence. If they respond, keep them. If not, suppress them to protect your reputation.
How HOWL Uses Intent-Based Audience Updates in Roofing Campaigns
At HOWL, we don’t blast emails and hope for leads—we build that prioritize timing, relevance, and engagement.
Our approach includes:
- Daily syncing of lead intent signals from ads, site visits, and form submissions
- Custom email segmentation based on location, service interest, and engagement
- Automatic list cleansing and spam risk reduction
- Behavior-triggered automations to follow up in real time
We don’t just protect deliverability—we turn it into a lead-generating advantage.
Final Thoughts: Better Targeting Means Better Inboxing
Email marketing only works if your emails land where they’re supposed to. By using intent-based audience updates, you’re not just avoiding spam folders—you’re putting your message in front of homeowners who are ready to respond.
Apply to work with HOWL and let us build an email system that combines clean lists, smart targeting, and intent-driven timing to maximize your deliverability—and your results.