How to improve email deliverability: A practical guide

If you're running email marketing campaigns, you've probably encountered the frustrating reality that some emails never make it to the inbox. Even well-crafted, valuable content can end up in the spam folder, hurting your open rates, engagement, and overall effectiveness. The key to overcoming this is improving your email deliverability.

In this blog, we’ll explore strategies to enhance your email deliverability, ensuring that your messages reach your audience’s inbox, not their spam folder.

What is email deliverability?

Email deliverability refers to the likelihood of your emails reaching the inbox rather than being blocked or marked as spam. It's not just about sending emails—it's about ensuring they land where they’re supposed to.

Improving deliverability requires optimizing various aspects of your email-sending practices, including technical setups, content quality, and recipient engagement. It’s all about building trust with email service providers (ESPs) like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook.

Steps to improve email deliverability

1. Maintain a clean email list

   Keeping your subscriber list clean is crucial for improving deliverability. Sending emails to invalid or inactive addresses leads to high bounce rates, which can damage your sender reputation. Here’s how to maintain a healthy list:

   • Regularly remove inactive subscribers: if users haven’t engaged with your emails for months, it’s better to remove them.
   • Use double opt-in: this requires subscribers to confirm their subscription, ensuring they want to receive your emails.
   • Monitor hard bounces: if an email fails to be delivered permanently, remove the address from your list.

2. Authenticate your emails

   Email authentication ensures that your emails are coming from a legitimate source, which helps build trust with email service providers. To set up authentication:

   • Implement SPF (sender policy framework): SPF allows receiving servers to verify that emails sent from your domain are authorized.
   • Set up DKIM (domainkeys identified mail): DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying their authenticity.
   • Use DMARC (domain-based message authentication, reporting, and conformance): DMARC works with SPF and DKIM to prevent phishing and email spoofing.

   Authentication helps prevent your emails from being flagged as spam or blocked entirely.

3. Improve sender reputation

   Your sender reputation is a score assigned by email service providers based on your email-sending behavior. A good reputation means your emails are more likely to reach the inbox, while a poor reputation leads to higher spam filtering. Here’s how to boost your sender reputation:

   • Avoid spam traps: spam traps are email addresses created to catch spammers. They can end up on your list if you’re buying lists or not properly vetting subscribers.
   • Monitor bounce rates: high bounce rates negatively impact your sender reputation. Remove invalid email addresses to keep your bounce rate low.
   • Use a dedicated IP address: if you’re sending a high volume of emails, consider using a dedicated IP address. This way, your deliverability isn’t affected by other senders sharing the same IP.

4. Send relevant content

   Sending content that your subscribers find valuable and relevant is key to improving engagement. Higher engagement rates signal to email service providers that your emails are wanted, which can improve deliverability. To ensure relevance:

   • Segment your audience: create targeted segments based on subscriber behavior, preferences, or demographics. Sending personalized, relevant emails to specific groups will likely improve open rates.
   • Craft compelling subject lines: clear, concise subject lines are less likely to be flagged as spam. Avoid using deceptive or clickbait-like language.
   • Avoid spammy language: words like "free," "buy now," or "limited time offer" can trigger spam filters. Focus on clear, direct language that speaks to your audience's needs.

5. Optimize engagement

   Engagement metrics such as open rates and click-through rates are strong indicators of email deliverability. Low engagement can hurt your sender reputation, signaling to ESPs that your content isn’t relevant to recipients. Here’s how to improve engagement:

   • Use A/B testing: experiment with different subject lines, send times, and email content to see what resonates best with your audience.
   • Send emails at the right time: timing matters. Analyze when your audience is most likely to open and engage with your emails.
   • Use interactive elements: add interactive elements like polls or quizzes to encourage engagement.

6. Avoid blacklists

   Email blacklists are databases of IP addresses known to send spam. If your domain or IP ends up on a blacklist, your emails are unlikely to reach inboxes. Here’s how to avoid blacklists:

   • Monitor your sending behavior: send emails only to subscribers who’ve opted in, and avoid high-volume sending from a new IP without warming it up first.
   • Check if you’re blacklisted: tools like Spamhaus or MXToolbox can help you monitor whether your IP or domain is on a blacklist. If you find yourself on a list, reach out to the blacklist administrators to resolve the issue.

7. Warm-up your IP address

   If you’re using a new IP address, don’t send high volumes of email immediately. Start with a smaller batch and gradually increase the volume over time to build a positive reputation. This process, called IP warm-up, helps avoid triggering spam filters, especially when moving to a dedicated IP or a new domain.

8. Monitor performance metrics

   Keeping an eye on key email metrics can give you insight into your deliverability and help you identify areas for improvement. Important metrics include:

   • Bounce rate: indicates the number of emails that couldn’t be delivered. A high bounce rate can signal issues with your email list quality.
   • Open rate: shows how many recipients opened your email. Low open rates can be a sign that your subject lines aren’t compelling or your emails are landing in spam.
   • Spam complaint rate: if too many recipients mark your email as spam, it can hurt your reputation. Always include an easy-to-find unsubscribe option to avoid spam complaints.

Conclusion

Improving email deliverability is an ongoing process that involves balancing technical optimization with thoughtful, engaging content. By maintaining a clean email list, using proper authentication, and crafting relevant, high-quality emails, you can build a strong sender reputation and boost your chances of landing in the inbox.

Deliverability is not just about avoiding spam filters—it's about fostering trust with both email service providers and your audience. By following these best practices, you'll see improved engagement, higher open rates, and ultimately, more successful email marketing campaigns.

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