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Email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC ensure your emails pass ISP filters and land in the inbox.
Clean your email list regularly and use segmentation to engage the right audience with relevant content.
Gradually warm up new domains and IPs to build trust with ISPs and avoid spam classification.
Email marketing is one of the most dependable channels for engaging and converting customers. Your email must reach the inbox, as opposed to going into the spam folder or bouncing. Improving email deliverability can enhance your campaign results and help you reach your customers more effectively.
Email Deliverability plays a crucial role in ensuring your messages reach your subscribers’ inboxes. Following Email Marketing best practices like list segmentation and personalization can significantly boost engagement. Here are 10 best practices that can help improve your email deliverability.
Email deliverability means that the email winds up in a subscriber's inbox and is not flagged as spam or bounced back. Ensuring high deliverability means that your emails are being seen and getting your subscribers' attention, and it helps keep customers engaged.
Your sender reputation is directly influenced by bounce rates, spam complaints, and subscriber engagement. Proper email authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC help prevent spoofing and improve trust with ISPs.
The inbox placement rate often measures deliverability, the percentage of emails that land in the recipients' inboxes. A rate of above 95% is considered excellent.
When emails aren't delivered correctly, it can negatively impact the marketing program. Low deliverability results in lost opportunities to convert emails, reduced customer engagement, and ultimately, a poor ROI. Any number of factors can impact email deliverability, including sender reputation, list hygiene, and technical setup.
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Authentication protocols are crucial for avoiding spoofing and phishing.
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) informs which mail servers can send emails as if they were coming from you.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) provides a cryptographic signature for your emails to prove they have not been altered in transit, i.e., tampered with.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) ties SPF and DKIM together so you can tell ISPs what to do with messages that do not authenticate.
Authentication protocols ensure ISPs can trust your emails and, therefore, will not flag them as spam.
Selecting a well-known Email Service Provider (ESP) can help create solid ISP relationships and provide you with a better reputation.
If you consistently send out a lot of emails, it is best to sign up for a dedicated IP address. A dedicated IP address keeps your sending habits isolated from other senders, giving you complete control of your reputation.
Your sender reputation impacts how ISPs regard your emails. Use third-party services to frequently check your reputation score and see if your domain or IP is listed on any blocklists. If you are on a blocklist, take immediate action to rectify the problem.
Double opt-in helps ensure that only engaged and verified subscribers receive emails from you.
When a user subscribes, you can send them a confirmation email that they must click to verify their subscription. This will help you decrease spam complaints and increase deliverability to a cleaned-up active list.
Email lists become outdated as people change their email addresses or simply ignore your content. Maintain the health of your list by regularly cleaning it. Remove hard bounces or inactive users.
To validate your list, consider using one of the many email verification services to ensure it's current and minimize the risks of spam traps.
When you segment your list, you can send different groups of subscribers more targeted, relevant, and personalized content, which better engages those groups.
Target specific segments, like highly engaged users or new subscribers, with tailored messages. Personalization helps reduce spam complaints and boosts open rates, improving your sender reputation.
Spam filters analyze email content, sender behavior, and authentication protocols to determine whether a message should reach the inbox or be flagged as junk. When a recipient unsubscribes from your emails, make sure you process their request promptly. This is not only a legal obligation, but it also confirms that you are complying with unsubscribe requests quickly, minimizing the likelihood of spam complaints, and improving your reputation with ISPs.
Don’t buy email lists. They are filled with unverified contacts and will have large numbers of email marks as spam. Try to grow your list organically through opt-in channels, which will give you better engagement and deliverability over time.
When sending with a new domain or IP address, be sure to warm it up gradually. Begin with a low volume of emails to only the most engaged subscribers, then slowly increase the volume. Warming up the volume of emails sent helps to establish trust with an ISP, so emails are not labeled as spam.
Certain words and phrases in your subject line and email body can trigger spam filters. You should use phrases like 'FREE!!!' For instance, using 'Winner' is another example, and excessive punctuation is likely to get your email flagged as spam. Always make your subject lines short and relevant, so your open rates can improve.
Also Read: Outlook vs. Gmail: Which Email Service Reigns Supreme?
Improving email deliverability requires a comprehensive approach, focusing on technical setup, list hygiene, and engagement. These 10 better practices can help improve your sender reputation to prevent spam filters while speaking directly to your audience's inboxes. When you achieve that, you can expect to see higher engagement rates, more conversions from segmentation, and stronger customer relationships.
1. What is email deliverability, and why does it matter?
Email deliverability is the percentage of emails that land in the inbox, not spam. Low deliverability means missed conversions and engagement opportunities.
2. How can I improve my email sender reputation?
Improve sender reputation by engaging users, avoiding spam complaints, and using email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Monitor using third-party services.
3. What is double opt-in, and how does it help email deliverability?
Double opt-in requires users to confirm their subscription, ensuring a clean list and reducing spam complaints, which boosts deliverability.
4. Why should I avoid purchased email lists?
Purchased lists contain unverified emails, leading to bounces and spam complaints, which harm your reputation and deliverability.
5. How does email list segmentation improve deliverability
Segmentation sends targeted content to relevant groups, increasing engagement and reducing spam complaints, thus improving deliverability.
