Introduction: Why Email Deliverability Matters
In today’s crowded digital landscape, reaching your subscribers’ inboxes is more challenging than ever. Over 15% of emails sent by businesses and marketers never make it to the intended recipient, according to Validity. Instead, those messages get filtered into the dreaded spam folder, never to be seen again.
For marketers, low email deliverability equals lost opportunities for engagement. After all, an undelivered email will never drive traffic, leads or sales. That’s why optimizing your email campaigns for deliverability should be a top priority.
When email lands in the spam folder, it erodes your ability to connect with subscribers and damages sender reputation over time. In contrast, messages that reach the inbox enjoy higher open and click through rates. In fact, emails with personalized subject lines have been found to achieve 26% higher open rates according to Experian.
By following best practices that maximize deliverability, you can cut through the noise and ensure your messages get delivered. This guide will explore actionable strategies to help your email campaigns reach inboxes, increase engagement, and avoid the spam filter abyss.
Verify and Clean Your Email List
One of the most important email deliverability best practices is to regularly verify and clean your email subscriber list. An outdated, inaccurate list will lead to poor deliverability, bounces, and spam complaints.
Make sure to remove any inactive subscribers who haven’t opened or clicked in a long time. These dormant emails could even trigger spam filters. It’s better to prune your list than keep around fake or abandoned accounts.
Also ensure any hard bounced emails are removed after the first bounce. If an email repeatedly bounces back and you keep trying to send to it, ISPs will see this as spam behavior. Delete hard bounces so you don’t get flagged.
Be wary of potential spam traps on your list as well. These are email addresses specifically set up to catch spammers. Avoid sending to role-based emails like info@ or sales@ if you didn’t collect them directly.
Beyond cleaning your list, work to keep it up-to-date and engaged. Collect feedback from subscribers to ensure the emails are still relevant. Make it easy to opt out and then promptly remove any unsubscribes.
A clean, current, and engaged email list will make a huge difference for your deliverability and open rates. Take time to verify and prune your subscribers so your messages reliably reach the right inboxes.
Avoid Spam Trigger Words
Be mindful of the words and phrases you use in your email content. Certain words will almost instantly trigger spam filters and prevent your email from reaching the inbox.
Avoid overusing words like “free,” “guarantee,” “risk-free,” “limited time,” and other sensational claims. While these may grab attention, they are major red flags for spam filters. Use them sparingly, if at all.
Also avoid ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation!!! and other text formatting choices that look spammy or salesy.
Write clear, benefit-driven subject lines that encourage opens without resorting to hype. For example:
- “A quick tip to improve your golf swing”
- “3 new dresses in your size”
Keep your subject lines under 50 characters so they don’t get cut off on mobile. Use natural language, not spammy phrases.
The content itself should also steer clear of spammy words. Focus your copy on useful information and relevant offers. Avoid excessive hype, urgency, or exaggerated claims. Keep it conversational and natural.
Follow Email Authentication Protocols
To maximize email deliverability, it’s essential to follow proper email authentication protocols. This helps prove to mailbox providers that you are a legitimate sender. The main protocols to set up are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Set Up SPF Records
SPF (sender policy framework) confirms that your messages come from authorized servers. Add SPF records to your DNS configuration that specify your authorized sending servers. Many email services like Mailchimp can generate the SPF record for you. Just copy and paste it into your DNS records.
Enable DKIM Signatures
DKIM (domain keys identified mail) adds a digital signature to your outgoing email. This signature verifies the message content has not been altered. Generate a public and private DKIM key pair in your email service. Add the public key to your DNS records. The private key will automatically sign your emails with an encrypted signature.
Configure DMARC Policy
A DMARC (domain-based message authentication, reporting and conformance) policy tells receiving servers what to do if SPF or DKIM fail. Set up a DMARC record in DNS. Start with a monitor or quarantine policy, then gradually tighten towards reject as you monitor results. This ensures you don’t immediately start losing legitimate email.
With SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly configured, your domain and IP address reputation will improve. Mailbox providers will have confidence your messages are authentic. This provides a significant boost to your email deliverability and inbox placement rates over time.
Personalize and Test Messages
One of the most effective ways to boost email engagement is through personalization and testing. Generic emails simply don’t cut through the noise anymore. According to Experian, emails with personalized subject lines have 26% higher open rates on average.
Use Segmented Lists and Dynamic Content
- Divide your email list into targeted segments based on demographics, interests, purchase history, and more. Send content that is highly relevant to each subscriber segment.
- Use merge tags to dynamically insert the recipient’s first name, location, past purchases, etc into your emails. This level of personalization makes subscribers feel valued.
- Send behavioral-based triggers like abandoned cart or welcome emails that are timed to the recipient’s actions. These are more likely to elicit a response than a generic blast.
- Feature specific product recommendations based on the subscriber’s browsing history or past purchases. Recommending items the subscriber is likely to be interested in boosts conversions.
A/B Test Subject Lines and Content
- Never assume you have the optimal subject line or email content. A/B test different versions to see which one performs best.
- Try subject line variations like asking a provocative question, using subscriber first name, mentioning a discount, or highlighting a pain point. See which gets more opens.
- Test the sender name, email length, call-to-action, images, offers and more. Every campaign provides an opportunity to refine your approach.
- Use open and click-through rates as the key metrics. The version that provides the biggest lift becomes your new standard. Then test again!
With a segmented list and personalized content that is continually refined through testing, you can achieve industry-leading email engagement rates.
Analyze Metrics and Optimize
Analyzing email campaign metrics and making ongoing optimizations is crucial for improving deliverability over time. You should closely monitor opens, clicks, bounce rates, unsubscribes and other key metrics after each email send.
Review your email open rates, click-through rates and conversion rates. Look for any spikes or drops compared to previous campaigns. Try to determine what is driving these changes, whether positive or negative.
Pay attention to your hard and soft bounce rates. A high bounce rate likely indicates issues with your email list or improper address formats. Try to clean your list and reformat addresses to reduce bounces.
If you see an increase in unsubscribes, that’s a red flag. Look at when during the email sequence or after which emails subscribers are unsubscribing. Identify any content or messaging that may be turning them off.
Continuously refine and optimize your emails based on the data. Try subject line A/B testing, content improvements, better segmentation, or changes to your send cadence. The metrics will show you what’s working and what’s not.
By regularly analyzing campaign performance and making data-driven optimizations, you can steadily improve email deliverability, open rates, and engagement over time.
FAQs on Email Deliverability
Why does email deliverability matter?
Email deliverability is crucial because it determines whether your message reaches the subscriber’s inbox or gets filtered into spam, directly affecting your engagement, traffic, leads, and sales opportunities.
How can I improve my email list’s quality?
Regularly verify and clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers, hard bounces, and potential spam traps. Keeping your list up-to-date and engaged significantly improves deliverability.
What words should I avoid in my emails to prevent being marked as spam?
Avoid using spam trigger words like “free,” “guarantee,” “risk-free,” and excessive punctuation or ALL CAPS in your emails. These can lead to your emails being filtered into the spam folder.
Why are email authentication protocols important?
Email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC prove to mailbox providers that you’re a legitimate sender, improving your sender reputation and email deliverability.
How does personalizing emails affect engagement?
Personalizing emails with segmented lists, dynamic content, and behavior-based triggers can significantly increase open rates and engagement by making subscribers feel valued and understood.
What should I A/B test in my email campaigns?
A/B test different subject lines, content, sender names, calls-to-action, and more to discover which variations achieve the highest open and click-through rates, then use those insights to refine your email strategy.
How do I use metrics to optimize email campaigns?
Analyze key metrics like opens, clicks, bounces, and unsubscribes after each send to identify trends and areas for improvement. Continuous refinement based on data will improve your email deliverability and engagement over time.