Email deliverability challenges have become a pressing concern for businesses across various industries. Countless messages end up in spam folders, relegated to separate tabs, or worse, lost in the vast sea of inbox clutter. The consequence? Substantial investments in content creation and email marketing efforts go to waste.
To compound matters further, organizations now grapple with rules and filtering mechanisms implemented by email service providers like Google, Outlook, Zoho, as well as a multitude of enterprise email defense companies. Navigating this intricate landscape requires a deep understanding of email deliverability best practices.
At our Email Deliverability Lunch and Learn, we had the privilege of welcoming Deliverability Ninja (formerly known as SonaMation), a leading expert in email deliverability, to help us address this pervasive issue. With their guidance, we delved into the multifaceted world of email deliverability to uncover insights, strategies, and actionable steps to ensure that our messages reach our audience and drive meaningful engagement. Check out what we learned below.
If You’re Not Validating Your Email List, You May Have Fewer Subscribers Than You Think.
Regularly validating your email list is crucial for improving your email deliverability. Various software options are available to assist you in this process, but you must watch out for three types of emails: spam traps, abuse emails, and invalid emails.
- Spam traps are designed to ensnare non-opt-in emails and impose penalties.
- Abuse emails belong to individuals who have a history of reporting emails as spam.
- Invalid emails are created when people change their jobs and are no longer active.
Over the course of a year, your email list can decay by as much as 22%, which can significantly harm your domain reputation. Regularly checking your email list on a monthly basis and utilizing double opt-in processes can help maintain list quality.
Your Email Deliverability Is Only As Good As Your Technical Setup.
Your technical setup must align with best practices to enhance email deliverability. SonaMation recommends companies use EasyDMARC’s domain scanner to check for these three DNS records:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): identifies the mail servers and domains that are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): detects forged sender addresses commonly used in phishing and spam
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): protects your domain from unauthorized use.
Delivering The Email Is Only Half The Battle. Are You Producing Captivating Content?
Engaging content plays a pivotal role in email deliverability. You must craft emails that captivate your audience and encourage interaction, especially replies. Even marketing emails should provide opportunities for recipients to respond back to you. However, be mindful of the words you use in your email content, as certain terms can trigger spam filters. HubSpot alone provides a list of 394 words to avoid. Additionally, avoid sending emails in one large batch, as this can raise red flags. Instead, schedule your emails to replicate human-like behavior.
Having Trouble Getting In Touch With Customers? You May Want To Invest In A Secondary Domain.
When conducting cold outbound outreach or engaging in activities that may negatively impact your domain reputation, avoid using your primary private domain. By separating these activities from your main domain, you can safeguard your domain’s reputation and ensure better deliverability. Sending emails from an address associated with promotions may hinder your ability to reach customers effectively.
Don’t Be Shy. Ask Your Audience To Add You To Their Contact List.
Encourage recipients to add your email address to their allowlist to ensure deliverability of your emails. You can include simple instructions in your email like, “Thanks for signing up for my weekly newsletter! To ensure you receive all emails, discounts and special offers, please add this email address to your contact list.” Once you do this however, you also have to make it effortless for people to opt-out of receiving further communication from you.
Final Thoughts
By following these recommendations, you can significantly enhance your email deliverability, ensuring that your messages reach your audience and drive meaningful engagement. Want to keep up with the latest news and advice coming out of High Alpha? Make sure to subscribe to our newsletter.
