How to improve email deliverability

If you run a business, you need an email list. And you have to send good emails, of course. But if those great emails aren't making it to people's inboxes, then what's the point?

If you've put a lot of effort into your email marketing but aren't getting the results you expect, your email deliverability might need some help. I'm going to share four key factors that will help you ensure that more of your emails stay out of spam and land in your inbox.

And if you don't have a mailing list yet, this will set you up for success from the start!

When it comes to emails, it's all about deliverability. What is email deliverability? The simple definition is the likelihood that your emails will end up where you want them: in users' inboxes, where they will actually read them.

You can have the fanciest automations, the best copy, the best upsells, downsells, follow-ups… But if no one is getting those emails in their inbox, then it's all for nothing .

This is where you come up against the algorithms of the messaging giants that control over 50% of inboxes worldwide: Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo!. You need to understand what they are looking for and follow their rules.

The good news is that it's not that hard to stay on the good side of the algorithms. Anyone can avoid the spam folder as long as they follow a few key guidelines.

There are four main pillars of email deliverability, and they form the acronym RACE:

Reputation Authentication Contents Commitment

Adrian Savage, email deliverability and pat expert, discussed these four pillars in depth during session 498 of the SPI podcast:

Reputation

In business, like everywhere else, reputation matters. If you have a bad reputation, no one will want to listen to you.

When it comes to email marketing, you need to focus on what's called your sending reputation.

You see, the big mailbox providers monitor the emails you send and, more importantly, how people react to them.

The more people they see marking your emails as spam or ignoring or deleting them, the more they will damage your reputation as a sender. And they are more likely to send your emails directly to the spam folder.

That's the simple version, but it means that everything you do with your email marketing should be focused on preserving and improving your sending reputation.

How to improve your sending reputation

So what can you do to improve and maintain your reputation with major couriers?

First, use common sense. If you feel like you're messing with the system, you probably are, and you'll end up being discovered.

A (not so) good example is downloading lists of email addresses from the Internet.

The only legitimate way to move forward with your mailing list is to send emails only to people who have specifically asked you to contact them.

If you buy a list and start emailing people who haven't given you permission, you're much more likely to get spam complaints, which will hurt your reputation as a sender.

And what is the only definition of spam that matters to mailbox providers? Whatever the recipient thinks it is.

There are also companies, such as Spamhaus and Cloudmark, that operate email addresses called spam traps. If you send an email to a spam trap address, you may be added to blocklists telling the world that you are a disreputable sender.

La only definition of spam which matters? Whatever the recipient thinks it is.

If you decide to purchase a mailing list for any reason, make sure you...