SmarterBlog

In every industry there is a boogie man. A creepy ghoul that lives in the shadows, covert, quiet, only known and understood by a select few.

You know you need to calm this beast. You know you need to play by its rules. You know that when it gets disturbed and grumpy, it can leave a trail of destruction in its wake. In email marketing, that harbinger of nightmares is Deliverability.

What is Email Deliverability?

At its core, email deliverability refers to the ability of your emails to reach the intended recipient’s inbox. It’s not just about avoiding spam filters; it’s about ensuring that your emails are trusted and welcomed by email providers and recipients alike.

Key Concepts of Email Deliverability

Sender Reputation: This is akin to a credit score for your email program. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and Email Service Providers (ESPs) assess your reputation based on various factors like the volume of emails sent, complaint rates, bounce rates, and engagement metrics. A good sender reputation increases the likelihood of your emails being delivered to the inbox.

Authentication Protocols: Tools like SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) are vital. They verify that the email is legitimately from the sender, building trust with ISPs and preventing email spoofing and phishing. Scroll down for a deeper dive into Authentication Protocols.

Email Content and Design: The content of your email impacts deliverability. Overuse of sales language, large images, or poorly coded HTML can trigger spam filters. A balance of text and visuals, along with clear, engaging content, is more likely to land in the inbox.

List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers. High bounce rates from invalid addresses can harm your sender reputation. A clean list ensures better engagement and deliverability rates.

Engagement Metrics: ISPs track how recipients interact with your emails. Opens, clicks, replies, and forwards indicate positive engagement, while deletes without reading, marking as spam, or ignoring can negatively impact your deliverability.

Feedback Loops and Complaint Rates: Set up feedback loops with ISPs to get notified when recipients mark your email as spam. A high complaint rate can damage your sender reputation. Monitoring these rates helps you adjust your strategy accordingly.

Frequency and Consistency: Sending emails too frequently or irregularly can trigger spam filters or annoy recipients, leading to unsubscribes or spam complaints. Maintaining a consistent email schedule helps build recipient expectations and engagement.

Spam Traps: These are email addresses used by ISPs and blacklist providers to identify and block spam. Avoiding purchased lists and maintaining list hygiene can help you steer clear of spam traps.

Best Practices for Improving Email Deliverability

Consent-Based Marketing: Always obtain explicit permission to send emails. This not only complies with laws like GDPR and CAN-SPAM but also ensures a more engaged and receptive audience. Just like everywhere else…no means no.

Personalization and Segmentation: Tailor your emails to the interests and behaviors of your audience. Segmentation allows for more targeted and relevant messaging, which can boost engagement and deliverability.

Monitoring and Analytics: Regularly review your email campaign’s performance metrics. Look for trends in open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints to continually refine your strategy.

Responsive Design: Ensure your emails are mobile-friendly. With a significant portion of emails being read on mobile devices, a responsive design improves the user experience and engagement.

Avoid Common Pitfalls: Steer clear of deceptive subject lines, excessive use of caps or exclamation points, and overloading emails with links. These can all trigger spam filters.

Test Before Sending: Use tools to test your emails across different email clients and devices. This helps identify potential issues that could affect deliverability before hitting send.

Professional Email Service Providers (ESPs): Utilize reputable ESPs. They offer tools and expertise to help manage and improve your email deliverability.

Now I know you are probably thinking “Seriously? Authentication Protocols? Who the hell knows what they do or why?”

I do… walk with me while I help you understand the Three Authentication Protocol Musketeers: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC

With the rise of spam and phishing attacks we all need to ensure our emails reach our audiences without being flagged as suspicious. This is where authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC come into play. These protocols help verify that the emails sent from your domain are legitimate and secure, boosting your email deliverability and protecting your brand’s reputation.

What are Authentication Protocols?

At their core, authentication protocols are like digital signatures or seals of approval for your emails. They verify that the email claiming to be from your domain is genuinely from you. This helps email servers distinguish between legitimate emails and potential spam or phishing attempts.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF is like a guest list for your email party. It specifies which mail servers are allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain. When an email is sent, the receiving server checks this list. If the server sending the email is on your domain’s SPF list, the email passes the SPF check.

How to set up SPF:

Publish an SPF record in your domain’s DNS. This record lists the mail servers authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain.

Regularly update your SPF record to include any new servers or third-party services you might use for sending emails.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

Imagine DKIM as a wax seal on your emails, providing a way to verify that the email content hasn’t been tampered with during transit. DKIM uses a pair of cryptographic keys – one key is kept private on your email server, and the other is published in your domain’s DNS records.

How to use DKIM:

Generate a DKIM key pair and configure your email server to use the private key to sign outgoing emails.

Publish the public key in your domain’s DNS. This allows receiving servers to verify the email’s authenticity.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance)

DMARC is like the manager overseeing SPF and DKIM, ensuring they work correctly. It tells email receivers what to do if an email fails SPF or DKIM checks and provides reports on email delivery status.

How to implement DMARC:

Publish a DMARC record in your domain’s DNS. This record outlines your policy for handling emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks and specifies where to send reports about email delivery status.

Start with a lenient policy and gradually move to a stricter policy as you monitor the reports and adjust your email sending practices.

Why are SPF, DKIM, and DMARC Important?

Boost Email Deliverability: These protocols increase the likelihood that your emails will reach your audience’s inboxes instead of spam folders.

Protect Brand Reputation: They help prevent spammers from spoofing your domain, protecting your brand from being associated with malicious activities.

Improve Email Engagement: Emails that are reliably delivered and trusted are more likely to be opened and engaged with by your audience.

So remember kids…

• SPF is your email guest list.
• DKIM is your email’s wax seal.
• DMARC is the manager ensuring everything runs smoothly.

Email deliverability is a multifaceted aspect of email marketing that requires ongoing attention and adaptation. By understanding these basic principles and implementing best practices, marketers can significantly enhance the effectiveness of their email campaigns, ensuring their messages are seen and engaged with by their target audience. Remember, the ultimate goal is to build trust and maintain a positive relationship with your subscribers, and this begins with ensuring your emails reliably reach their inboxes.