Email delivery optimization is the most important foundation of email marketing. If your email doesn’t reach the subscriber’s inbox, then it’s not going to be read – Your email will be useless! Did you know that just over 20% of all emails go to spam or remain undelivered? This can negatively impact your overall delivery rate. In this blog post, I will discuss some tips that will help you ensure that your emails are delivered successfully. Implementing these tips can help you improve your open rates and engagement levels! Don’t let your email campaign spiral down to nada! Learn how to ensure top notch deliverability.
Warm Up Your IP Address
Before you email people, you need to make sure that your email will reach their inbox. One way to do this is by “warming up” your IP address. This means that you need to start sending emails from your new provider a little bit at a time – To build up some trust. You can gradually send more and more emails until you’re emailing as many people as you want.
This will help receiving networks (like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) trust you and your emails more, and by default improve your email delivery optimization. Simply launching and pounding out 100’s or 1000’s of email messages is simply not going to work (and a quick way to end up on spam / block lists at multiple networks).
Use SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
A sender policy framework (SPF) is an email validation system designed to prevent email spam by detecting email spoofing. SPF allows administrators to specify which hosts are allowed to send email on behalf of their domain.
Receiving networks can use this information to verify that email claiming to come from a certain domain actually originated from that domain. If the email did not originate from a host specified in the SPF record, it may be marked as spam.
Therefore, using SPF can help enhance your email delivery optimization, because it verifies that you are who you say you are – And not some email spoofing impostor!
Use DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail)
DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is an email authentication method designed to prevent email spoofing. DKIM allows the sending server to attach a digital signature to an email message header. The receiving network can then use this signature to verify that the email message was not modified in transit.
If the email message has been modified, the DKIM signature will be invalid and the email may be marked as spam.
Therefore, using DKIM can help improve email delivery optimization by ensuring that email messages have not been tampered with in transit.
Use DMARC
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) is an email authentication, reporting, and policy enforcement protocol. DMARC allows email senders to specify which email authentication technologies they would like receivers to use when verifying email messages.
Receiving networks can then use this information to determine whether or not to mark email messages as spam. This then, further helps improve your email delivery optimization!
Therefore, using DMARC can help increase email deliverability by specifying which email authentication technologies should be used when verifying email messages.
Use a Subdomain Just for Emailing
If you are using an ESP (email service provider) where your need to pass domain name certification or monitor your IP reputation, then a subdomain may be a viable option for you.
Therefore you could also create a subdomain just for emailing purposes. For example, if your website is example.com, then you can create an email subdomain such as email.example.com. By using a subdomain, you’re indicating to email providers that this is where your emailing activity will be coming from – As opposed to just using your main domain name.
This can help improve deliverability because it’s another signal that you’re a legitimate sender of email messages (and not some spammer). Naturally, when you’re working to improve your email delivery optimization, subdomain use can possibly make things a bit easier.
Monitor the Sender Reputation of Your Email
Your sender reputation is a measure of how well you adhere to email best practices. It is used by ISPs (Internet Service Providers) to determine whether or not email from your IP address should be delivered to the inbox or spam folder.
A good sender reputation is essential for email delivery optimization. There are a few things you can do to monitor and improve your sender reputation:
- Use a reputable email service provider (ESP).
- Monitor your email bounces.
- Monitor your spam complaints.
- Keep your email list clean.
- Send email to engaged subscribers only.
- Use a double opt-in or confirmed opt-in process.
By monitoring and improving your sender reputation, you can increase email deliverability and ensure that your emails are more likely to reach the inbox.
Use Email Address Branding
When you send email, the “from” email address is one of the first things recipients will see. This is your opportunity to make a good impression and ensure that your email stands out from the rest. This is sort of an “organic” way to improve email delivery optimization.
One way to do this is by using branding in your “from” email address. This means using your brand name or website name in the email address. For example, you could use “John from Example”, or “Jane at Example” as your from email address. Naturally, make sure the email address itself (something@example.com) is able to receive email messages (and that you review them).
By using branding in your from email address, you can help ensure that your email messages are more likely to be delivered to the inbox.
Ensure You Maintain Consistent Sending Schedules
One of the best ways to maintain a good sender reputation is to send email messages at a consistent frequency. If you send email sporadically, it can look like you are spamming recipients. This can lead to decreased email deliverability and increased spam complaints.
By sending email messages at a consistent schedule, you can help ensure that your email messages are more likely to be delivered to the inbox.
Engage a Double Opt In System
Double opt-in is a process where subscribers must confirm their email address before they are added to the email list. This helps to ensure that only valid email addresses are added to the email list and that subscribers actively want to receive email from you.
Using a double opt-in process can help increase email deliverability by ensuring that email addresses on your email list are valid and that subscribers want to receive email from you. This is a big win for your email delivery optimization – You have a “cleaner” email list!
Keep Your Email List Clean
Email lists can quickly become bloated and filled with email addresses that are no longer active. This can lead to decreased email deliverability and increased spam complaints. You need to prune your list!
- Pruning an email list means removing email addresses that are no longer active or no longer interested in receiving email from you.
- Pruning your email list can help increase email deliverability by ensuring that email addresses on your email list are valid and that subscribers want to receive email from you.
Filter Out Your Contest / Incentive Email Signups
If you run a contest or giveaway for example, there is a chance people will sign up for your email list just to enter the contest or receive your “freebie”.
This can have the effect of reducing your email delivery optimization.
Why?
…because these email addresses are not interested in hearing from you and are more likely to mark your email messages as spam. Many also use “throw away” email addresses, which will increase your bounce rates.
To avoid this, you can filter these email signups. This means that you will only add email addresses to your email list if they confirm their interest in receiving email from you.
By filtering those email signups, you can help increase email deliverability by ensuring that email addresses on your email list are valid and that subscribers want to receive email from you.
Leverage the Power of Feedback Loops
Feedback loops are a way for email providers to give feedback to email senders about whether or not their email messages are being delivered to the inbox or spam folder.
By monitoring feedback loops, you can quickly identify any deliverability issues and take steps to fix them. This, in turn, can help better your email delivery optimization actions, and ensure that your emails are more likely to reach the inbox.
Find and Use the Right Frequency for Your Email
Another way to ensure email deliverability is to send email at just the right frequency. If you send email too often, it can look like spam and recipients may mark your email messages as such. If you don’t send email often enough, recipients may forget about you.
The key is to find the right balance for your email list. This will vary depending on your audience, but a practical start might be to send email once a week or every two weeks.
By sending email at the right frequency, you can help ensure that your email messages are more likely to be delivered to the inbox.
This can be a tricky one, but done right can help with your email delivery optimization actions.
Below is a great video that better explains the importance of scheduling email (one you’ve nailed down your frequency)…
Mailchimp has a similar approach…
Check Your Email Against Blocklists
An email blocklist is a list of email addresses, domains, or IP addresses that are considered to be spam sources. If your email address, domain, or IP address is on a blacklist, it can be difficult to get your email messages delivered to the inbox.
To check if you’re on a blocklist, you can use a service like MXToolBox – MXToolBox will provide you with a report of any listings across multiple services, so that you can see which blocklist you need to visit when attempting to get delisted (and what their rules are).
If you find that you’re on a blocklist, you can try to remove it by following the instructions on the blocklist’s website. However, this is not always possible.
Getting on a blocklist can quickly kill your email delivery optimization! So react fast when you see this.
By checking your email against blocklists, you can help ensure that your email messages are more likely to be delivered to the inbox.
FAQ
What’s are the most important things to help email delivery optimization?
There are a few things you can do to help improve email deliverability and increase the chance that email messages are delivered to the inbox. Some of the most important ways to do this include:
Pruning your email list to ensure email addresses are valid and that subscribers want to receive email from you.
Filtering email signups to ensure email addresses are valid and that subscribers want to receive email from you.
Sending email at the right frequency to avoid spam filters and keep your email messages relevant.
Using branding in your “from” email address to make a good impression and ensure your email stands out.
Checking your email against blocklists to ensure that you’re not on a list of email addresses, domains, or IP addresses that are considered to be spam sources.
What is the best way to improve your email delivery rate?
There are a few ways to improve email delivery rate, including pruning your email list, filtering email signups, sending email at the right frequency, using branding in your “from” email address, and checking your email against blocklists.
Conclusion
There are a few email delivery optimization tips to improve email delivery rate, including pruning your email list, filtering email signups, sending email at the right frequency, using branding in your “from” email address, and checking your email against blocklists. It is important that you take the time to ensure these four things with each campaign before maximizing open rates and engagement. By taking these steps, you can email confidently knowing that your email is more likely to be delivered to the inbox.
You can learn much more about email delivery optimization by visiting our Small Business Email Marketing posts. As well as find out more about Email Delivery.