What is Email Deliverability?

While marketing professionals will want to track how many recipients open their message and click on links embedded in the content, that won’t happen if the email is never delivered. Making it to the inbox is the most important first step in any email marketing campaign. If the receiving mailbox service provider won’t accept the email, the recipient won’t even know they are missing your great content.

Let’s discuss the difference between email delivery and deliverability. Email delivery, often discussed as a percentage, is the number of messages to your recipients that didn’t bounce. Email deliverability is a bit more nuanced. This metric tracks how much of your mail made it past filters to land in the inbox rather than the spam folder. When talking about Gmail, the “promotions” or “updates” tab is just as good as the inbox where deliverability is concerned. If you’re sending marketing communications or transactional updates being placed in the correct tab by Gmail is actually a really good thing. It allows the recipients to view your mail where they want to, rather than feeling like marketers are intruding on their general inbox, where messages from their personal contacts may be!  

Why email delivery matters to your business

Anyone who has run afoul of the email gods and had all their mail routed to the junk/spam folder will tell you about the importance of deliverability. Losing your inbox placement means fewer eyes on your message which leads to reduced opens, clicks, and sales. 

Email delivery issues are worth addressing so your email marketing campaign can hit the mark every time. Email deliverability matters because:

• Engagement with current mail keeps future mail in the inbox You’ll have a better return on your investment when your messages make it to the inbox (promotions/updates tab)
• Your reputation will increase as you get better engagement
• You can brand recognition and customer loyalty as they see your messages in their inbox (promotions/updates tab). Customers will trust you more as they read and relate to your targeted content.

What is a good email deliverability rate?

The email platform you use — in addition to other factors — determines the email deliverability rate for your business. A study by Validity in 2023 found that worldwide, only 84.8% of emails, on average, end up in an intended inbox. That translates to one in six emails getting blocked from the inbox. 

However, some senders have better, and some have worse rates. The deliverability rates also vary for marketing and transactional emails, and your business likely sends both if you engage in any kind of e-commerce. A transactional email refers to a message that is triggered by customer or business behavior. Triggers could occur because of actions like purchasing a product or shipping an item. The first action results in a receipt/purchase confirmation email while the second results in a shipping confirmation. A transactional email will not contain advertising or marketing. These emails are more likely to land in inboxes.

Marketing emails, meanwhile, are designed to encourage the recipient to do or buy something, and there is often a call-to-action embedded in the message. These types of messages are sent in greater numbers rather than a direct, one-to-one transactional email that may or may not be automated. 

Constant Contact, however, boasts one of the strongest email deliverability rates of all email marketing platforms. They average a 97% email deliverability rate, which clients enjoy thanks to a host of best practices that are built into the platform.

How do I monitor my email deliverability?

There are two main ways to monitor email deliverability, and marketing professionals may use both. First, you can monitor your email metrics to see how well your emails perform compared to historical data you have for your campaigns. This data is usually found on the backend of your email marketing platform. Compare the results of different campaigns or different email list segmentation for quantifiable indicators like:

• Open rate
• Click-through rate
• Unsubscribe rate
• Spam rate

First, if you notice a sharp decrease in your opens or clicks, it may mean that less mail is making it to the inbox. If you’re getting a high number of unsubscribe or spam alerts you may want to implement the best practices of email marketing deliverability listed below.

Second, a variety of free online tools can be used to test the likelihood of your email campaign ending up anywhere other than an inbox. For example, tools such as Sender Score, MXToolbox, and BarracudaCentral can check to see if the internet service provider, or ISP, you are sending from has been blocklisted (previously referred to as “blacklisted”) somehow. When an ISP has a low sender reputation, email systems naturally presume emails are unwanted. 

Plus, you can run your email through other free tools like Mail Tester or Litmus to analyze the content for anything that goes against the best email deliverability practices. For example, spam filters look for certain click-bait words, excessive exclamation points, and endless capitalization. Testing your content before you send can save you trouble later.

While a tight marketing timeline may make testing every email impossible, scheduling regular tests throughout the campaign as learning experiences is good. The more effort you put into improving deliverability and understanding why emails bounce, the easier it will be for future campaigns.

What affects the email deliverability rate?

Email deliverability rates are impacted by a few variables, all of which you can improve over time.

Sender reputation 

Sender reputation is generated by an algorithm and is part of a “secret sauce” which is different at all receiving mailbox providers. Algorithms are built to take into account the number of emails you send, the frequency of the recipient marking the message as spam, the number of bounced emails, your open rates, unsubscribe rates, read rates, and whether you’re blocklisted already from specific recipients.

The higher your sender reputation, the more likely you will enjoy successful email delivery.  

Email content

With email marketing, it may be tempting to try to get noticed with all-cap words like FREE, ACT NOW, or even the seemingly innocuous CLICK HERE. But these are examples of words that will impact your email deliverability. Spam filters use algorithms to scan emails for keywords, phrases, and punctuation patterns that match other messages reported as “spam” or “junk”. Your email content, including your subject line and the body copy, must pass the filter to land in the inbox.

Using only one email list: poor list segmentation

When first starting out in email marketing, many businesses will dump every email address they receive into a single, large list that’s used to send out every email. The problem with this is that you’ll be more likely to send an email to someone who doesn’t appreciate it — and they’ll be more likely to report it as spam. 

Breaking up your email list into smaller, more targeted groups is a best practice known as email list segmentation. Spending time organizing and cleaning your email lists so you are sending the right content to the users who want it will go a long way toward improving email deliverability.

Your email infrastructure + authentication

How your email service provider is set up also plays an important role in how the recipient’s email services judge your emails. Not all software apps and websites verify that your emails are authenticated by both SPF and DKIM standards, but both are important. You also need to set up DMARC records. That’s a lot of alphabet soup, so work with an information professional if you’re not sure you’ve completed this. 

Step-by-step instructions to ensure email deliverability

Now that you understand the concepts behind email delivery, you can take steps to maximize and improve your email deliverability rate.

1. Select an email service provider

Business owners who embark on email marketing strategies for the first time may think it’s sufficient to use Google Mail, Yahoo, AOL, or Microsoft Outlook as a professional email service provider. However, this may impact your deliverability rates. Simply put, spam algorithms find it suspicious that an email service provider designed for personal communication would send out so many messages to your customers.

Instead, opt for an email service provider built for sending bulk mail with a strong deliverability reputation.

2. Set up your authentication

Next, you’ll need to authenticate the email address you will be using to send messages to your customers. 

It is a best practice to have your own email domain with your business name through web hosting platforms like Bluehost, GoDaddy, or HostGator. Larger businesses may have their domain run through an IT department. In these situations, you can self-authenticate to be aligned with DMARC standards, through CNAME records, or DKIM TXT records. 

It can feel like a complicated process, but working with an IT professional if needed will save a lot of headaches in the future. Sending from your own domain, and having it fully authenticated with DKIM and DMARC will help you  build a good reputation and improve your brand recognition. 

3. Clean up your email lists

Next, it’s time to clean your email lists. Start with the list of undeliverable email addresses from the last message you sent. Delete every “hard bounce,” which refers to email addresses that no longer exist. The higher the number of hard bounces, the worse your email deliverability rate will be.

Then, spend time segmenting your email address list into smaller groups of demographics. How you’ll organize these lists is entirely dependent on your company’s products, services, and target audience. Use the data you have on your customers’ preferences. You may also chose to send specialized messages to your oldest addresses to determine if they are still interested and drop them from your list if they are not. Sending to people who are not engaged with your brand can only hurt your deliverability. 

4. Create personalized content

Once you have a more focused list of email recipients, creating meaningful content for the people who have signed up to “learn more” will be easier. The key word here is relevancy: Make sure everything you send is targeted for the person on the other end of the computer.  

To put a fine point on it, you must spend time crafting subject lines and email content worthy of sending. Your customers want to learn about new information that helps to improve their lives in some way. Think about educating and entertaining, as well as simply selling.

Personalization makes it less likely they’ll unsubscribe or, worse, mark your message as spam.

5. Design for mobile

Email marketing platforms like Constant Contact have built-in design templates that make it easy for your messages to look as good as they sound. The visuals in your emails must come through both on desktops and mobile devices.

The majority of email users open messages using a mobile device, so it’s important to have mobile-friendly emails to keep deliverability rates high. Consider picking a single-column template, having a single, clear call-to-action, and keeping your message as short as possible.

6. Send with a schedule

Spammers tend to send huge blocks of emails at once, but spam blockers expect reputable companies to have a more regular pattern. Not only will having a set schedule help with email deliverability, but it will also build trustworthiness and consistency with your customers. 

Think ahead to your busy seasons; you may need to ramp up your emails in advance. Create a marketing calendar and follow it for better results and better delivery rates, too. 

Best practices for good email deliverability

Email deliverability best practices fall into three categories: Reputation, Content, and Infrastructure. Let’s take an in-depth look at all three so you can make sure you’re doing everything you can for good email delivery.  

Build and maintain your email reputation

Like reputations in real life, it can take time to repair damage — that’s why it’s always better to focus on prevention with the right email habits.  

Start with consent. Only send emails to people who have signed up to receive them. It’s tempting to purchase pre-populated email lists or try your luck with cold emails, but a good email marketer understands that quality is more important than quantity. Remember, receiving an email is like getting a paper letter in the mail. It should feel that special. 

One way to build an email list and your reputation is to send clear confirmation emails. This will also help you to avoid adding spamtraps to your list. Double-check that the person wants to receive your messages, and then always add an easy-to-find unsubscribe link somewhere in each email you send. Don’t try to trick anyone or hide communication options. You’re developing a relationship with your customers, and it’s OK that not everyone will be interested. 

Then, regularly clear your email lists of addresses that returned with a hard bounce. Just note: You may see “soft bounces,” too. A soft bounce returns an email when the recipient is temporarily blocking emails, like for time away from work, if the inbox is full, or if the message is too large. Only remove those addresses if the problem persists.

Email content and design considerations

Direct mail requires personalized messaging and the time and care that comes with a beautiful design. It’s not the early 1990s anymore with the green computer font that’s hard to read. For your message to get delivered and read, it’s important to focus on the content and design of every email.

Whatever message you send should be written with the target audience in mind. This audience may differ from your separate email list segments, so think ahead as you plan your marketing campaigns to send the most relevant, relatable, and engaging message to the recipient.

Personalize your email experience

Start with an automated welcome series that initiates when the person first signs up for your email list. Keeping the demographics, goals, habits, and preferences of your target audience in the forefront, craft a series of warm, welcoming messages that share the values and style of your brand.

Having personalized content also means that the message should come from a recognizeable business name. If your business is “Joe’s Wine Cellar” then use that instead of the owners name “Joe Smith” which will not be recognizable to your recipient.

Make sure your recipients are able to reply to you! One of the powers of email marketing is initiating conversations and encouraging customers on their buying journey, but “no reply” does the opposite. You could even go a step further toward making it easy to answer questions from your customers by setting up a preference center on your website for subscribers.

Subject lines are also crucial: You’d never send something spammy to a friend, so don’t send it to your current and future customers.

Design considerations

When designing, start with a clear understanding of your brand identity. Each message should visually display the values and quality that sets your business apart from the competition. Use the same color palette, fonts, and, when appropriate, template for each email to create consistency throughout the campaign for the recipient. 

You can use great design and messaging to make your emails worth the inbox space.

Technical aspects and infrastructure

Finally, you can do some backend things to improve email deliverability, too. As mentioned, you’ll want to authenticate your email with DKIM, SPF, and DMARC so your messages aren’t automatically sent to spam folders. 

One way to ensure that recipients won’t mark you as spam is to implement a double opt-in process for all new email signups. To do this, make the first automated welcome email a confirmation that requires the recipient to make the extra step of clicking the call-to-action button. This will solidify the relationship with your brand in their minds, making them more alert to your messages.

What are the best email deliverability tools?

Marketing professionals recommend the following tools to help improve the rate at which emails end up in inboxes:

• To test email content: Mail Tester, Litmus, and GlockApps
• To test sender reputation: Sender Score, Talos, and BarracudaCentral
• For email marketing authentication and automation: Constant Contact

Overcome challenges to email deliverability

For many business owners, email deliverability challenges can feel overwhelming. But the more you learn about spam filters and email bounces, the easier it will be to avoid the pitfalls that make your hard work in email marketing never even seen. It’s worth the time to delete fake email addresses from your email lists and address reputation concerns for the long-term benefit of your bottom line.

To start improving your email deliverability, use free tools to check your ISP reputation. In terms of email deliverability, that means starting work on cleaning up and segmenting your email lists, creating targeted welcome series messages, and implementing a marketing schedule based on your brand and your goals for success.

Next up, download Strategies for Inbox Success