Best Practices and Tools for Ensuring Emails Don't End Up in Spam
It's easy to think that all you need for successful email marketing is a catchy subject line and some good material, but in reality, getting your emails sent to your recipients and not their spam or junk folders is the first and most important step.
The effectiveness of an email marketing campaign hinges on the seemingly little but increasingly crucial parameter. Your email newsletter won't be successful in gaining subscribers if you have a low email deliverability rate. Email campaign success and deliverability are directly correlated. Therefore, every company should prioritize expanding to larger, more stable premises.
Explain the concept of email deliverability. How may you make it better? How can you avoid common pitfalls? Every one of these will be taken into account in our manual.
The email deliverability rate is the percentage of emails sent to subscribers that actually reach the recipients' inboxes.
Do not mix the email delivery rate with the email deliverability rate. The latter represents the total number of successfully delivered messages. This, however, does not guarantee that your email deliverability rate will remain unchanged. Emails may be rejected, banned, or filtered out by ISP filters, leading to a low deliverability rate.
If your email provider has trouble getting messages to their clients, your subscription list will suffer. The email deliverability rate is more nuanced and dependent on numerous factors; this is where your efforts matter.
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But there is a catch, as we shall see. Without a high percentage of successfully delivered emails, the deliverability rate of an email campaign is useless. These two pieces together complete the big picture. As a result, before attempting to increase the email deliverability rate, ensure that:
A reliable service provider.
All of your emails can be delivered by a service provider.
There is a minimum amount of hard and soft bounces.
Which Email Deliverability Rate Is Ideal?
In general, you can expect a deliverability rate of between 90 and 100 percent from a good email service, but achieving that number in practice is quite difficult. The potential for proximity is high.
Deliverability: An Email User's Guide
Reasons Why Your Emails Aren't Being Delivered
The first indicators of a problem with email deliverability are a decrease in open and click-through rates, an increase in the bounce rate, or the discovery that you have been blocked. There are many potential downfalls. It's important to keep an eye on four primary factors.
Reputation
Reputation is like karma in that it can make or break your email marketing strategy. It is fundamental to achieving high deliverability rates for emails. A good email reputation includes few complaints, no spam traps, no blacklists, and low rates of hard and soft bounces.
Authentication
Email authenticity can be ensured by using measures like Sender Policy Framework, digital signatures, and transport layer security (TLS) for email. Taking all of these steps may be difficult, but they'll be well worth it in the end.
Infrastructure
Think about implementing a feedback loop, sending an email to report abuse, setting up a mix record for the sender's domain, and switching from a shared IP to a dedicated one. Don't come here if you're a noob. But that shouldn't make you feel like you can't deal with it. It's similar to the effort and money spent on authentication, but it's worth it in the end. To enhance the email deliverability rate, it will be useful to study the campaign in depth and make changes from a variety of perspectives.
Presentational details
Relevant content, aesthetically pleasing design, responsive behavior, catchy subject lines, the ideal balance between images and text, and alts for email readers with turned-off images can save the day, whereas URL shorteners, overusing subject lines, and using free email senders can ruin everything. When working together, design and content are important. Although not directly related to the deliverability rate, these two factors contribute to a high click-through rate (CTR), which tells the ISP that the email is of good quality and the sender may be trusted.
Essentials of Email Delivery
Evaluation of On-Time Delivery
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This group of four tackles crucial problems. In conclusion, the following are the most frequently cited causes of low email deliverability:
The number of spam complaints is really high.
Excellent rates of both hard and soft rebouncing.
The percentage of incoming messages is low. If your email isn't being opened by many people, your reputation will suffer. ISPs may label your messages as spam if your users show little interest by clicking on them.
Bad rep as a sender.
The lack of individualized authentication.
Using free services that could result in a blacklisting of your email address.
The employment of shady servers.
Utilization of spammy-sounding subject headings.
Mass mailings that could set off spam detectors.
sending mail to unidentified recipients.
falling prey to spammers' traps.
Problematic jumping around between different email services. ISPs frown upon this practice since it is commonly employed by spammers to obfuscate their digital footprints.
Reasons Why Your Emails Aren't Being Delivered
Intelligence from Cisco Talos
How to Increase the Success of Your Email Campaigns
Here are some first steps you may take to increase the success of your email campaigns:
Hone your segmentation skills, and only contact active users with email. With fewer soft bounces, email deliverability and open rates should improve.
Sort out your mailing list. Keep doing this on a regular basis so that you may get rid of all invalid or outdated email addresses. Deactivate contacts who haven't interacted with you in over six months or who haven't visited your website.
Boost the credibility of your IP. Use just a reliable service. Spending a little extra on a premium or even an exclusive offer will save you from the hassle of dealing with subpar results and unpleasant vibes from the sender.
Bring your IP address up to temperature. Build up your network of contacts gradually. Don't try to network by handing out freebies or other low-value items. Facilitate a natural progression. Beginning with only a few emails is a good place to start. In other words, you shouldn't send daily emails to your subscribers. Sending out a message once or twice a week is plenty to have consumers thinking about your business without becoming annoying.
If you want to avoid spam traps, don't buy an email list. Keep in mind that it will be challenging to remove your name from a blacklist.
To collect serious email addresses, use a double opt-in form. If something seems too good to be true, it probably is. Develop a responsive subscriber base that eagerly anticipates your emails. As a result, fewer opportunities will be lost due to false spam detection.
Search for your IP address on banned network listings. Repetition is key. Several sites offer this kind of verification.
It's important to monitor complaint feedback loops so that problems can be solved before they escalate.
Put in place an SPF filter. You can choose which server is authorized to send emails by using Sender Policy Framework. Not only will it reassure your internet service provider that you're who you say you are, it'll also make it harder for imposters to send emails from your account.
Put in place DKIM. Digital signatures are a powerful tool for convincing spam filters that your message is legitimate and not an attempt to steal information or launch an attack.
Protect your electronic correspondence by encrypting it. Using TLS to communicate with mailbox providers helps maintain privacy and credibility.
Be wary when using shared IPs. Companies with fewer than a thousand employees typically use shared IP addresses rather than the more expensive dedicated ones. Therefore, it is important to only utilize reputable and secure email providers.
Keep an eye on the channels of communication between customers and their mailbox provider in order to resolve any issues that may arise. In addition, make sure to check the mail box designated for reporting abuse.
You should use the brand to your advantage. Make sure the "from" line indicates your business. Your credibility will increase as a result.
Use a work email instead than your personal Gmail. Emails from Gmail addresses sent to addresses outside of Gmail are subject to a penalty. As a result, you could be ruining your karma.
Before sending out any emails, make sure you've checked off all the usual suspects on a pre-launch checklist.
How to Increase the Success of Your Email Campaigns
How to Optimize Your Email's Design and Content to Boost Your Delivery Rate
In addition to following all of these tips, be sure to polish the writing and layout. It is possible to avoid getting spam marks by following a few simple guidelines.
Use of spammy language in the subject line will result in immediate deletion.
A phrase like "FREE!!!" is one that could land your email in the spam folder. But that doesn't imply you should ignore it altogether. Be cautious when using it. Add significance to the subject line. Adjust to coordinate with the tone of the copy. Emojis and other brand-specific options are available. Check out our suggestions for Black Friday and Cyber Monday subject lines to get some ideas.
Make it simple for readers to cancel their subscriptions.
You should give your contacts the ability to unsubscribe from your email list so that they don't accidentally classify future messages as spam in case something goes wrong.
Don't shorten links with a URL manager.
In order to send more spam, link shorteners are popular. Because of this, they could be deemed spam. In addition, a masked link conceals any information about its destination that would put off potential customers.
Design it so that it adapts to different screen sizes and devices.
Consistency across devices and screen sizes is essential. If readers receive jumbled text instead of polished writing, they may choose to delete it or even report it as spam.
As a result, adapt the layout to various screen sizes. To accomplish this, you can use Postcards, a user-friendly HTML email creator. Create newsletters that are up-to-date in design and responsive in action to boost CTR and email deliverability.
Using Postcards to Boost Email Deliverability through Design and Content
Improving Email Deliverability: The Technical Aspects
Understanding the technological aspects of the problem will help you avoid being impersonated by spammers. This necessitates familiarity with DKIM, SPF, TLS, and a dedicated IP address.
Individually Assigned Numbering System
Dedicated IP addresses are, as we've established, reserved for the highest-volume senders at the largest enterprises. Dedicated IP addresses are preferable than shared ones due to their higher level of security and privacy. As a result, more emails are successfully delivered.
So, what are your options? To begin, a dedicated IP address is available. The second thing you may do is to verify if your shared IP address is blacklisted on a regular basis. Email marketing software platforms may now be relied upon to handle this tedious task on your behalf by keeping tabs on their IP addresses and promptly fixing any issues that arise.
DKIM stands for DomainKeys Identified Mail and is a form of digital signature. Connecting a domain name with an email address is useful for sending. So, if you want to keep hackers from posing as you, you can sign your newsletter with a secure signature.
Whenever a "signature" is made, the MTA (mail transfer agent) generates a "hash value," or a one-of-a-kind string of characters. Your email will be checked for legitimacy once it reaches the recipient's server. If the email seems off, it was probably tampered with and should be blocked. In this approach, you can screen out all mailings that aren't from your domain.
The Sender Policy Framework, or SPF, is another effective technological tool for preventing spam hackers from gaining access to your personal information and emails. SPF uses your IP address to create a solid, unique link between you and your email, whereas DKIM uses a domain name. Basically, it notifies the servers of the receivers of the IP addresses from which your emails might be sent. Once again, this will filter out any messages that don't come from you.
It's important to remember that SPF and DKIM work hand in hand. They may be enough on their own to prove your credibility.
One of the most common methods for protecting electronic correspondence is through Transport Layer Security, or TLS. It's used to encrypt data sent over the network, just like SSL and STARTTLS. No third party can pry because only the server and the client have the decryption keys. Because of this, employing it as a supplementary safety measure is strongly advised.
The good news is that if you are utilizing a well-known email marketing provider, such as MailChimp, you won't have to worry about remembering all these different acronyms and abbreviations. The platform has probably already completed this step. It's as simple as setting preferences. Because of this, you shouldn't ignore these suggestions. Implementing these strategies is simple with the aid of a marketing automation tool, resulting in an increased rate of email reads.
Resources for Ensuring Reliable Email Delivery
To help you keep tabs on the situation, we've also produced a list of the best email deliverability solutions available.
Sending Test Emails for Spam
In order to ensure that your email is not being flagged as spam, Spam Testing was developed. With the use of 23 widely used filters, the test can reliably determine the email deliverability rate. It checks your IP address against numerous blacklists, letting you know whether you need to switch providers.
Spamhaus \sSpamhaus
The history of Spamhaus is extensive. In spite of the fact that it first opened its doors 20 years ago, it remains the go-to resource for checking your domain and IP address against spam databases. You can check SBL, XBL, or PBL to see if your IP address or domain name is blacklisted, and DBL to see if your domain name is blacklisted. In addition to the report, the service provides detailed, actionable guidance on how to remove your email address from these lists and reclaim your good email standing.
Unspam.email
Unspam.email
Unspam is a relatively new service, so it can't brag about 20 years in the industry, but its designers know what it takes to make an email that passes muster with today's standards. They've done a fantastic job by giving you a solid, comprehensive system for examining your email correspondence. Giving it a try is a must if you care about the deliverability of your messages and the success of your campaign.
Numerous practical tools are built into Unspam.
First and foremost, it has a robust spam check that considers a wide variety of factors.
And second, it does an increasingly important accessibility check on your email.
Last but not least, it allows you to preview your design via email on a wide range of popular devices, platforms, and operating systems.
The fourth function is to check a piece of writing for spam terms, dead links, and poor sources.
At last, it predicts a heat map that shows you where to make changes to your layout and style to increase your clickthrough rates.
This web-based tool has been around for years, just as the one used as an example before. A comprehensive report of the issues plaguing your inbox and service provider are displayed, allowing you to correct them before they cause any lasting damage. Furthermore, the tool includes SPF and DKIMs checks, both of which are critical to a high email deliverability rate.
An Evaluation of the Sender
Your sender's fitness is shown by their "Sender Score." It identifies the reputation by considering significant indicators like spam complaints and industry blacklists. The tool then provides useful recommendations for how to fix the issue at hand. In addition, you can use the Blocklist Lookup utility here to see if your IP address is on the blacklist.
GlockApps's Spam Tester
Free GlockApps Spam Checker
GlockApps provides a service to check emails for harmful material, monitor the time it takes to deliver messages, and more. It will determine the sender's standing, identify delivery problems, and suggest fixes to ensure messages don't end up in the junk bin. All of these things will boost sales and increase the rate at which emails are delivered.