Cracking the Code: How Email Deliverability Works

Friends… It’s time to reiterate the basics!

Email deliverability is often overlooked but absolutely essential.

If your emails aren’t landing in the inbox, all that time and energy you’ve spent to acquire subscribers and send emails is wasted.

To ensure your emails make it to your audience you must understand how email deliverability works.

Let’s dive in!

What is Email Deliverability?

Think of deliverability as your email’s “journey.” From the moment you hit send, it goes through a series of checks by servers and filters before it reaches your subscriber.

How Does It Work?

Here’s a simplified look at what happens after you send an email.

1. Validate Authentication
   The receiving inbox provider checks if the email subscriber you are sending to exists and the sender of the email is valid.

   • SPF verifies that your email is being sent from an approved server.

   • DKIM ensures the email hasn’t been tampered with during transit.

   • DMARC confirms both SPF and DKIM align with your domain.

2. Reputation Review
   The inbox provider assesses your sender reputation. Factors like bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement levels (clicks and opens) impact whether your email is trusted. The lower your reputation, the more likely your email will be flagged as spam.

3. Content Evaluation
   Spam filters scan your email content for red flags like suspicious links, spammy words (e.g., “FREE!!!”), or excessive images. They can also fingerprint your content against other emails they have received to see if it has been sent by other bad actors.

4. Engagement Metrics
   Email providers like Gmail and Yahoo analyze how recipients engage with your emails. If people consistently open, click, or reply to your emails, you’ll have a better chance of landing in their inbox.

5. Email Placement
   Based on all these factors, your email is either delivered to:

   • The Primary Inbox 😍.

   • The Promotions Tab 😞.

   • The Spam Folder 🤬.

Here are some common reasons your emails don’t reach the inbox

• Low Sender Reputation: Too many bounces or spam complaints can damage your reputation. For insights on how to monitor your sender reputation Click Here.

• Spammy Content: Words like “Act Now!” or “FREE” or overuse of exclamation points can trigger spam filters. Especially in your Subject Lines.

• Unengaged Subscribers: If your audience doesn’t open or engage with your emails, providers may deprioritize your messages.

• No Authentication: Without proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records, your emails may be flagged as suspicious.

• Sending to Bad Email Lists: Purchased or outdated lists often include invalid or unverified email addresses, as well as spam traps and bots.

You Can Improve Email Deliverability By Doing The Following

1. Authenticate Your Domain
   Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain. This tells email servers, “Yes, this email is legit!” - Click Here for step-by-step instructions.

2. Keep Your List Clean
   Validate all new subscribers that join your email list using an email validation service, and regularly remove inactive subscribers and invalid addresses. A smaller, engaged list is better than a huge one full of dead leads.

3. Focus on Engagement
   Create compelling subject lines and content that drive opens and clicks. The more your audience interacts with your emails, the better your deliverability. Make sure you are sending only to your newly added and most active subscribers using a base sending segment. Click Here for details on creating a base sending segment.

4. Send Consistently
   Stick to a regular sending schedule and volume. Random spikes in email volume can raise red flags with email providers.

5. Test Before You Send
   Use tools like Mail Tester or Litmus to check your emails for deliverability issues. Click here for last week’s breakdown on how to use Mail Tester.

Good deliverability is the foundation of your email list’s success. From reaching your audience to the activation of new subscribers.

By following best practices and keeping a close eye on your sender reputation, you’ll ensure your emails land where they belong: in the inbox.

Ready to take control of your email deliverability? Start implementing these tips today, and let’s get your emails the audience they deserve.

Let’s deliver to the inbox,

Chris Miquel
Co-Founder of SoVi Digital

PS: Want more tips on email marketing? Reply to this email with your biggest challenges—I’m here to help!

Follow me on Twitter: @miqchris

and on LinkedIn: chrismiquel