Email Deliverability Setup

With the rise of spam emails and phishing attacks, ESPs are becoming stricter in what they allow into users' inboxes. They have introduced smart spam filtering technologies to help tackle such issues. If you have good email deliverability this entails your emails are landing in the main inbox of recipients.

When you create an email account and start using it you email co-workers and clients, and you automatically enjoy good deliverability.

The problem arises when you launch a cold email campaign because naturally, your emailing behavior changes--and ESPs are quick to notice this drastic activity change (AKA the spam filtering technology will start paying extra attention to your domain).

The average email deliverability rate amongst most ESPs is measured at around 85.3%. The remainder of that percentage is emails that are either relegated to the spam folder or completely blocked by mailbox providers.

DKIM (Domain Keys Identified Mail) is a type of email authentication that allows receivers to check whether an email is indeed sent and authorized by the owner of that particular domain. This is done by assigning the email a digital signature.

This is an advanced authentication protocol and tells ESPs your email wasn't modified or tampered with on the way to the sender. Without the DKIM framework, there is a risk of your emails being tampered with or having the content changed. Spam filters will not allow email content that has been tampered with into their receiver's inbox.

A sender policy framework (SPF) acts like a bodyguard at an event. You provide a guest list, and the guard only welcomes those with their name on the list.

In other terms, it is an email authentication system that allows the owner of a domain to specify which users are allowed to send emails on behalf of their domain. Referred to as 'SPF records', they are typically added and published in your Domain Name System (DNS) records beforehand.

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance, or simply DMARC is a protocol that unifies SPF and DKIM together into one common framework. It basically aims to ensure the authenticity of an email message by checking if your domain is authenticated against those two authentications.

This security standard helps prevent spammers from using your domain to send emails without your permission. Spammers can forge the 'From' email address so users assume the email is from your domain.

DMARC records make it easier for ESPs to prevent spam email practices such as domain spoofing that try to phish recipients' sensitive information. In sum, it allows email senders to specify how to handle those email messages that are not authenticated against SPF or DKIM. Senders can opt to have those emails sent to the junk folder or blocked altogether.

BIMI stands for Brand Indicators Messaging Identification. Have you ever noticed how some brands have their logo displayed as an avatar in your inbox? That logo is known as a verified sender logo and acts as an extra layer of email security while also building brand visibility.

Most users aren't aware of the above-mentioned technical authentications we have mentioned. BIMI is user-facing, it allows them to visually see your brand logo which helps them trust your email far more.

It is also advantageous for your organization as it decreases the likelihood of recipients flagging your emails as spam. Also, with the technicalities that go into getting BIMI configured, you automatically increase your email security.

Beyond the technical factors, there is a wide range of variables that can impact your email deliverability. Email deliverability should be treated as an art, to yield success you need to look into each and every aspect of it.

Spam complaints (also known as abuse reports) are recorded when a user clicks on 'This is spam' or 'Mark as spam' on emails. The industry acceptable spam complaint rate is less than 0.1% or 1 complaint for every 1000 emails. Anything beyond these figures is considered high.

A high spam complaint rate can result in long-term email deliverability issues that could take months to rectify. Popular email clients such as Gmail pay close attention to your spam complaint rate (if your rate is high) over a period of 30 to 60 days.

Spam triggering verbiages are keywords or phrases that email clients view as red flags. As the adage goes 'if it's too good to be true, then it most likely is'. Spam filters catch certain phrases that are associated with free gifts, gimmicks, scams, promises, and schemes.

Don't worry! Spam filters have become more advanced in recent years, so they take into account the CONTEXT of the content! For example, if you send an email with the phrases 'start your free trial today', or 'offer for a limited time only', your email will not automatically be sent to spam.

When was the last time you checked the validity of your prospect list? Keep in mind that users change their emails, add spam filters, or delete their accounts. Prospect lists age very poorly and quickly! After a while, there is a chance you may be sending 5,000 emails and only reaching about 3,000 inboxes.

If you have unverified email addresses on your prospect list, you will incur a hard bounce. A hard bounce means your emails are being sent to accounts that are deleted or invalid.

When it comes to receiving an email from someone you don't know, there is already a level of suspicion there. When the email asks the recipient to open an attachment or click on a link, the suspicion levels rise even more.

One of the easiest ways to get caught by spam filters is by sending out emails with too many links, attachments, images, or gifs. Spam emails very often use tons of links, so it is recommended to use a maximum of 2 links in your email content.

Images and gifs are treated the same as links. It is a well-known fact that most spam emails contain heavy images and ESPs have set their spam-triggering criteria accordingly. So if you wish to use images or gifs, limit them to only one.

Domains usually get blacklisted when they are flagged for spam-like behavior. If your domain ends up on an email blacklist, consider it gone (it's extremely hard to get it back). So ensure your domain never ever gets blacklisted.

You can also end up on the blacklist if you launch cold email campaigns using purchased email lists, or trigger a spam trap.

So how do you guarantee your emails get delivered to the intended inbox? Luckily there are proven techniques to prevent failures from happening and improve deliverability for the long haul!

The sender reputation of a particular email account is given to the domain by ESPs to determine your trustworthiness as a sender. If you have a higher score, it means ESPs are far more likely to allow your emails to pass through their servers without any hassles (landing your email in the primary inbox of recipients).

If you have a lower score it does not necessarily mean your emails will be flagged as spam. However, with a lower score, you increase your chances of your emails landing in the spam, junk, or promotions folder.

Email warm-up is essential before sending your cold emails.

When you have a new email account, it is not capable of sending a large number of emails at the moment. You need to make your email account ready to launch mass email campaigns, and that's what the process of email warm-up facilitates--it prepares your domain for high-volume sending.

This in turn also builds your domain reputation in the eyes of ESPs and improves overall engagement metrics which are all connected to your deliverability.

Usually, a proper email warm-up process involves gradually increasing the number of emails along with engagement to show ESPs you are a legitimate and trustworthy sender. The email warm-up process generally takes about 3 to 4 weeks (longer if you are doing it manually).

Did you know personalization can affect your email deliverability? When you send out identical mass emails, ESPs regard those emails as 'spam'. This ends up triggering the 'spam filter' and emails don't reach their intended destination, eventually making their way to the spam folder.

Cold emails should be personalized and tailored to each recipient anyways! Don't just personalize {{first name}} and {{last name}}, make each email unique to the pain points of prospects.

Email personalization can increase your reply rates by 100%! You can also personalize the subject line, as they can increase your open rates by 22%.

The higher the bounce rate you have, the higher chance you have of hurting your email deliverability. The accepted benchmark for an email bounce rate is somewhere around 2%. This basically means that, if you are sending 100 emails, it is normal to see 2 of those emails bounce.

However, if your bounce rate is above 5%, then it's time to bring down that number to a healthier range by following the best email deliverability practices.

Yes! People have the right to unsubscribe from your cold emails as well. Once you open the lines of communication with a prospect, make sure you give them the free will to unsubscribe.

You can either place an unsubscribe button at the bottom of the email (make sure it is easy to find and legible) or simply ask them to tell you if they would like to stop receiving emails from you.

This is the best and simplest way to avoid being marked as spam.