A Complete Guide to Avoid Spam Folder and Escalate Email Deliverability in 2023
Greetings to all the email marketers ☺️
I am an email marketer just like you, who tried and tested multiple tools and services to find the perfect one. I completely understand how disappointing it can be when all your efforts and hard work go down the drain for just one major reason - Emails not reaching the destination, i.e the inbox of the customer.
With my experience of failures, setbacks, and ultimate victory, I bring a complete guide covering all major and minor facts (that we shouldn’t ignore) to keep your emails away from the dreaded spam folder.
I am an email marketer just like you, who tried and tested multiple tools and services to find the perfect one. I completely understand how disappointing it can be when all your efforts and hard work go down the drain for just one major reason - Emails not reaching the destination, i.e the inbox of the customer.
With my experience of failures, setbacks, and ultimate victory, I bring a complete guide covering all major and minor facts (that we shouldn’t ignore) to keep your emails away from the dreaded spam folder.
Part 1: Ways in which content can impact your Email Deliverability
Part 2: Maintain a Good Sender Reputation
Part 3: Impact of Hardware & Software used for Email Deliverability
Part 4: What is the role of Authentication (DKIM, SPF, AND TLS) To Email Deliverability
Part 5: Other General But Important Factors Affecting Email Deliverability
Let’s start the journey to up your open rates and get more clicks to your website by boosting your email deliverability.
Part 2: Maintain a Good Sender Reputation
Part 3: Impact of Hardware & Software used for Email Deliverability
Part 4: What is the role of Authentication (DKIM, SPF, AND TLS) To Email Deliverability
Part 5: Other General But Important Factors Affecting Email Deliverability
Let’s start the journey to up your open rates and get more clicks to your website by boosting your email deliverability.
What Is Email Deliverability?
In the simplest terms, Email deliverability is the set of processes to deliver emails to the target audiences’ inbox without bouncing or being set apart as spam.
Now the fact here to understand is that ‘deliverability’ and ‘delivered’ are two widely different terms when it comes to the email marketing world, so they should not be considered the same.
The term ‘delivered’ describes how many emails were completely transferred to the mailbox provider of the intended recipient. The term ‘your message has been ‘delivered’ does not mean it has reached the recipient’s inbox.
The term ‘Deliverability’ measures of how many emails actually make it into the inbox and is usually expressed as a percentage. It is further broken down into open and clicks statistics.
Now the fact here to understand is that ‘deliverability’ and ‘delivered’ are two widely different terms when it comes to the email marketing world, so they should not be considered the same.
The term ‘delivered’ describes how many emails were completely transferred to the mailbox provider of the intended recipient. The term ‘your message has been ‘delivered’ does not mean it has reached the recipient’s inbox.
The term ‘Deliverability’ measures of how many emails actually make it into the inbox and is usually expressed as a percentage. It is further broken down into open and clicks statistics.
In a hurry? Here is a table to give you a gist of factors affecting Email Deliverability
Here are all the factors and sub-factors that affect email deliverability. Let’s find out where you are going wrong by discussing them one by one!
| Content | Reputation | Software & Hardware | Authentication | General |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avoid URL Shorteners | Fewer complaints | Process Feedback Loops | SPF | Offer easy Unsubscribe |
| Avoid spammy lines, subject and content | No spam traps | Abuse reporting Mailbox | DKIM | Prefer Double opt-in list |
| Using free email sender | No blacklists | MX records for your sender Domain | Email encryption | Personalized message through segmentation |
| Relevance of content | Few Bounces | Use of a shared IP | Avoid no-reply sender addresses | |
| Consistency of content | Consistent Volume | Dedicated IPS for high volume senders | ||
| The ratio of image and text | Dedicated IPS for Time-sensitive campaigns | |||
| Plain text combined with HTML | ||||
| Mobile-friendly designs |
Know the deliverability score for each email address in your data through bulk verification on Clearout.
Part 1: Ways in which content can impact your Email Deliverability
1. Develop Quality Content That Your Subscribers Want To Read
Just sending out some content through email is not helpful!
Just imagine if I write a 10000-word blog but the information I provide in it is useless, will you read the blog? Will you share it with others? Will it be helpful?
No
In short, I am not giving any reason for you to subscribe to my blogs. In fact, I am giving multiple reasons to unsubscribe.
Similarly, your email content should pass certain criteria before actually being sent out to the targeted users, to avoid being marked as spam. Like -
The technique here is simple, just think as a subscriber before you send it!
Good quality content makes the receiver pay attention to your email communication and increases the trust factor for your brand.
Just imagine if I write a 10000-word blog but the information I provide in it is useless, will you read the blog? Will you share it with others? Will it be helpful?
No
In short, I am not giving any reason for you to subscribe to my blogs. In fact, I am giving multiple reasons to unsubscribe.
Similarly, your email content should pass certain criteria before actually being sent out to the targeted users, to avoid being marked as spam. Like -
- Does your email campaign carry any benefit for the subscribers?
- Is the content relevant to the subject line?
- Is the email content interactive? If not, try and make it so.
The technique here is simple, just think as a subscriber before you send it!
Good quality content makes the receiver pay attention to your email communication and increases the trust factor for your brand.
2. Get stable recognition: Maintain Consistency in your designs
Every product/service has a symbol, you know the reason why? The answer is simple, branding! And I don’t need to tell you how important branding is to marketing.
I am highlighting consistency here, as a consistent look gets recorded in the mind of the customer in ways you cannot understand. In a glance, they can recognize which brand is being promoted.
The goal here is to establish your brand in the minds of the users for your product/service, massive design changes in the campaign can hamper reaching this goal.
I am highlighting consistency here, as a consistent look gets recorded in the mind of the customer in ways you cannot understand. In a glance, they can recognize which brand is being promoted.
The goal here is to establish your brand in the minds of the users for your product/service, massive design changes in the campaign can hamper reaching this goal.
3. All designs should be Mobile-friendly
Mobile is now like an artificial body part of 90% of the human beings which can be detached only in their sleep (for some not even then 😉 )
Well jokes apart, but it is a true fact that over 50% of email opens now occur on mobile devices!
Still did not get my point?
I’m saying what is the point in putting your efforts on campaigns that look great on a desktop but suck on mobile. In fact, campaigns that are not mobile-friendly can easily disengage your subscribers and retaliate from the new ones.
Well jokes apart, but it is a true fact that over 50% of email opens now occur on mobile devices!
Still did not get my point?
I’m saying what is the point in putting your efforts on campaigns that look great on a desktop but suck on mobile. In fact, campaigns that are not mobile-friendly can easily disengage your subscribers and retaliate from the new ones.
4. Using a URL Shortener? Better avoid it!
URL Shortening is a technique on the World Wide Web in which a Uniform Resource Locator(URL) is made substantially shorter and still directs to the required page. The tool used for such a shortening of URL is termed as a URL shortener. Bit.ly is one common URL shortener.
For example
Long URL: https://clearout.io/blog/email-marketing-key-benefits/
After using a URL shortener it gets converted to - https://bit.ly/30sHd5l
URL shorteners are good if you want to cut down the length of your URL, but it is negatively used for masking where a link goes.
For instance, the shortened link above gives no indication of its final destination. Due to this feature, it is widely used by spammers to hide their malicious websites and blocked domains from users and mailbox providers.
So here is a piece of strong advice - Do not make URL shorteners a part of your email marketing routine, as it adds on to creating your image as that of a spammer.
For example
Long URL: https://clearout.io/blog/email-marketing-key-benefits/
After using a URL shortener it gets converted to - https://bit.ly/30sHd5l
URL shorteners are good if you want to cut down the length of your URL, but it is negatively used for masking where a link goes.
For instance, the shortened link above gives no indication of its final destination. Due to this feature, it is widely used by spammers to hide their malicious websites and blocked domains from users and mailbox providers.
So here is a piece of strong advice - Do not make URL shorteners a part of your email marketing routine, as it adds on to creating your image as that of a spammer.
5. Wait! Is Your Email’s Subject line or Content Spammy?
“The first impression is the last impression”
A very famous quote you must be aware of which means the image and character of a person are defined by the first meeting & remains constant after that no matter how much he tries to change it.
The subject line is the only way to create an impression on your subscriber/targeted user as it is the only thing that is read before opening the email campaign.
One more proven fact is that mailbox providers such as Gmail, ‘read and analyze’ your subject line to decide whether to categorize you as a spammer or not!
What should you definitely avoid -
A very famous quote you must be aware of which means the image and character of a person are defined by the first meeting & remains constant after that no matter how much he tries to change it.
The subject line is the only way to create an impression on your subscriber/targeted user as it is the only thing that is read before opening the email campaign.
One more proven fact is that mailbox providers such as Gmail, ‘read and analyze’ your subject line to decide whether to categorize you as a spammer or not!
What should you definitely avoid -
- Spammy words: Like free, guarantee, credit card, sex, etc.
- All capital letters
- Unnecessary punctuations in bulk
- Extreme utilization of $$, and other similar symbols
- The misleading (or missing) subject line
- Other content that looks suspicious to spam channels incorporates weight decrease, body improvement, and related drug store item
6. STOP Using Free or Personal Email Addresses For Your Campaigns!
An email campaign is a professional task and must fully represent your brand. I am saying this because most of the email marketers commit the mistake of using their personal Gmail address by which your email campaigns are most likely to be considered spam by various filters used by email service providers.
As a result, it will not reach the inbox and you will be left thinking where you went wrong!
A technical fact - now an extra layer of authentication called DMARC (it stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is added by Gmail and other ISP’s as a further safety measure.
As a result, it will not reach the inbox and you will be left thinking where you went wrong!
A technical fact - now an extra layer of authentication called DMARC (it stands for Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is added by Gmail and other ISP’s as a further safety measure.
7. Include Both, a Plain Text Version And An HTML Version Of Your Campaigns
A good practice to get higher email deliverability is to add a plain-text version when sending an HTML email campaign. I am suggesting this as in 99% of the cases the email clients display the most compatible version of your email campaign based on the settings of the subscriber.
8. Pay Attention To Image/Text Ratio
One of the most important factors for a successful email marketing campaign, that has been discussed for years and is still as important as ever is the ratio of images to text in an email template.
Speaking cut to the point, two of the main reasons the image to text ratio of your email templates is so important are:
Speaking cut to the point, two of the main reasons the image to text ratio of your email templates is so important are:
- If your email only contains only an image without text, it is more than likely to sail straight into the spam folders of your recipients, if at all.
- Many email clients will not display images by default (like Outlook and Gmail). That is unless you set images to display by default, or you are added to the recipient’s ‘safe sender’ list or address book.
Part 2: Maintain a Good Sender Reputation
Sender reputation is the biggest factor that affects email deliverability. That’s because if it’s poor, very few emails will reach the spam box, let alone the inbox.
A low sender score is the biggest reason why your emails are not delivered. ISPs are smart enough to automatically reject any emails that fall below a certain score.
Let’s step into a detailed discussion.
A low sender score is the biggest reason why your emails are not delivered. ISPs are smart enough to automatically reject any emails that fall below a certain score.
Let’s step into a detailed discussion.
What Is Sender Reputation and Why is it Important?
Scores are provided to every sender based on the quality of email campaigns, how the user interacts with it, the frequency & size. Such scores are termed as sender reputation.
It determines whether email service providers will deliver emails to users’ inboxes or spam or bounce. Sender reputation is very important as it
Helps ESPs in identifying fraud - Email Service Providers use the sender's reputation to identify and suppress cybercriminals, who try to manipulate people’s trust. Cybercriminals use the names of successful brands’ to trick subscribers out of their personal information like their card numbers, or passwords. If you don’t maintain a good sender reputation you will be filtered out by the ESPs even if you are not in any fraudulent activities.
Determines the level of success - If your company has a strong sender reputation, it shows that to subscribers like through your email campaigns. On the contrary, if the sender's reputation gets low numbers, it is time to high time to find out why and take an action.
Influences email deliverability - Email service providers, like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and others, are responsible for delivering emails to customers’ inboxes. A few metrics that ESPs take into consideration in judging the sender reputation - email authentication, open rates, number of deleted messages and fake addresses, etc
Though there’s no single metric to measure it, the most relevant ones are discussed below
It determines whether email service providers will deliver emails to users’ inboxes or spam or bounce. Sender reputation is very important as it
Helps ESPs in identifying fraud - Email Service Providers use the sender's reputation to identify and suppress cybercriminals, who try to manipulate people’s trust. Cybercriminals use the names of successful brands’ to trick subscribers out of their personal information like their card numbers, or passwords. If you don’t maintain a good sender reputation you will be filtered out by the ESPs even if you are not in any fraudulent activities.
Determines the level of success - If your company has a strong sender reputation, it shows that to subscribers like through your email campaigns. On the contrary, if the sender's reputation gets low numbers, it is time to high time to find out why and take an action.
Influences email deliverability - Email service providers, like Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, and others, are responsible for delivering emails to customers’ inboxes. A few metrics that ESPs take into consideration in judging the sender reputation - email authentication, open rates, number of deleted messages and fake addresses, etc
Though there’s no single metric to measure it, the most relevant ones are discussed below
9. Be Regular with Email sending volume and frequency
Think like a user, what will be your reaction if you get an email from a brand, you have subscribed for, once in months. You will tend to forget that brand and won’t think about it much. Conclusion - fewer emails have less impact.
On the other hand, if you get multiple emails talking about almost a similar thing, you will definitely get frustrated and the thought of unsubscription will definitely enter your mind.
That’s bad! So, in both ways, the reputation of the sender is affected in a negative way.
The action you need to take before shooting out your email marketing campaigns is trying to evenly distribute your email marketing campaigns.
A consistent schedule will make your users aware and instead of running away from your emails, they will be expecting it.
On the other hand, if you get multiple emails talking about almost a similar thing, you will definitely get frustrated and the thought of unsubscription will definitely enter your mind.
That’s bad! So, in both ways, the reputation of the sender is affected in a negative way.
The action you need to take before shooting out your email marketing campaigns is trying to evenly distribute your email marketing campaigns.
A consistent schedule will make your users aware and instead of running away from your emails, they will be expecting it.
10. Maintain the Hygiene of Your Lists
The more Invalid contacts in your email lists, the more unhygienic it is.
The way unhygienic food can get you ill, an unhygienic email list can kill your whole email marketing campaign.
I am not exaggerating at all!
Purge your list regularly of invalid, fake, junk emails and non-responders. You should use an email verification and validation tool, like Clearout with 98%+ accuracy. It is integrated with multiple ESP’s which can automate this email verification process.
The way unhygienic food can get you ill, an unhygienic email list can kill your whole email marketing campaign.
I am not exaggerating at all!
Purge your list regularly of invalid, fake, junk emails and non-responders. You should use an email verification and validation tool, like Clearout with 98%+ accuracy. It is integrated with multiple ESP’s which can automate this email verification process.
What is Hard Bounce?
A hard bounce is when the emails can’t be delivered due to a permanent issue such as a closed account. ISPs are most concerned with hard bounces.
Such email addresses should never be on your list.
What is a Soft Bounce?
A soft bounce occurs when the email can’t be delivered due to temporary issues such as
It’s better to keep such email addresses on your list, the issue is temporary. But if your messages are consistently bouncing you might want to reconsider.
Mailbox providers, such as Gmail, regularly monitor the bounce messages. They then return undelivered emails back to the email service provider.
A high bounce rate calls for an immediate hygiene process to be undertaken before shooting any email marketing campaign. Therefore you need an email verifier to check the email addresses and be 100% sure that they are valid.
Refer to this piece of content to know more about how to reduce the email bounce rate..
A hard bounce is when the emails can’t be delivered due to a permanent issue such as a closed account. ISPs are most concerned with hard bounces.
Such email addresses should never be on your list.
What is a Soft Bounce?
A soft bounce occurs when the email can’t be delivered due to temporary issues such as
- A full mailbox
- The recipient has an auto-reply / out-of-office message
It’s better to keep such email addresses on your list, the issue is temporary. But if your messages are consistently bouncing you might want to reconsider.
Mailbox providers, such as Gmail, regularly monitor the bounce messages. They then return undelivered emails back to the email service provider.
A high bounce rate calls for an immediate hygiene process to be undertaken before shooting any email marketing campaign. Therefore you need an email verifier to check the email addresses and be 100% sure that they are valid.
Refer to this piece of content to know more about how to reduce the email bounce rate..
11. Take Every Precaution to Avoid Getting Blacklisted!
Blacklisting takes place if the mail server in use sends a lot of spam. Even if you’re not sending spam yourself, if your email is coming from a shared mail server that HAS been, then your own email deliverability could be affected.
Warning: Whenever you come to know that your email address has been blacklisted STOP sending emails from that address as it will make the situation even worse.
There are over 100 blacklists for different purposes and you need to stay off of every single one of them.
What precautions should you take to stay away from being blacklisted?
How to Check if you are on any Blacklist?
There are companies that specialize in providing complete internet security, they specialize in maintaining popular blacklists too.
While there are many lists online, the most widely used are mentioned below:
Blacklisted? What to do next?
The first thing to do - DON’T PANIC
Do you use your personal IP address or the services of an Email Service Provider?
If your personal IP address has been flagged and included in a blacklist, you need to contact the company maintaining such blacklist and request for your removal by providing the required details.
Each major blacklist-maintaining company has a step by step description on the procedure to be followed for getting removed from a blacklist.
If you use the mailing service of an email service provider (ESP), they’ll inform you on how to fix the problem in your email and lists. They’ll contact the people who run the blacklists to get their IP address removed so they can continue running your email campaigns. You may find your account blocked until you can clean up your lists. Try to avoid being a part of email blacklists.
Warning: Whenever you come to know that your email address has been blacklisted STOP sending emails from that address as it will make the situation even worse.
There are over 100 blacklists for different purposes and you need to stay off of every single one of them.
What precautions should you take to stay away from being blacklisted?
- Never buy email lists - The people on these lists are likely to mark your unsolicited emails as spam, and there’s a good chance that a spam trap is included in the list. Sending an email to a spam trap will usually land you on a blacklist.
- Don’t repeatedly send the same or similar content
- Do practice a good email list hygiene as discussed above
- Use double opt-in to confirm email list subscribers. It establishes the genuineness of the subscribers & ensures that subscribers are signing up with their own email addresses and are interested in your services/product.
How to Check if you are on any Blacklist?
There are companies that specialize in providing complete internet security, they specialize in maintaining popular blacklists too.
While there are many lists online, the most widely used are mentioned below:
- Spamhaus
- MX Toolbox
- Spamcop
- Invalument
- Barracuda
Blacklisted? What to do next?
The first thing to do - DON’T PANIC
Do you use your personal IP address or the services of an Email Service Provider?
If your personal IP address has been flagged and included in a blacklist, you need to contact the company maintaining such blacklist and request for your removal by providing the required details.
Each major blacklist-maintaining company has a step by step description on the procedure to be followed for getting removed from a blacklist.
If you use the mailing service of an email service provider (ESP), they’ll inform you on how to fix the problem in your email and lists. They’ll contact the people who run the blacklists to get their IP address removed so they can continue running your email campaigns. You may find your account blocked until you can clean up your lists. Try to avoid being a part of email blacklists.
12. Frequent Spam Complaints? It’s Bad News
A user marks an email as spam when he is not interested in having any communication with you, does not like the content/information shared, or does not have enough trust in you.
The spam measurement counts the emails that subscribers/users mark as Spam and getting to a spam-box is the worst-case scenario in email marketing.
Spam complaints are normal but within a certain range.
A normal spam complaint rate is anything less than 0.1%, or 1 complaint about every 1,000 sent messages. Anything above this level is considered high. This is the industry standard set by major inbox providers like Gmail.
The spam measurement counts the emails that subscribers/users mark as Spam and getting to a spam-box is the worst-case scenario in email marketing.
Spam complaints are normal but within a certain range.
A normal spam complaint rate is anything less than 0.1%, or 1 complaint about every 1,000 sent messages. Anything above this level is considered high. This is the industry standard set by major inbox providers like Gmail.
A Few reasons for Spam Complaints and how to avoid them?
- Subscribers doubt they are part of your list
- Use a confirmed opt-in process
- Avoid presenting any pre-checked boxes during an opt-in process
- List the known brands that the subscribers will receive emails from on the opt-in page
- Avoid adding new members to your mailing list automatically
- Subscribers don't recognize your emails
- Send the subscribers a notification about the upcoming change, if any.
- Review your emails thoroughly to ensure that their content and design reflect your brand positively
- Test your email deliverability at different mailbox providers
- You're not delivering what you promised
- Clearly state what types of email messages the subscriber will receive at the point of sign-up and stick to such messages
- If possible, let the subscriber choose at the point of sign-up the kind of emails they want to receive: newsletters, tips, and tricks, promotions
- You've changed your sending frequency
- Explicitly state how often you will send emails, and if possible, what days you will send them
- If you are planning to change your sending frequency, contact your subscribers and ask their permission to email them more often
The reasons are never-ending. These are just a few examples to make you aware of small changes made by you in your email marketing can lead to an unexpected result.
13. Stay Away From Spam Traps
Never heard about spam traps?
Don’t worry, for a long time even I was unaware and happy thinking I have mastered email marketing. Haha!
Spoken in the simplest language, the spam trap refers to a fake email address. It looks like a real email address, but it doesn’t belong to a real person.
These email addresses can appear on bought lists, or scraped lists, which is another reason why you should never do this.
Old email addresses that aren’t in use can also be used as spam traps which is why I again highlight the fact that maintaining proper list hygiene is a must.
Spam trap emails can:
Don’t worry, for a long time even I was unaware and happy thinking I have mastered email marketing. Haha!
Spoken in the simplest language, the spam trap refers to a fake email address. It looks like a real email address, but it doesn’t belong to a real person.
These email addresses can appear on bought lists, or scraped lists, which is another reason why you should never do this.
Old email addresses that aren’t in use can also be used as spam traps which is why I again highlight the fact that maintaining proper list hygiene is a must.
Spam trap emails can:
- Get you blacklisted
- Hurt your domain reputation and sender reputation
- Permanently block your emails and your domain
Part 3: Impact of Hardware & Software used for Email Deliverability
Confused? Thinking how do software and especially hardware impact the email deliverability?
Well, it does so better not take it in a light way! In more sophisticated terms it’s called the impact of infrastructure on email deliverability.
So should you go on with setting up your own infrastructure? Well, it is complex, cost-inefficient, involves the implementation of several low-level standards and protocols and soon enough you need to find personnel specialized in handling the day-to-day operations.
A lot of inconveniences right?
I would suggest a comfortable solution to go with a reputed Email Service provider (ESP). This will help you focus more on creating effective content.
Some reputed ESP’s
You can compare the Best email marketing tools and decide on which one to choose.
As per my own experience, I am sharing how software and hardware
Well, it does so better not take it in a light way! In more sophisticated terms it’s called the impact of infrastructure on email deliverability.
So should you go on with setting up your own infrastructure? Well, it is complex, cost-inefficient, involves the implementation of several low-level standards and protocols and soon enough you need to find personnel specialized in handling the day-to-day operations.
A lot of inconveniences right?
I would suggest a comfortable solution to go with a reputed Email Service provider (ESP). This will help you focus more on creating effective content.
Some reputed ESP’s
- Aweber
- ConvertKit
- Mailchimp
- SendInBlue
You can compare the Best email marketing tools and decide on which one to choose.
As per my own experience, I am sharing how software and hardware
Decide which IP address to go for - Dedicated or Shared
There are two types of IP addresses that relate to email deliverability - Dedicated IPs and shared IPs.
A dedicated IP status is when you are the only sender on your IP, meaning the reputation is determined solely on your sending behavior whereas a shared IP is when you send emails from a server that is also sending emails for other users. The IP reputation is therefore determined based on an aggregate look at all of the sending activity from all users.
So which one do you need?
A dedicated IP status is when you are the only sender on your IP, meaning the reputation is determined solely on your sending behavior whereas a shared IP is when you send emails from a server that is also sending emails for other users. The IP reputation is therefore determined based on an aggregate look at all of the sending activity from all users.
So which one do you need?
14. When Should You Go for a Dedicated IP Address and When For The Shared One?
The main reasons that you would need to use a dedicated IP address for sending your emails include:
For all other reasons, you can go ahead with Shared IP addresses.
- You consistently send a high volume of emails
- You want to take full control of your sender reputation and deliverability
- You want to completely associate your emails with your domain rather than that of your email marketing service provider
For all other reasons, you can go ahead with Shared IP addresses.
15. Check and Monitor Feedback Loops
Ever heard of Feedback Loops? Do you know the meaning of the term and what it does? The appeal is directly linked to user complaints about your email marketing and can be valuable to describe the content you submit.
The Feedback Loop consists of an alerts system via email, in order to know when a user marks a message as junk or spam. Spam complaints about your email marketing campaigns have a huge impact on your reputation as a sender.
The feature works as a tool for the servers to monitor abuse on their networks. They are also available for senders who would like to use the information to perform a cleaning on their lists of customers and gain insights into what may be negatively affecting their email marketing strategy.
Note: Not all ISPs provide a feedback loop, and it’s important to note that they are resource-intensive
The Feedback Loop consists of an alerts system via email, in order to know when a user marks a message as junk or spam. Spam complaints about your email marketing campaigns have a huge impact on your reputation as a sender.
The feature works as a tool for the servers to monitor abuse on their networks. They are also available for senders who would like to use the information to perform a cleaning on their lists of customers and gain insights into what may be negatively affecting their email marketing strategy.
Note: Not all ISPs provide a feedback loop, and it’s important to note that they are resource-intensive
16. Set up (And Monitor) An Abuse Reporting Mailbox
An abuse contact address — usually in the form [email protected] — is a recognized channel for reporting spam and other abusive emails that may originate from your organization
Email accounts do get hacked and no matter how strict the controls, it’s practically inevitable that outbound spam will be sent using an email provider’s network. If it’s not dealt with quickly, the likely consequence is that mailbox provider and others will stop delivering emails from the organization’s IPs and this is a serious problem.
So, to avoid it and to ensure email deliverability it’s important that you have an abuse reporting mailbox setup and monitor it frequently. You can implement it through the use of an email header.
Email accounts do get hacked and no matter how strict the controls, it’s practically inevitable that outbound spam will be sent using an email provider’s network. If it’s not dealt with quickly, the likely consequence is that mailbox provider and others will stop delivering emails from the organization’s IPs and this is a serious problem.
So, to avoid it and to ensure email deliverability it’s important that you have an abuse reporting mailbox setup and monitor it frequently. You can implement it through the use of an email header.
17. Scale Your Campaign by Setting up MX records
MX record is also known as the mail exchanger record gives specific details of the mail server responsible for accepting email messages on behalf of a domain name. It is a resource record in the Domain Name System (DNS).
You need to have a valid MX record set up for your sender domain to avoid getting blocked by some ISPs.
You need to have a valid MX record set up for your sender domain to avoid getting blocked by some ISPs.
Part 4: What is the role of Authentication (DKIM, SPF, AND TLS) To Email Deliverability
I’m sure till now you must be totally convinced that Email Deliverability is a complex issue that requires multiple checks to get a satisfactory result.
But as new ways of maintaining security are evolving, new tricks to break the existing securities are emerging too, in the minds of the spammers.
One of the most common tactics used by spammers is termed as Email Sender Spoofing wherein the emails are sent using a forged sender address. The basic email protocols do not have any mechanism for authentication, which makes it common for spam and phishing emails to use such spoofing to mislead or even prank the recipient about the origin of the message.
The goal of email spoofing is to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to, a solicitation.
But as new ways of maintaining security are evolving, new tricks to break the existing securities are emerging too, in the minds of the spammers.
One of the most common tactics used by spammers is termed as Email Sender Spoofing wherein the emails are sent using a forged sender address. The basic email protocols do not have any mechanism for authentication, which makes it common for spam and phishing emails to use such spoofing to mislead or even prank the recipient about the origin of the message.
The goal of email spoofing is to get recipients to open, and possibly even respond to, a solicitation.
How Spammers Use Email Sender Spoofing
You need to be clear on the fact that email accounts and email addresses are related, but are not the same thing!
For Email Sender Spoofing, the spammer does not require your email account, JUST your email address.
Risks involved for the recipient -
But now major mailbox providers have made sure to perform an ID check when receiving a new email by following the AUTHENTICATION procedure.
Email Authentication is a collection of techniques aimed at providing verifiable information about the origin of email messages by validating the domain ownership of any message transfer agents who participated in transferring and possibly modifying a message.
For Email Sender Spoofing, the spammer does not require your email account, JUST your email address.
Risks involved for the recipient -
- Steal their credentials by sending “phishing” messages.
- Falling prey to online scams by abusing the trust they have in your site.
- Spread malware by sharing malicious attachments.
But now major mailbox providers have made sure to perform an ID check when receiving a new email by following the AUTHENTICATION procedure.
Email Authentication is a collection of techniques aimed at providing verifiable information about the origin of email messages by validating the domain ownership of any message transfer agents who participated in transferring and possibly modifying a message.
Here’s how Email Authentication works
There are several different approaches to < a href="https://clearout.io/blog/email-authentication-guide-to-protect-your-brand-from-cyber-crimes/">email authentication but in general, the process works something like this:
- An organization that sends email defines a policy that establishes the rules by which email from its domain name can be authenticated.
- The email sender configures its mail servers and other technical infrastructure accordingly to implement and publish the above-mentioned rules.
- The mail server that receives email authenticates the messages by checking complete details about the incoming emails against the rules defined by the domain owner.
- Once the message goes through the authentication procedure the mail server acts upon the results to deliver, flag, or even reject the message.
18. How to enable Email Authentication
The terms Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) are all standards that enable different aspects of email authentication. They address complementary issues.
These email authentication standards supplement SMTP, the basic protocol used to send an email, and most modern email systems support them. All three of these standards leverage the ubiquitous domain name system (DNS) for implementation.
- SPF : It allows senders to define which IP addresses are allowed to send mail for a particular domain.
- DKIM: It provides an encryption key and digital signature that verifies that an email message is not fake or has not been altered.
- DMARC: It unites the SPF and DKIM authentication mechanisms to form a common framework that allows domain owners to declare how they would like email from that domain to be handled if it fails an authorization test.
These email authentication standards supplement SMTP, the basic protocol used to send an email, and most modern email systems support them. All three of these standards leverage the ubiquitous domain name system (DNS) for implementation.
19. Secure Your Email Transmissions Using Transport Layer Security (TLS)
TLS refers to a standard protocol used to secure Email transmission.
It is developed to ensure network security over end-to-end communication. This safety protocol is the most broadly deployed by the web browsers and other applications that need to privately transfer data over a network. It functions towards file transfers, VPN links, instant messaging, VOIP, and sending messages over email.
How does TLS work for an Email?
The mechanism and language (protocol) by which one email server sends an email message to another email server is called SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol). It's been a long time since email servers have had the choice of using TLS to transparently encrypt the message transmission from one server to another server. A combination of TLS & SMTP guarantees that the content of the email is guarded during communication between the servers.
It is developed to ensure network security over end-to-end communication. This safety protocol is the most broadly deployed by the web browsers and other applications that need to privately transfer data over a network. It functions towards file transfers, VPN links, instant messaging, VOIP, and sending messages over email.
How does TLS work for an Email?
The mechanism and language (protocol) by which one email server sends an email message to another email server is called SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol). It's been a long time since email servers have had the choice of using TLS to transparently encrypt the message transmission from one server to another server. A combination of TLS & SMTP guarantees that the content of the email is guarded during communication between the servers.
Part 5: Other General But Important Factors Affecting Email Deliverability
20. Avoid Using a “No Reply” Sender Address
Everyone expects a response to the queries, doubts or suggestions they have in mind, this becomes even important when we are talking about the mind of a user/subscriber/recipient.
Being unable to reply puts a negative impact on the user and they find it unprofessional and unapproachable.
Marketers often send their campaigns from such do-not-reply email senders which serves as a black hole for an incoming mail which ultimately affects the email deliverability and open rates.
Being unable to reply puts a negative impact on the user and they find it unprofessional and unapproachable.
Marketers often send their campaigns from such do-not-reply email senders which serves as a black hole for an incoming mail which ultimately affects the email deliverability and open rates.
21. Always Provide the Users With a Clear Option To Unsubscribe
You need to believe that an easy to unsubscribe button builds the trust of the recipient towards your brand!
On the other hand, hiding the unsubscribe links can irritate them a lot, and they might end up marking your email as spam instead of unsubscribing.
Established and high-quality brands ensure to include their unsubscribe information in the footer of the email. But if you want to make the process clear and easy for your customers, you should also include a link in the email header.
The presence of an unsubscription option is also required by the law. It states “a visible, operable unsubscribe mechanism” must be present in all emails. The subscriber should not feel ‘forced-into’ the subscription and should have an easy way to move out whenever they wish to. For the same, ensure every email you send includes a working link to easily allow someone to unsubscribe.
On the other hand, hiding the unsubscribe links can irritate them a lot, and they might end up marking your email as spam instead of unsubscribing.
Established and high-quality brands ensure to include their unsubscribe information in the footer of the email. But if you want to make the process clear and easy for your customers, you should also include a link in the email header.
The presence of an unsubscription option is also required by the law. It states “a visible, operable unsubscribe mechanism” must be present in all emails. The subscriber should not feel ‘forced-into’ the subscription and should have an easy way to move out whenever they wish to. For the same, ensure every email you send includes a working link to easily allow someone to unsubscribe.
22.Go For Double Opt-in Rather Than Single Opt-in
Not much aware of the term Opt-in?
Opt-in email is a technical term used when someone is not initially added to an emailing list but is given the option to join the emailing list. The Opt-in process is also of two kinds - Single Opt-In and Double Opt-In and the whole debate is on the best opt-in method because we don’t want the recipients to just come and go but open, read and subscribe.
Double Opt-In Vs Single Opt-In
The difference between double opt-in vs single opt-in is whether subscribers have to confirm signing up for your email list, or they've signed up right after submitting their email addresses.
The single opt-in method is simple. It's probably what you think of when you think of signing up for email marketing. A prospect fills the signup form, submits, and their information is saved in your audience. Behind the scenes, the form saves important information like the contact's IP address and the date and time they signed up.
The double opt-in method has a few more additional steps. It's like a single opt-in, but it includes a confirmation step where the contact receives an email and has to confirm their signup by clicking on the link in the confirmation email.
The advantage of Double Opt-in over Single Opt-in is that you'll know the email address is for a valid, monitored inbox. Double opt-in is highly recommended for companies who aren't focused on audience growth, or who have had low open rates or abuse complaints in the past.
Opt-in email is a technical term used when someone is not initially added to an emailing list but is given the option to join the emailing list. The Opt-in process is also of two kinds - Single Opt-In and Double Opt-In and the whole debate is on the best opt-in method because we don’t want the recipients to just come and go but open, read and subscribe.
Double Opt-In Vs Single Opt-In
The difference between double opt-in vs single opt-in is whether subscribers have to confirm signing up for your email list, or they've signed up right after submitting their email addresses.
The single opt-in method is simple. It's probably what you think of when you think of signing up for email marketing. A prospect fills the signup form, submits, and their information is saved in your audience. Behind the scenes, the form saves important information like the contact's IP address and the date and time they signed up.
The double opt-in method has a few more additional steps. It's like a single opt-in, but it includes a confirmation step where the contact receives an email and has to confirm their signup by clicking on the link in the confirmation email.
- A contact fills the Clearout signup form.
- They receive an opt-in confirmation email with a link to be clicked to complete the registration.
- They're added to your audience as a subscribed contact, along with important information like their IP address, when they sign up and when they confirm their subscription.
The advantage of Double Opt-in over Single Opt-in is that you'll know the email address is for a valid, monitored inbox. Double opt-in is highly recommended for companies who aren't focused on audience growth, or who have had low open rates or abuse complaints in the past.
23. Give Your Recipients What They are Looking For Through Personalization and Segmentation
Earlier personalization and segmentation may have been optional but in 2020 marketers have to meet expectations and that means creating relevant, personalized messages that subscribers want to read. This can be done by segmentation. It is the division of email subscribers into smaller segments based on set criteria. Segmentation is by far the best tactic for personalization to deliver more relevant email marketing to subscribers based on their geographic location, interests, purchase history, and much more.
Some visible benefits of segmentation and personalization
Shew! I have almost penned down or rather ‘typed-down’ all my knowledge and experiences in enhancing the email deliverability and hope it answers all your queries.
The two important points that I would re-emphasize on (based on the high and instant impact on email deliverability) - Maintaining Email List Hygiene and the Email Content.
Some visible benefits of segmentation and personalization
Increase in revenue through detailed segmentation - Segmenting email contacts into specific groups can give your campaigns a boost. Marketers have noted a growth in revenue by 760% from segmented campaigns.- Self segmentation for better engagement - Customers are embracing the idea of self-segmentation too. Rather than segmenting email contacts yourself, let subscribers do it for you! Marketers are widely using email preference centers to give subscribers the power to select their interests.
- Stronger customer relations - Marketers have figured out how to create personalized emails without spending a ton of time manually tweaking emails. How? Dynamic content. Dynamic content allows marketers to create one email, but customize certain blocks of it for certain subscribers based on the segments.
- Eased Workload - The need to create more personalized content sounds like more work for marketers, but actually, it reduces the workload to half if you’re using an email service provider that has automation features and useful integrations.
Shew! I have almost penned down or rather ‘typed-down’ all my knowledge and experiences in enhancing the email deliverability and hope it answers all your queries.
The two important points that I would re-emphasize on (based on the high and instant impact on email deliverability) - Maintaining Email List Hygiene and the Email Content.