Email deliverability: Best practices for ensuring your emails reach the inbox

In today’s digital era, email marketing is a crucial part of any business’s overall marketing strategy. According to a survey, it is estimated that more than 306 billion emails are sent and received every day worldwide. However, reaching your intended audience through emails is not as easy as it seems. A crucial factor that affects the success of email marketing is deliverability. In this article, we’ll delve into the intricacies of email deliverability and provide you with some best practices for ensuring that your emails reach the inbox.

Importance of Deliverability in Email Marketing

Deliverability refers to the ability of an email to land in the recipient’s inbox instead of ending up in their spam folder or being rejected by their email server. Deliverability is essential because, without it, your email marketing campaign will not achieve its desired results, and your efforts and investments will be in vain.

Low deliverability is a significant concern for businesses, as it can lead to marked reduced response rates, brand reputation damage, and the potential for legal liability. In the worst-case scenarios, low deliverability can result in an organization’s IP addresses and domains being blacklisted by ISPs, rendering all email marketing efforts fruitless.

Responsibility for Handling Deliverability Issues When Running Scripts on Your Own Server

If your organization runs a script on its own server instead of using a third-party email service provider (ESP), it becomes 100% responsible for handling delivery issues, including but not limited to bounces, spam complaints, blacklisting, and server reputation. This means that you need to be familiar with blacklisting and deliverability best practices to ensure that your emails reach the inbox successfully.

Choosing a reputable ESP for good deliverability rates

If you decide to use an ESP, it’s essential to work with only reputable and reliable ones. There are many ESPs to choose from, but the key is to select one with a track record of good email deliverability rates. Some of the top ESPs known for providing good deliverability rates are MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Sendinblue.

Importance of Provider Uptime Rating

It is crucial to choose an ESP that is reliable and has a good uptime rating. Uptime refers to the server’s ability to operate continuously without significant downtime or outages. The higher the uptime rating of your ESP, the more reliable it will be in terms of email delivery.

Email Testing Tools Offered by Email Service Providers

Many email service providers offer various tools to help you test your emails before sending them out in bulk. These tools can score your emails and flag content that may create a high spam score, such as using too many spammy words or including too many images in your emails. Some of the popular email testing tools include Mail Tester, Glock Apps, and Email on Acid.

Tips for Creating Emails That Won’t Be Flagged as Spam

Creating emails that won’t be flagged as spam is essential to ensure that your email campaigns achieve maximum delivery rates. Here are some tips for creating deliverable emails:

1. Avoid Spammy Words: Avoid using words that often trigger spam filters. Some examples include “buy now,” “free,” “work from home,” and “miracle.”

2. Use Normal-Sized Fonts: Using overly large fonts or mismatched fonts can cause your email to look spammy.

3. Use Normal-Sized Images: Avoid using too many images or oversized images, as they may be flagged as spam.

Email deliverability plays a vital role in determining the success of your email marketing campaigns. By following the best practices outlined above, you can substantially improve deliverability rates and increase the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts.

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