Email Deliverability Killers
7 Common Mistakes That Are Killing The Deliverability Of Your Emails
Ever notice that the emails you send bounce or are sent straight into the spam folder ? Your clients or prospects say , “ I never got the email from you ” or “ Where ’ s that report you promised me ?”
It can be incredibly frustrating , but you have to know God ’ s honest truth .
Truth No . 1 : Believe it or not , email is not a guaranteed service . Mailbox providers are in it to provide a quality inbox experience for their customers and are doing everything they can to keep spam out . With constantly changing algorithms , machine learning , and advanced filters , it ’ s no wonder that it ’ s getting harder and harder to get emails to your intended recipients .
Truth No . 2 : No matter what platform you are sending from , email deliverability ( where an email lands once it hits the inbox ) falls on you , not your email service provider .
Give yourself the highest chance of not landing in the spam filter — or being blocked — by avoiding these email deliverability killers .
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Lack Of Proper Authentication
When it comes to email deliverability , your email service provider looks to see if you are who you say you are .
Here are three methods of authentication you need in place for every system you mail from :
• SPF : One SPF record covers the entire domain and prevents spammers from sending unauthorized messages that appear to be from your domain .
• DKIM : Receiving servers use DKIM to verify the domain owner is the one who actually sent the message . If this is not set up , it can trigger phishing and spoofing warnings and will divert messages to the spam folder .
• DMARC : One record covers the entire domain and acts as an umbrella . When set up correctly , DMARC helps senders protect their domain against email spoofing .
Golden Rule : Only send from authenticated emails and domains .
2
Sending Emails To Invalid Recipients
Whether an email no longer exists or is incorrect , sending emails to it can damage the reputation of your domain . You might think , “ What ’ s the big deal if I send an email and it bounces ?” The big deal is that email providers will assume you ’ re not paying attention and that you are a spammer — and they will treat you as such .
Evan Samurin , email deliverability expert and founder of Fundamental Marketing , suggests that you take the health of your email status very seriously . When emails are invalid or if they bounce , clean them up or stop emailing to them .
Golden Rule : Only send to valid email addresses ( keep your email list clean ).
Erratic Sending Patterns And Frequency
Changing up your sending volume and frequency is a red flag to email providers . In addition to this , any drastic changes in your sending behaviors are harmful to your email deliverability .
✓ Whenever you switch to a new email service provider , you ’ ll want to start with a low sending volume and slowly increase the number of emails sent over time .
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Do not send an email broadcast to your entire list when you haven ’ t sent any emails in quite some time . Choose a smaller segment and control how and when emails get sent .
Promote a weekly email series with helpful tips to keep a steady stream of emails being sent to your contacts to improve your reputation .
Golden Rule : Be consistent with frequency and volume when sending emails .
Sending Emails To Non-Engaged Recipients
Yahoo warns , “ Sending emails to users who are not reading them , or who report them as spam , will harm your delivery metrics and reputation .” Email providers are watching and tracking to see if you are sending emails that people open and engage with .
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Only email people who want to get messages from you . They are less likely to report messages from your domain as spam .
Set good emailing frequency expectations at opt-in ( and stick to them ).
Have contacts click to confirm their email address after opting in so emails will be sent from better servers , which means better deliverability of your emails .
✓ Track engagement . Are your contacts opening emails , clicking on links , and replying to your emails ? If not ,
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