š§ Email Deliverability: Keeping Your Emails Out of Spam
Understanding email deliverability is essential for making sure your emails land in the right placeāyour subscribers' inboxes. Itās tricky, but once you get the hang of it, you'll be sending emails that actually get opened. Hereās a breakdown of whatās going on behind the scenes.
š« Why Do Inbox Providers Filter or Block Emails?
Inbox providers like Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook receive a ton of mail every dayāover 90% of which is spam. Spam filters exist to protect users from unwanted emails, and inbox providers use smart algorithms to decide which emails make it to the inbox and which ones get flagged as spam. These algorithms are constantly looking at the positive vs. negative signals theyāre getting from senders (like you!).
š What Are Positive Signals?
When someone interacts with your emails in a good way, it sends a positive signal that youāre sending wanted mail. These signals include:
Opening your emails
Clicking links inside your emails
Marking your email as important or starring it
The more positive signals you get, the better your emails will perform!
ā ļø What Are Negative Signals?
If not enough people are opening your emails, itās a sign that your content may not be resonating. Inbox providers are also paying attention to:
Bounce Rate: When emails are sent to invalid addresses, the email ābouncesā back. High bounce rates signal poor list hygiene.
Spam Rate: This is the big oneāif a lot of people mark your email as spam, inbox providers take notice. Even a small spam rate (like 0.08% of your emails) can hurt deliverability.
The key is to minimize bounces and keep spam complaints low.
š Understanding Spam Complaints
There are three main reasons people mark your emails as spam:
They didnāt expect to hear from you
Theyāre getting too many emails from you
They tried to unsubscribe, but you kept emailing them
If youāre seeing more than 1 complaint per 1,000 emails, itās time to look into why and make changes.
š How to Keep Your Bounce Rate Low
A hard bounce happens when an email address is invalid, and this can damage your reputation with inbox providers. If your bounce rate goes over 2%, inbox providers start questioning the quality of your list.
Tip: Run your list through an email validation service to weed out invalid or inactive addresses. This helps keep bounce rates low and improves your deliverability.
š Creating a Sunset Policy
A sunset policy means you donāt keep emailing people who are no longer engaging with your content. If a subscriber hasnāt opened or clicked on your emails in 4-6 months, it might be time to remove them from your list.
Why? Inactive subscribers increase the risk of hitting spam trapsāspecial email addresses used by spam filters to catch bad senders.
šØ What Are Spam Traps?
Spam traps are email addresses that are specifically created to catch spammers. They donāt belong to real users but exist for the sole purpose of identifying bad senders.
There are 3 types of spam traps to watch out for:
Pristine Spam Traps: Created specifically to catch spammers (often from purchased lists).
Typo Spam Traps: Common email domain typos like gmial.com or yahooo.com could actually be traps.
Recycled Spam Traps: These come from inactive email addresses that were once real but are now used as traps after the user stopped engaging.
š“ Staying Off Blocklists
A blocklist is a real-time list of domains and IPs flagged for spammy behavior. If your email domain or IP gets added to one, your emails are likely to get blocked or sent straight to spam. Avoiding spam traps and keeping complaints low will help you stay off these lists.
If you do end up on a blocklist, youāll need to follow their instructions to get off it, or your emails will continue to be blocked.
ā Recap: How to Stay in Good Standing with Inbox Providers
Send to subscribers who opted inānever buy lists!
Donāt email inactive subscribersākeep your list fresh.
Make it easy to unsubscribeādonāt force your audience to stay if theyāre not interested.
Validate your email listsākeep bounce rates low.
Minimize spam complaintsāfind the cause and fix it ASAP.
With these tips, youāll be on your way to improved deliverability and better results from your email marketing campaigns.