The Ultimate Guide to Email Deliverability in 2024

Email deliverability is the foundation of successful email marketing. No matter how compelling your content is, it won't matter if your emails don't reach your subscribers' inboxes.

What is Email Deliverability?

Email deliverability refers to the ability of your emails to successfully land in your recipients' primary inbox rather than being filtered into spam or blocked entirely. It's influenced by numerous factors, from your sender reputation to the technical configuration of your email infrastructure.

Key Factors Affecting Deliverability

1. Sender Reputation

Your sender reputation is like a credit score for email. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) track your sending behavior and assign a reputation score that affects whether your emails get delivered.

How to maintain a good sender reputation:

• Send emails only to opted-in subscribers
• Maintain low bounce rates (under 2%)
• Keep spam complaints under 0.1%
• Engage inactive subscribers or remove them

2. Email Authentication

Proper email authentication proves you're a legitimate sender. The three main authentication protocols are:

• SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Specifies which servers can send email on your domain's behalf
• DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to verify email integrity
• DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication): Tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail authentication

3. List Hygiene

A clean email list is essential for good deliverability. Regularly:

• Remove hard bounces immediately
• Re-engage or remove inactive subscribers
• Use email verification services before campaigns
• Implement double opt-in for new subscribers

4. Engagement Metrics

ISPs monitor how recipients interact with your emails:

• Open rates: Higher is better
• Click rates: Indicates valuable content
• Replies: Shows genuine engagement
• Spam complaints: Must be minimized
• Unsubscribes: Natural but monitor trends

Best Practices for Better Deliverability

Warm Up New IPs

If you're using a new IP address, gradually increase your sending volume:

• Week 1: 50 emails/day
• Week 2: 100 emails/day
• Week 3: 500 emails/day
• Continue doubling until you reach your target volume

Segment Your Audience

Send relevant content to engaged segments first. This builds positive engagement signals before sending to your full list.

Monitor Your Metrics

Track these key metrics regularly:

• Delivery rate (aim for 99%+)
• Bounce rate (keep under 2%)
• Spam complaint rate (under 0.1%)
• Open rate (industry average is 20-25%)

Conclusion

Email deliverability requires ongoing attention and optimization. By following these best practices and continuously monitoring your metrics, you can ensure your messages reach your audience and drive results for your business.

Ready to improve your deliverability? Contact our experts for a free consultation.