{"id":1474,"date":"2020-04-23T20:18:52","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T17:18:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/?p=1474"},"modified":"2021-08-18T11:20:46","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T08:20:46","slug":"email-marketing-101-check-and-improve-email-deliverability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/email-marketing-101-check-and-improve-email-deliverability\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Check and Improve Email Deliverability"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Email deliverability is an integral component of your email marketing efforts. No matter how much time and money you spend on designing the perfect email, it won\u2019t work unless you can deliver it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before unleashing your email marketing campaign, it\u2019s important to check email deliverability. By ensuring all your emails reach the target audience, you are improving your chances of achieving conversions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Email deliverability testing isn\u2019t just important for pushing the target audience down the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/296526\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sales funnel<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. You need it to retain the existing clients and nurture their loyalty.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is Email Deliverability?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u00a0is an important metric that can help you build and adjust your marketing campaign. It\u2019s important to understand that email delivery and deliverability are two different things.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Email delivery<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 when the email is delivered to the destination server.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Email deliverability<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 when an email arrives at the recipient\u2019s inbox successfully.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can have an excellent email delivery rate but poor email deliverability. When the email arrives at the server, it can be filtered as spam and settle into the spam folder, thus hindering your deliverability rates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the email is rejected by the server, you can get information about why it happened. If it\u2019s filtered down the road, you may never know what went wrong. Checking email deliverability can shed the light on what you are doing right or wrong.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Why Email Deliverability Check is Important<\/span><\/h2>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><b>1.<\/b> <b>Successful Marketing Campaign<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Email deliverability is part of the email marketing campaign\u2019s foundation. You are paying the email service provider (ESP) to deliver emails. However, their deliverability depends on your efforts. If the email doesn\u2019t reach the recipient, the ROI of the marketing campaign goes down.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/optinmonster.com\/is-email-marketing-dead-heres-what-the-statistics-show\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">email marketing generates a huge ROI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it\u2019s impossible to achieve unless the deliverability rates are sufficient.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marketing teams spend time and money crafting the ideal email with the highest conversion and relationship-building potential. Without high deliverability, it\u2019s lost in vain.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>2.<\/b> <b>Winning the Inbox Competition<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the fight for the client\u2019s attention is becoming more and more rigorous, one error along the marketing campaign route could turn into a huge monetary loss.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By testing, you can make sure the email ends up in the inbox instead of the spam folder. Your competition potential in the spam folder is at 0%.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0How to Test Email Deliverability<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To test your deliverability, you need to take advantage of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sendx.io\/blog\/email-deliverability-tools\/\">email deliverability testing tools<\/a>. You need to use them before you start the campaign and throughout the process.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you suspect that delivery rates are too low or an ESP is blocking you, you need to check deliverability issues. Such a tool can help you discover the cause of the deliverability problem.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What Does The Email Deliverability Test Check?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you use a special tool, the program will look into the following issues:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Spam potential<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 the tool checks for the spam potential of your email. Will an ESP view your email as spam? If the test comes up positive, you need to adjust the structure and contents of your email. The tool should also show if you are blacklisted or have any broken links in the message<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span><b>Email Address validation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2013 the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/email-validator\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">email validation tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> checks the address you are sending the email to. It gives you answers to the following questions. Can it receive emails? Does it have typos?\u00a0 Is it a spam trap? What is the status of the email domain? Is the email active? When did the user open it the last time?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How to Improve Email Deliverability: Best Practices<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How can you improve the deliverability of your emails? Take advantage of the below practices to ensure email quality and deliverability.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>1.<\/b> <b>Practice Deliverability Monitoring<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if the email deliverability test came up \u201cclean\u201d, you still need to continue monitoring the process. Make sure to check the quality of your emails and email addresses throughout your campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An email address can go inactive at any time, lowering your deliverability rates and hindering your marketing campaign.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>2.<\/b> <b>Make Your IP Address Trustworthy<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ISP filters defend your potential clients against spammy emails. How can you show these filters that your IP address deserves their trust? You can start by sending small batches of emails solely to addressees, whom you know are engaged.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The more emails are received, opened, and not sent to the spam folder, the more trustworthy your IP address appears. Increase the number of such emails you send slowly.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>3.<\/b> <b>Boost Your Sender Reputation<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your sender\u2019s reputation is evaluated by using such metrics as unsubscribing rates and spam reports.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Check your sender reputation. If it\u2019s low, your email deliverability can be low as well.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.campaignmonitor.com\/blog\/email-marketing\/2019\/05\/bad-email-reputation-repair\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improve the sender\u2019s reputation<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and good email deliverability rates will follow.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>4.<\/b> <b>Set up A Sending Schedule<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your emails may be rejected is if you send them in an erratic fashion. Irregular email sending activity may make filters view your message as spammy. Set up and email sending schedule and stick to it.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>5.<\/b> <b>Improve Your Content<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Messages with plenty of links (especially broken), capitalized phrases in headings, and thin content may be filtered out as spam. Common red flags in the headings are \u201cFREE\u201d, \u201cRisk-Free\u201d, and \u201cDebt\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure your emails are filled with high-quality content, images, and links. The more value your emails bring, the more likely they are to be opened. Thus, you can earn the trust of ESP and improve email deliverability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>6.<\/b> <b>Use the Brand Name in the \u201cFrom\u201d Line<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using the brand name in the \u201cfrom\u201d line (e.g. Jennifer from Byteplant) can reduce the spam complaints and boost open rates. Such emails look professional and trustworthy.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>7.<\/b> <b>Check Blacklists<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you can\u2019t find the reason for your email deliverability problems, your IP may have been blacklisted. You can check the<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mxtoolbox.com\/\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">MX Lookup Tool<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to see if that\u2019s the case.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you find your IP on such lists, you can send a request to be removed. Meanwhile, you\u2019d need to rethink your email sending strategies to avoid such lists in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><script type=\"application\/ld+json\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"FAQPage\",\"mainEntity\":[{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What affects email deliverability?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"        The content of your message is extremely important for deliverability issues. \\n        The sending history and sender reputation also affect your email deliverability. \\n        The email deliverability could also depend on how available the recipient\u2019s system is. \"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"How can I avoid spam filters?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Spam filters are the key barriers that prevent you from upping your deliverability rate. No matter how well designed your email is, it may never reach the inbox unless you consider the spam filters. Before sending emails, make sure you take care of the following issues:\\n\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is a sender reputation?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Sender reputation is one of the major factors that affect your email deliverability. It\u2019s a score your company is assigned by the Internet Service Provider when you send an email. The higher this score is, the more likely your message will reach the inboxes of your subscribers.\"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What is an open rate?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"Open rate is a metric that shows the percentage of emails that were opened by the recipients and subscribers. It is an indicator of how well you designed your email messages and managed to avoid spam filters.\\nA good open rate is between 15% and 30% for the majority of industries. \"}},{\"@type\":\"Question\",\"name\":\"What are spam traps?\",\"acceptedAnswer\":{\"@type\":\"Answer\",\"text\":\"A spam trap is an email address designed specifically to monitor the sender\u2019s actions. The address isn\u2019t actively used. However, if it receives an email, it raises a huge red flag. Because if such a message arrives at an invalid address, the company isn\u2019t careful about checking its email lists. One of the easiest ways to be caught by the spam trap is to buy email lists.\"}}]}<\/script><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frequently Asked Questions<\/span><\/h2>\n<h3>What affects email deliverability?<\/h3>\n<p>Deliverability is affected by various parameters. If you believe that your emails aren\u2019t reaching the subscribers\u2019 inboxes or end up in the spam folder, you need to review the following factors.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The content of your message is extremely important for deliverability issues. From enticing subject lines to images and links, the quality and proper structure of the content can make a difference between being opened and being blocked by spam filters.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The sending history and sender reputation also affect your email deliverability. If your IP address or domain appear suspicious, your message may never reach its destination. If you keep sending suspicious messages, your email address and IP will eventually be blacklisted. For example, if you send 10 messages daily, suddenly starting to send 100 messages per day may appear suspicious to the recipient\u2019s ESP (email service provider).<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The email deliverability could also depend on how available the recipient\u2019s system is. A sending serve queues messages for some time when the receiving server is unavailable. The email may be delivered later once the server becomes available.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>How can I avoid spam filters?<\/h3>\n<p>Spam filters are the key barriers that prevent you from upping your deliverability rate. No matter how well designed your email is, it may never reach the inbox unless you consider the spam filters. Before sending emails, make sure you take care of the following issues:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Always use a recognizable sender\u2019s name.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The ESP you use is reliable and reputable.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Check if your address may have been<a href=\"https:\/\/mxtoolbox.com\/blacklists.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> blacklisted<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mail-tester.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Test the quality of your email<\/a> before sending it to subscribers\u2019 inboxes. You can see if it may be flagged by the common spam filters.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t use Caps for each letter of your subject line.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Keep your <a href=\"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/email-list-cleaning-how-to-scrub-your-email-list\/\">email list clean<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Never buy email lists since they may contain invalid addresses and spam traps.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Get rid of inactive subscribers. They may damage your domain reputation.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Always provide the unsubscription options according to the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ftc.gov\/tips-advice\/business-center\/guidance\/can-spam-act-compliance-guide-business\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> CAN-SPAM act.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Steer clear of<a href=\"https:\/\/blog.hubspot.com\/blog\/tabid\/6307\/bid\/30684\/The-Ultimate-List-of-Email-SPAM-Trigger-Words.aspx#sm.0001y5humvds2ffdst42m604vieh1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> spam trigger words<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Don\u2019t add attachments.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Avoid overusing media in the message\u2019s body since it can be marked as adult content.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>What is a sender reputation?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Sender reputation is one of the major factors that affect your email deliverability. It\u2019s a score your company is assigned by the Internet Service Provider when you send an email. The higher this score is, the more likely your message will reach the inboxes of your subscribers.<\/p>\n<p>If this score goes down substantially, the ISP may start sending your emails to the subscribers\u2019 spam folders automatically. The following factors affect your sender reputation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The number of emails you send regularly.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0The number of recipients who mark your messages as spam.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How often your emails hit the provider\u2019s spam trap.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How many blacklists your email address is on.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How many emails you send bounce.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How many recipients open your emails as well as reply, forward or delete them.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How many recipients click on the links in the message\u2019s body.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0How many recipients unsubscribe from your email list.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each ISP has its own list of factors that go into determining the sender\u2019s reputation. However, the general rules are similar for all of them.<\/p>\n<h3>What is an open rate?<\/h3>\n<p>Open rate is a metric that shows the percentage of emails that were opened by the recipients and subscribers. It is an indicator of how well you designed your email messages and managed to avoid spam filters.<\/p>\n<p>A good open rate is between 15% and 30% for the majority of industries. Generally, a company should work toward achieving an average open rate for the industry. A low open rate may mean that you need to adjust your email marketing tactics.<\/p>\n<p>An open rate isn\u2019t always an indicator of the company\u2019s success. Ultimately, what matters is the number of conversions. If the recipient opens the email only to send the message to the spam folder, it\u2019s obviously a failure. To improve your open rate, you should:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Work on removing invalid addresses from your email lists in order to avoid hard bounces<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Segment your email list to design personalized messages for different segments of your target audience.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Make sure your message is formatted to suit mobile users.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>What are spam traps?<\/h3>\n<p>One of the reasons your email deliverability rate can suffer dramatically is if you fall into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/how-to-avoid-spam-traps\/\">spam trap<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>A spam trap is an email address designed specifically to monitor the sender\u2019s actions. The address isn\u2019t actively used. However, if it receives an email, it raises a huge red flag. Because if such a message arrives at an invalid address, the company isn\u2019t careful about checking its email lists. One of the easiest ways to be caught by the spam trap is to buy email lists.<\/p>\n<p>What happens if a spam trap makes its way into your list? Depending on the organization that has created the trap and how often you hit it, you could face being blacklisted. Meanwhile, the ISP can block your IP address. That\u2019s why you must clean your lists carefully before sending promotional emails.<\/p>\n<p>Make sure to check your email lists at least twice a year by using an email validator.<\/p>\n<h3>Should I clean my subscriber list?<\/h3>\n<p>While it\u2019s fairly easy to keep the email list clean, you should pay special attention to your subscriber list. These are the people who opted for receiving your emails. Can they possibly be a burden for your list? They can.<\/p>\n<p>Some subscribers may have changed email addresses or unsubscribed. Others may have stopped needing your services and continuously send your messages to the spam folders. Make sure to run re-engagement campaigns occasionally to see if the subscribers still need your services. If not, remove them from your list timely since they could be damaging your open rate and sender\u2019s reputation.<\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Final Thoughts<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Checking email deliverability is an integral part of any email marketing campaign. By making sure your emails end up in the inbox, you are increasing the ROI of your promotional and retention efforts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a0Email deliverability is an integral component of your email marketing efforts. No matter how much time and money you spend on designing the perfect email, it won\u2019t work unless you can deliver it. Before unleashing your email marketing campaign, it\u2019s important to check email deliverability. By ensuring all your emails reach the target audience, you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1474"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1775,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1474\/revisions\/1775"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.byteplant.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}