Email deliverability: what is it and how can it be improved?

Email deliverability is an essential concept for any business that wants to communicate effectively with its customers through email marketing campaigns. But what is email deliverability and why is it so important? In this article, we'll explore this topic in detail and give you practical tips for improving email deliverability.

Understanding email deliverability

First, it's important to understand what email deliverability means. Simply put, it's the measure of an email's ability to reach the recipient's inbox. Good deliverability means that your emails are not blocked by spam filters and that they actually arrive in the recipients' inboxes.

Email deliverability can be affected by many factors, and it is essential to be aware of them in order to optimize them and maximize the impact of your campaigns.

Definition of email deliverability

Email deliverability can be defined as the proportion of emails sent that reach the recipients' inboxes, without being blocked by spam filters.

Let's take a concrete example: if you send an email to 1000 recipients and only 900 actually receive it, your deliverability rate is 90%. This means that 10% of your emails are blocked or considered spam.

Why is email deliverability important?

Email deliverability is crucial for several reasons. First, if your emails don't make it to the recipients' inboxes, they can't be read and can't impact your target audience. This means you can't communicate effectively with your customers and potentially lose sales opportunities.

In addition, poor deliverability can have a negative impact on your sender reputation. Email service providers assess the reputation of senders based on their complaint rate, bounce rate, mailing list quality, etc. If your sender reputation is poor, your emails are more likely to be blocked or considered spam.

It is important to note that email deliverability can also be influenced by the quality of the content of your messages. Spam filters analyze not only sender headers and IP addresses, but also email content. It is therefore essential to ensure that your messages are relevant, informative, and not misleading.

Another key factor to consider is the quality of your mailing list. If you're sending emails to outdated addresses or to recipients who aren't interested in your content, your bounce rates will be high, which can hurt your deliverability. It is therefore recommended to maintain a clean mailing list and to remove inactive or invalid addresses on a regular basis.

Finally, it is essential to constantly monitor the deliverability metrics of your email campaigns. This will allow you to quickly identify potential problems and take the necessary steps to resolve them. By regularly analyzing your deliverability, complaint and bounce rates, you can adjust your emailing strategy and continuously improve your results.

Factors influencing email deliverability

There are several factors that can influence the deliverability of your emails. Here are the most important ones:

The quality of your mailing list

The quality of your mailing list is essential for good deliverability. Ensure that you collect valid, up-to-date email addresses, and adhere to consent and opt-in best practices. Avoid email shopping lists because they often contain inactive or invalid addresses, which can damage your sender reputation.

Additionally, be sure to respect your subscribers' unsubscribe requests and remove invalid email addresses from your list on a regular basis. This will help maintain a clean mailing list and improve your deliverability.

The content of your email

The content of your email can also have an impact on your deliverability. Spam filters evaluate the text, links, and images in your emails to determine if they are considered spam or not. It is therefore important to be careful not to use terms or practices that are commonly used in spam.

Use clear, engaging language, and avoid using capitalized words or terms that are too promotional. Also, make sure that your emails are well-formatted and that the links are valid to avoid being considered an unreliable sender.

The reputation of your domain

The reputation of your domain is another key factor in email deliverability. Email service providers use metrics such as complaint rate, bounce rate, blacklist presence, etc., to assess a sender's reputation.

To improve your domain reputation, be sure to follow best email sending practices, send relevant and engaging emails, handle recipient complaints appropriately, and monitor your domain's presence on blacklists regularly.

How to improve email deliverability

Now that we've reviewed the main factors that influence email deliverability, let's see how you can improve it:

Optimizing email content

Be sure to provide quality content in your emails. Offer relevant information, exciting offers, and clear calls to action. Avoid excessively long texts, images that are too heavy, and complex designs that could be blocked by spam filters.

Also, use email testing tools to check how your emails look in different email clients and make sure they're displayed correctly on all devices.

Maintain a clean mailing list

Remove invalid email addresses from your mailing list regularly and respect your subscribers' unsubscribe requests. If possible, use authentication mechanisms like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve deliverability.

Additionally, monitor recipient complaints and act quickly to resolve them. Effective complaint management can help improve your sender reputation and increase your deliverability.

Follow best email sending practices

To improve your deliverability, be sure to follow best practices when it comes to sending emails. Avoid sending bulk emails at inappropriate times, stick to recommended text and image ratios, personalize your emails as much as possible, and segment your mailing list to deliver targeted content.

Additionally, be sure to monitor key metrics such as open rate, click rate, and bounce rate regularly to assess the effectiveness of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed.

Measuring email deliverability

It is essential to measure the deliverability of your emails to assess the effectiveness of your campaigns and to make improvements if necessary. Here are some key indicators to look out for:

Key performance indicators

Key performance indicators such as deliverability rate, open rate, open rate, click rate, and bounce rate can give you valuable information about the success of your email marketing campaigns.

For example, a high deliverability rate indicates that your emails are effectively reaching the recipients' inboxes, while a high click-through rate means that your content is engaging and motivates recipients to take action.

Use these metrics to identify areas for improvement and adjust your strategies accordingly.

Tools to monitor email deliverability

There are many tools available to monitor the deliverability of your emails. These tools provide you with detailed reports on deliverability rates, complaint rates, bounce rates, and more, so you can identify potential issues and address them quickly.

Use these tools regularly to assess the performance of your campaigns and make adjustments as needed.

The challenges of email deliverability

Despite your efforts to improve the deliverability of your emails, you may face some challenges. Some of the most common challenges include:

Anti-spam filters

Spam filters are designed to block unsolicited and unwanted emails. They use various criteria to determine whether an email is considered spam or not, such as the content of the message, the links and images used, the sender's IP address, etc.

To avoid being blocked by spam filters, be sure to follow the best practices mentioned above and monitor your sender reputation regularly.

Technical problems

Technical issues such as server errors, DNS configuration errors, routing issues, etc., can also affect the deliverability of your emails. Be sure to monitor these issues regularly and resolve them quickly to minimize service interruptions.

Changes in the policies of email service providers

Email service providers are constantly making changes to their deliverability policies to combat spam and improve the user experience. These changes can have an impact on the deliverability of your emails. Stay up to date with the latest policies and adjust your practices accordingly.

In the end, email deliverability is an essential element for the success of your email marketing campaigns. By understanding the factors that influence deliverability, optimizing your sending practices, and regularly monitoring key metrics, you can improve your deliverability and communicate effectively with your customers. And if you want to be supported in your emailing campaigns, precisely Growth Room is a digital prospecting agency canal specialist. We help you propel your digital prospecting through tailor-made lead generation processes.