Email deliverability refers to the percentage of emails that are successfully delivered to a recipient’s inbox. In email marketing, when a campaign has a low email deliverability rate, it means that the emails are being bounced back or filtered into spam and junk folders. That is not only a waste of your marketing resources, but a lost opportunity to connect with your audience.
Email deliverability is influenced by a variety of factors, such as:
- Quality of your email list
- Content of your emails
- Email sending practices
- Reputation of your email service provider
- Email sending frequency
- Reputation of your email domain
Improving email deliverability is important, because it can affect the success of your email marketing campaigns. If your emails are not reaching your subscribers’ inboxes, they will not be opened or read, and you will miss out on potential sales and engagement opportunities.
Let’s explore useful tips to help you increase your email deliverability rate, and thus maximize your sales and engagement.
Build a quality email list
A crucial factor in email deliverability is having a quality email list with subscribers who have opted-in to receive your emails. If this isn’t the case for your mailing list, then it’s possible your emails aren’t being filtered as spam accidentally.
Instead, they’re correctly sorted into the junk folder or ignored and deleted by the recipient. If someone didn’t willingly subscribe to your mailing list, they may be annoyed by the intrusion or concerned that your email isn’t legitimate.
To avoid customers viewing your emails as potentially full of malware or viruses, avoid purchasing email lists or adding contacts without their permission. Willing subscribers are more likely to engage with your email marketing campaign anyhow, and they’ll be motivated to remove your message from the junk folder if it ends up there.
Clean your email list
Clean your email list every few months to improve your deliverability rate. Certain email addresses will never receive your campaign simply because they are inactive or deleted.
This is normal and expected, but there’s no advantage to keeping them around. They’re not only a waste of resources, but they can skew your marketing data and make it harder to understand how your campaign is fairing among your subscribers.
Be sure to clear these addresses from your list, so you can focus on the subscribers that do receive the emails. There are many online marketing platforms that offer easy features to clean your email list out regularly.
Use a reputable email service provider
Choose a reliable and trustworthy email service provider that follows the best practices for email deliverability and spam prevention. The ideal providers for this task are email marketing platforms you may already be using, or that you’ll have seen in other’s campaigns, such as:
- MailChimp
- Sendinblue
- MailerLite
These platforms are already designed with features that are meant to bypass spam filters. As a plus, they include automatic disclaimers, explanations on who is sending the email and why, and a built-in “unsubscribe” button.
While you may be concerned about this driving away recipients or making it too easy to leave your marketing campaign, the opposite is true. The easier it is for a person to manage their exposure to your emails (and leave when they feel it necessary), the more trustworthy and professional your business will appear. This can boost customer retention through a good, responsible brand image.
Use a clear and recognizable sender name
You may be tempted to use an eye-catching sender name or to include your business’s full title. In truth, it’s better to use a short, recognizable sender name and email address. This lets your subscribers know who the email is coming from and why.
Longer or alternative names can be viewed as spam, or they may simply confuse your recipient on who is sending the email. If a customer willingly subscribed to your emails, then they should be looking forward to the messages. Making this first impression clear-cut is important.
The same goes for the email address you attach to the message. Using a personal or complicated email address will give an unprofessional appearance or may confuse the recipient. Be sure to choose an email address that is short, clear, and distinctly related to the business.
Write engaging subject lines
Write clear and compelling subject lines that accurately reflect the content of your email. They should encourage your subscribers to engage with it, instead of marking it as spam. This may include snappy calls to action or a straightforward description of what’s in the email, but it should always be honest. Promising something the email doesn’t contain, even if it’s eye-catching, will only damage trust with the customers. You should also ensure that the subject line:
- Is short enough to be seen in its entirety, without the need to open the email first
- Has grammar, punctuation, and capitalization that are accurate
- Is enthusiastic or welcoming, but not overly familiar
Segment your email list
Segment your email list to send more targeted and relevant emails to specific groups of subscribers. This usually includes creating a customer journey, where certain people receive certain emails based on their engagement with the list, your website, or any of your products.
For example, a customer who left something in their online cart may benefit from an email prompting them to finish the purchase and offering a coupon. A more casual subscriber may benefit from a monthly update on how your business is doing and any new services you may offer. This kind of personalized email marketing can help improve open and click-through rates.
Keep your email content relevant and engaging
Make sure your email content is interesting, relevant, and valuable to your subscribers. Avoid using spammy or overly promotional language.
The best way to improve your relationship with subscribers is by adding true value to their lives or shopping experiences. Instead of trying to gain their short-term interest through unnecessary or inaccurate fanfare, it’s better to foster a real relationship where they can expect to benefit from each email they receive from you. This may include news, industry insights, lifestyle or product tips, promo codes, and other content that’s helpful to them.
Monitor your email metrics
Keep track of your email metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates. Staying on top of this data can help you identify any issues or areas for improvement. The faster and more accurately you’re able to respond, the greater traction you’ll gain with subscribers (and potential subscribers).
By using these tips and keeping your focus on how your target audience can benefit from your email marketing, you can improve your click-through and open rates.
