​Why is Email Deliverability Important?

What is Email Deliverability?

Email deliverability rate refers to the ability of an email to successfully reach the recipient’s inbox. It involves various factors, including the sender’s reputation, the authenticity of the email’s IP address, adherence to internet protocols, and the effectiveness of the email content in bypassing spam filters.

Essentially, it’s a measure of how many emails sent in a campaign actually land in the intended inboxes, as opposed to being filtered into spam or junk folders, or rejected by mail servers and mailbox providers. Good email deliverability is crucial for the success of any email marketing campaign.

Changes to Email Deliverability in 2024

In 2024, the area of email marketing is experiencing transformative shifts, particularly due to Google’s new policy and collaborative efforts by Google and Yahoo to reduce spam. Email providers set out to make sure that no email server receives spammy messages in the future.

These changes are reshaping how email deliverability is managed, impacting everyone from large B2C brands to individual entrepreneurs.

Google’s Cybersecurity-Driven Policy on Gmail users

Google’s decision to delete inactive Gmail accounts after two years of inactivity is a significant cybersecurity measure. This policy primarily affects personal Gmail accounts, aiming to minimize vulnerabilities in older accounts with outdated security measures.

The impact is widespread, compelling big B2C brands to clean up their email lists, pushing small businesses and startups to dynamically manage their email databases, and urging individual entrepreneurs to refine their email marketing strategies.

The Shift in Email Marketing Dynamics

The deletion of inactive accounts is expected to increase bounce rates, directly influencing sender reputation and email deliverability. This situation necessitates a proactive approach in email list management, emphasizing the importance of engaging active users and reassessing success metrics in email marketing campaigns.

The focus shifts towards engagement rates and conversion metrics rather than just the size of the email list. In other words, your email messages should hit the inbox more often and not get soft bounces or land in the inboxes of inactive subscribers.

The Crucial Role of Email Verification for Email Sender Reputation

In this evolving landscape, email verification emerges as a key tool for successful email deliverability. It enhances deliverability by removing invalid addresses, thereby improving sender reputation and engagement.

Regular email verification also ensures cost efficiency and data accuracy, making it a vital component for maintaining a healthy mailing list and achieving email marketing success.

Email clients can tell when you’re not meeting the industry standards for cold emails – which is one of the most common email deliverability issues today.

Luckily, tools such as Bouncer help you find out which percentage of emails in your lists are invalid. By sending content to only legitimate emails in your target audience, you get better email ROI and performance.

Google and Yahoo’s Anti-Spam Measure Policy Affects Email Deliverability

Starting 2024, Google and Yahoo are enforcing stricter measures to combat spam. These include mandatory email authentication using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, the introduction of a one-click unsubscribe feature, and a clear spam rate threshold (0.3% for Google).

These changes pose technical challenges for email senders, requiring a technical overhaul of email systems, careful monitoring of unsubscribe rates, and diligent spam rate monitoring for each email address.

Preparing for the Future of Email Marketing for each Internet Service Provider

To adapt to these changes, businesses must review and update their email authentication methods, implement user-friendly unsubscribe options, and monitor spam rates using tools like Google’s Postmaster Tools.

These steps are crucial for maintaining inbox placement, protecting domain reputation, and ensuring that marketing emails reach the subscriber’s inbox effectively.

Take Care of Email Deliverability, Because It…

#1 Impacts Your Sender Reputation

Email deliverability is crucial as it directly impacts your sender reputation with inbox providers. A good sender reputation increases the likelihood of your emails being delivered to the email recipient’s inbox, rather than the spam folder.

This reputation is built over time based on factors like the number of spam complaints your emails generate, the frequency of your emails landing in spam traps, and the overall engagement your emails receive. Maintaining a stellar sender reputation is essential for ensuring that your email campaigns are effective and that your messages reach your audience.

#2 Allows Your Emails to Miss Spam Folder

Effective email deliverability strategies help your emails bypass the spam folder, a critical aspect for any email marketing campaign. When your emails are consistently delivered to the recipient’s inbox, it reduces the risk of being labeled as spam by email service providers. T

his is particularly important as landing in the spam folder not only diminishes your email’s visibility but can also harm your sender reputation. Avoiding the spam folder means your emails have a higher chance of being read and acted upon.

If you send a lot of content (e.g. transactional emails) and have a high email frequency, things can quickly spiral out of control and your email engagement metrics can tank.

#3 Affects Your Campaign Inbox Placement

Inbox placement is a key metric in email marketing deliverability. It refers to the ability of your emails to be placed directly in the recipient’s inbox, as opposed to the junk or spam folder. When an email bounces, this is not a good look for you as a sender.

This placement is influenced by various factors including the quality of your email content, the health of your email list, and your sender reputation. High inbox placement rates are indicative of successful email deliverability, ensuring that your intended audience sees and engages with your content.

Otherwise, a high email bounce rate could imply that you’re sending malicious emails and your spam scores can skyrocket.

#4 Maximizes Email Open Rates

Email deliverability is a significant factor in maximizing email open rates. When emails are successfully delivered to the recipient’s inbox, the chances of them being opened and read increase dramatically. One of generative AI use cases can be crafting and personalizing emails that can increase email open rates.

This is crucial for the success of any email marketing campaign, as open rates are a primary indicator of subscriber engagement and interest. Good deliverability practices, such as maintaining a clean email list and adhering to email service providers’ guidelines, are essential for achieving high open rates.

#5 Increases Conversion Rates

Email deliverability plays a pivotal role in increasing conversion rates in email marketing campaigns. When emails are successfully delivered to the recipient’s inbox, it significantly boosts the likelihood of your content being seen and acted upon.

This is crucial for driving conversions, whether it’s a product purchase, a sign-up for a webinar, or any other call-to-action.

Good email deliverability ensures that your carefully crafted messages and offers reach your audience in a timely manner, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of your email marketing efforts and directly contributing to higher conversion rates, which becomes increasingly important with a high volume of email messages.

#6 Maintains List Hygiene

Maintaining list hygiene is a critical aspect of email deliverability. Regularly cleaning your email list by removing invalid email addresses and unsubscribed users helps in reducing bounce rates and avoiding spam traps set by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and mailbox providers.

This practice not only improves your sender reputation but also ensures that your email campaigns are reaching genuine and interested recipients.

Effective list hygiene practices are essential for email marketers to ensure their campaigns are efficient, targeted, and compliant with email service provider guidelines.

#7 Strengthens Customer Trust

Effective email deliverability is key to strengthening customer trust. When your emails consistently land in the recipient’s inbox, it builds reliability and trust in your brand.

This is particularly important as frequent appearances in the spam folder can lead to customer complaints and diminish your brand’s credibility. By ensuring that your emails are delivered successfully, you demonstrate respect for your subscribers’ inboxes, which in turn fosters a positive relationship and strengthens their trust in your brand and email program.

#8 Enhances Data-Driven Decisions

Good email deliverability is essential for enhancing data-driven decisions in email marketing. When emails are delivered effectively, the data obtained from email campaigns, such as open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates, are more accurate and reliable.

This accurate data allows email marketers to make informed decisions about their email content, design, and overall strategy. It also helps in identifying trends, understanding subscriber behavior, and tailoring future campaigns to better meet the needs and interests of the audience, thereby improving the overall performance of email marketing efforts, since your emails land where they should.

#9 Prevents IP and Domain Blacklisting

Effective email deliverability is crucial in preventing IP and domain blacklisting. When emails consistently land in spam folders or trigger spam complaints, it can lead to blacklisting by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and email service providers. This blacklisting can severely impact your email delivery rates and sender reputation.

By adhering to best practices in email deliverability, such as sending relevant content and avoiding spam triggers, you can maintain a good sender score and IP reputation, ensuring your emails are successfully delivered to your audience’s inboxes.

#10 Facilitates Effective Audience Segmentation

Good email deliverability practices facilitate effective audience segmentation in your email marketing campaigns.

When you are confident that your emails are being delivered successfully, you can focus more on segmenting your audience based on their interests, behaviors, engagement levels and interactions with your emails.

This segmentation allows for more targeted and personalized email campaigns, improving engagement and conversion rates. Effective segmentation is dependent on reliable delivery rates, as it ensures that your tailored messages reach the right segment of your audience.

#11 Ensures Compliance with Email Regulations

Maintaining high email deliverability is important for ensuring compliance with various email regulations, such as GDPR, CAN-SPAM Act, PAIR and others. These regulations often require adherence to certain standards in email marketing, such as obtaining consent (double opt-in), providing clear unsubscribe options, and ensuring privacy of recipient data. By focusing on email deliverability, you ensure that your email program adheres to these legal requirements, thereby avoiding potential fines and legal issues, and maintaining trust with your audience.

#12 Improves Brand Image and Reputation

Email deliverability has a direct impact on your brand image and reputation. When your emails are consistently delivered to the recipient’s inbox, it enhances the perception of your brand as reliable and trustworthy. On the other hand, poor email deliverability, leading to emails landing in spam folders or not being delivered at all, can harm your brand’s reputation. Ensuring that your emails are delivered successfully not only improves the effectiveness of your email campaigns but also positively influences how recipients perceive your brand.

Can you Do Without Checking Email Deliverability?

Can you do without checking email deliverability? Sure, and you can also drive a car with your eyes closed – but neither is recommended if you prefer successful outcomes!

Neglecting email deliverability is like sending messages into a black hole and hoping they’ll magically find their way to the recipient’s inbox. Remember, even the most brilliantly crafted email is useless if it ends up cuddling with spam emails in the junk folder. It’s not just about the emails delivered; it’s about where they land.

Think of email deliverability tests as your GPS in the complex world of email marketing. They guide your emails through the maze of IP addresses, internet protocols, and recipient’s servers, ensuring your message doesn’t take a wrong turn down Spam Lane. Without these tests, you’re essentially playing a guessing game with your email campaign’s success.

And let’s talk about your sender’s reputation – it’s like your credit score in the world of email. Ignore it, and you might find your emails begging for attention in the spam folder, or worse, blocked by mailbox providers. Each undelivered email, bouncing off an internet service provider’s wall or getting tangled in spam filters, is a missed opportunity.

Using a dedicated IP address? Great! But without monitoring deliverability, it’s like having a fancy sports car without ever checking the fuel gauge. You need to ensure your IP isn’t being flagged for sending messages to the void.

In summary, skipping on email deliverability checks is like trying to bake a cake without preheating the oven. Sure, you might get something edible, but wouldn’t you rather aim for a mouth-watering masterpiece? This is where you might consider to hire a virtual assistant. A skilled assistant can keep an eye on those deliverability tools, tweak that subject line, and watch your email performance soar. After all, in the world of email marketing, it’s not just about the journey – it’s making sure your message finds its home in the inbox.

Conclusion

The factors that affect email deliverability are multifaceted and crucial for any email marketing strategy. From the reputation of the email sender to the intricacies of internet protocols, each element plays a pivotal role in where your email lands – in the coveted inbox or the dreaded spam folder. The relationship between your emails and the recipient’s server, whether it’s a Gmail user or another mailbox provider, is a delicate dance guided by these factors affect email deliverability.

Securing a new dedicated IP address can be a game-changer, offering a fresh start to improve email deliverability. However, it’s not just about having a new IP address; it’s about how you use it. The delivery rate of your emails is heavily influenced by your sending reputation, which in turn is shaped by your adherence to best practices in email marketing.

Remember, issues related to spam are not just about the content of your emails but also about how they navigate the complex web of internet service providers and mailbox providers. The inbox placement rate is a telling indicator of your success in this arena. By focusing on these critical aspects, you can significantly improve your email deliverability, ensuring that your carefully crafted messages reach their intended destination.

In essence, mastering email deliverability is about understanding and optimizing the journey of your emails from send button to inbox. It’s a continuous process of adapting to the evolving landscape of email communication, where each factor, from the IP address to the recipient’s server, plays a crucial role in the symphony of successful email marketing.