If you lack knowledge about email deliverability, your emails may mysteriously vanish into the spam abyss rather than land in your recipient’s inbox where they belong.
When a seemingly suspicious email threatens to reach someone’s inbox, the server hesitates, thinking, ‘This doesn’t belong in the same place where this user gets all their important updates.’ And then it sends the email elsewhere.
But often it’s just plain wrong, sometimes even sending crucial emails back to where they came from. That’s where email deliverability best practices come in. They’re crucial for ensuring your emails reach the right place without being flagged as spam or bouncing.
Without proper email deliverability, your email marketing or prospecting efforts won’t get far. That’s because missing out on reaching your audience means missing out on potential customers, sales, or messages that could help you close more deals.
In this article, we’ll explore what affects email deliverability and share tips to boost your chances of landing in the inbox. Let’s get right into it!
Understanding the Fundamentals: Delivery Vs. Deliverability
Let’s clear something up: delivery and deliverability aren’t the same thing. Email delivery simply means your email made it to the recipient’s mail server. However, deliverability is about whether your email actually ends up in their inbox.
Even if your email gets delivered, it’s not a done deal. It could still get caught in a spam filter or blocked altogether. That’s why it’s crucial to focus on improving your deliverability to ensure your emails don’t get lost in the digital ether.
Key Factors Impacting Email Deliverability
When it comes to deliverability, there are a few key things to keep in mind.
First off, you need a solid email list full of people who want to hear from you. Don’t even get us started on those purchased or rented lists – they’ll rightly just land where suspicious data belongs.
Then there’s your email content. Ensure it’s interesting, relevant, and not overly sales-oriented.
Finally, there’s your sender reputation. This boils down to how good of a sender you are. Are you sending out tons of emails all at once? Are people opening them? These are the kinds of seemingly small factors that can affect your reputation.
Enhancing Your Email’s Security and Reliability
Making sure your emails are authenticated and sent from trustworthy sources is crucial. Otherwise, your server has every reason to be wary and safe. Here’s how to amp up your email’s security and reliability:
Set Up SPF Records for Email Deliverability
SPF (sender policy framework) records authorize which IP addresses are allowed to send emails on behalf of your domain. Adding SPF records also prevents spammers from abusing your domain. Just add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings listing the authorized IP addresses.
Implement DKIM Signatures
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) uses digital signatures to verify the authenticity of emails and ensure their content remains unchanged. To set up DKIM signatures, generate a public-private key pair and add the public key to your domain’s DNS settings.
Configure DMARC Policies to Ensure Email Deliverability
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance – a mouthful!) policies specify how email providers should handle unauthenticated emails. By configuring them, you can instruct email providers to reject or quarantine those suspicious emails. Add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS settings to set them up.
Choose a Reliable Email Service Provider
Opt for a reputable email service provider with a strong reputation and robust security measures. Look for providers offering tools for setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, along with monitoring and reporting features. Such as…
- Gmail (Google Workspace)
- Microsoft Outlook (Microsoft 365)
- SendGrid (owned by Twilio)
- Mailchimp
- Constant Contact
List Management and Maintenance
Now, picture your email list as an old air conditioner – unclean and inefficient. Just like you wouldn’t want to breathe in dirty air, you don’t want to send emails to inactive or invalid addresses. Here’s how to keep your email lists fresh:
Clean Up Your Lists for Improved Email Deliverability
Regularly sweep out inactive subscribers and invalid emails to maintain a top-notch list. If someone’s not engaging with your emails, it might be time to bid them farewell.
Handle Bounces and Unsubscribes
Deal with bounces and unsubscribe requests promptly to keep your list healthy and compliant. Nix those addresses that are no longer accurate.
Segmentation Strategies
Slice and dice your email list based on interests, behaviors, or demographics to dish out more personalized content. Tailor your emails to suit different slices of your audience.
Break your list down into smaller groups based on what people like, how they behave, or who they are. This way, you can personalize your messages and get more people interested. Plus, it helps you avoid bombarding them with messages they don’t care about, which could annoy them enough to hit that unsubscribe button.
The Content of Your Emails Is Just as Crucial
Email deliverability depends heavily on the content of your emails (and how engaged your audience is with them.) Here are a few quick tips to help your emails not only reach inboxes, but also get higher open rates:
- Whip up subject lines that are short, enticing, and spot-on for your audience. They’re your first impression, so make it count. Use action words and personalization to grab attention. For instance, instead of “Check Out Our Sale!”, try “Exclusive Offer Inside.”
- Dodge spam filters by keeping your content clean and focused. No excessive punctuation or sketchy claims, just genuine value. Watch out for words or phrases that could trigger spam filters, like “free”, “guarantee”, or “act now.”
- Give your emails that personal touch by using names and segmenting your list. For example, instead of a generic email blast, send targeted messages to specific segments of your audience based on their past interactions or preferences.
By implementing these strategies, you can create emails that resonate with your audience, improve engagement, and ultimately enhance your email deliverability.
If You Don’t Test, Your Emails Won’t Pass
To make sure your emails hit home, it’s crucial to keep an eye on how they’re performing and tweak things as needed. Here’s how to test your efforts:
Watch Your Email Deliverability Metrics
Keep tabs on key statistics like delivered emails, open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribes. These numbers can clue you in on what’s working and what needs attention.
Try Out A/B Testing
Experiment with different subject lines, email content, and send times to see what clicks with your audience. Yes, certain send times and content may work for other organizations in your industry, but you need to focus on what works for you!
Stay Flexible
Regularly review your email list to make sure it’s fresh and full of engaged subscribers. And don’t forget to give your content and design a once-over to keep them interesting and relevant.
Stay open to trying new approaches, so you can keep your messages out of the wrong folders and in the hearts (and inboxes) of your audience.
Going Beyond Email Deliverability
When it comes to email deliverability, getting into inboxes is just the beginning. You want your emails to land in the right place to ensure you never miss out on that perfect lead, right? But what’s the point if you can’t have smooth conversations because the information you need is scattered, or not available at all?
Unlike Einstein Activity Capture (EAC), an email-to-Salesforce integration like Match My Email stores data right alongside your Salesforce records, keeping your team in the loop without having to do any work.
Take a recruiting team, for example. Every interaction with candidates must be recorded and shared effortlessly. Relying on manual logging? Not practical.
With Match My Email, all your Outlook or Gmail emails – sent or received – sync to Salesforce right away. Plus, you have the option to filter out the types of emails you don’t want to sync.
Wanting simplicity and transparency across customer journeys isn’t too much to ask. It’s table stakes. This is why we built the MME integration to offer a quick setup and reliable performance. It also offers…
✔️ 100% accurate Salesforce timeline
✔️ Automated and customizable
✔️ Permanent email storage
✔️ Compatibility with Gmail, Outlook, Mac, Office365, IMAP
✔️ Calendar sync with Office365 and Google Workspace
✔️ Free trial (no credit card needed)
This level of automation means accurate syncing, saving time, and amping up your Salesforce returns!
If Your Emails Aren’t Getting Delivered…
Then your system has failed its only job. And if EAC is clunky enough to make your job unpleasant, then it’s about time you took back the reins with a tool that delivers what it promises. Because it isn’t too much to ask.
Try Match My Email for free today, and experience automatic, painless email syncing to Salesforce. No matter if you’re in Microsoft 365, Gmail, or other email provider.
