Summary
Experts and documentation collectively advise beginners to focus on understanding core email deliverability concepts, building and maintaining a clean and engaged email list, properly configuring email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and actively monitoring sender reputation. Delivering valuable content and focusing on recipient experience are paramount, alongside actively managing bounces and segmenting email lists for more targeted and relevant communication. Practical steps include gradually warming up IP addresses, consistently sending emails, implementing double opt-in, setting up feedback loops, regularly testing email placement, and avoiding spam traps.
Key findings
- Core Concepts: Understanding sender reputation, authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and list hygiene is foundational for email deliverability.
- Clean Email List: Building and maintaining a clean and engaged email list is crucial for improving sender reputation and deliverability.
- Email Authentication: Properly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential for verifying sender identity and preventing spoofing.
- Sender Reputation Monitoring: Actively monitoring sender reputation provides insights into how ISPs view your sending practices and helps proactively address issues.
- Recipient Experience: Focusing on delivering valuable content and providing a positive recipient experience is key to reducing spam complaints and improving engagement.
Key considerations
- Gradual IP Warm-up: Gradually increase sending volume to warm up IP addresses and establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs.
- Consistent Sending: Maintain a consistent sending volume and frequency to establish a predictable sending pattern that ISPs favor.
- List Segmentation: Segment email lists based on subscriber behavior and preferences to send more targeted and relevant emails, increasing engagement.
- Double Opt-In Implementation: Implement double opt-in to ensure that subscribers actively confirm their email addresses, reducing the likelihood of spam complaints.
- Feedback Loop Setup: Set up feedback loops with major ISPs to identify and remove subscribers who mark your emails as spam, helping maintain a positive sender reputation.
- Regular Email Placement Testing: Regularly test email placement using tools to identify whether emails are landing in the inbox, spam folder, or being blocked, allowing for strategy adjustments.
- Bounce Management System: Implement a system to track and remove hard bounces from your list, helping maintain a clean sending reputation.
- Spam Trap Avoidance: Avoid spam traps by regularly cleaning your list and using double opt-in to prevent sending to these addresses used to identify spammers.
- Email Design Optimization: Optimize email design and code to ensure proper rendering across different email clients and prevent triggering spam filters.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Experts recommend that beginners in email deliverability focus on understanding core concepts, building and maintaining a clean and engaged email list, implementing email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), optimizing email design and code, and monitoring sender reputation. Key strategies include list hygiene, gradual warm-up of IP addresses, consistent sending volume, segmentation, double opt-in, setting up feedback loops, and regular testing of email placement. Managing bounces and focusing on recipient experience are also crucial.
Key opinions
- Core Concepts: Understanding sender reputation, authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and list hygiene is fundamental.
- List Hygiene: Building and maintaining a clean and engaged email list is crucial for avoiding deliverability issues.
- Email Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential for verifying the authenticity of emails and improving deliverability.
- Email Design: Optimizing email design and code prevents triggering spam filters and ensures proper rendering.
- Sender Reputation: Monitoring and maintaining a positive sender reputation is vital for ensuring emails reach the inbox.
Key considerations
- Gradual Warm-up: Gradually increase sending volume to establish a positive sender reputation, especially with new IPs or domains.
- Consistent Sending: Maintain a consistent sending volume and frequency for a predictable sending pattern.
- Segmentation: Segment email lists based on behavior and preferences for targeted, relevant emails.
- Double Opt-In: Use double opt-in to ensure engaged and valid recipients, improving deliverability.
- Feedback Loops: Set up feedback loops with ISPs to identify and remove subscribers marking emails as spam.
- Email Placement Testing: Regularly test email placement to identify inbox vs. spam folder delivery.
- Bounce Management: Actively manage and reduce bounce rates to maintain a clean sending reputation.
- Recipient Experience: Focus on providing value and a positive experience for recipients to avoid spam complaints.
Marketer view
Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that gradually increasing your sending volume (warming up your IP address) is important, especially when starting with a new domain or IP address, to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs.
24 Aug 2023 - StackOverflow
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that optimizing email design and code is important to ensure proper rendering across different email clients. Poorly coded emails can trigger spam filters and negatively impact deliverability.
28 Sep 2021 - Email on Acid
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Experts emphasize the importance of focusing on recipient experience by delivering valuable content to improve engagement and reduce spam complaints. They also highlight the need for actively managing bounces to maintain a clean sending reputation. Furthermore, correctly configuring email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for verifying identity and preventing spoofing. Finally, monitoring sender reputation is crucial as ISPs use it to determine whether to accept mail, and a tarnished reputation can negatively impact email marketing efforts.
Key opinions
- Recipient Experience: Focusing on delivering valuable content improves engagement and reduces spam complaints.
- Bounce Management: Actively managing bounces helps maintain a clean sending reputation.
- Email Authentication: Correctly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for verifying identity and preventing spoofing.
- Sender Reputation Monitoring: Monitoring sender reputation is critical as ISPs use it to decide whether to accept mail.
Key considerations
- Content Value: Ensure your content is valuable and relevant to your audience to improve engagement.
- Bounce Tracking: Implement a system to track and remove hard bounces from your email list.
- Authentication Configuration: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your identity to ISPs.
- Reputation Tools: Use tools to monitor your sender reputation and address any issues promptly.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that actively managing bounces is a critical step. Implementing a system to track and remove hard bounces from your list helps maintain a clean sending reputation and prevents future deliverability issues.
30 Oct 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that correctly configuring your authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential. Proper authentication verifies your identity to ISPs and helps prevent spoofing, contributing to better deliverability.
17 May 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Documentation emphasizes the importance of setting up SPF and DKIM records for email authentication to improve deliverability, especially for Gmail users. SPF is highlighted as a method to detect forged sender addresses. Monitoring sender reputation using tools like Sender Score and Google Postmaster Tools is crucial for understanding how ISPs view sending practices and addressing issues proactively. Avoiding spam traps through regular list cleaning and double opt-in is also essential to prevent being identified as a spammer.
Key findings
- SPF/DKIM Setup: Setting up SPF and DKIM records is crucial for email authentication and improving deliverability.
- SPF Purpose: SPF detects forged sender addresses during email delivery.
- Sender Reputation Monitoring: Monitoring sender reputation provides insights into how ISPs view sending practices.
- Spam Trap Avoidance: Avoiding spam traps is essential for preventing identification as a spammer.
Key considerations
- Gmail Deliverability: Ensure SPF and DKIM are properly configured for improved deliverability to Gmail users.
- Regular List Cleaning: Regularly clean your email list to avoid sending to spam traps.
- Double Opt-In: Implement double opt-in to ensure recipients actively confirm their subscription.
- Proactive Issue Resolution: Use insights from sender reputation monitoring to proactively address potential deliverability issues.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft answers that monitoring your sender reputation through tools like Sender Score and Google Postmaster Tools provides insights into how ISPs view your sending practices, enabling you to address any issues proactively.
28 Jan 2022 - Microsoft
Technical article
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication method designed to detect forging sender addresses during the delivery of email. SPF allows receiving mail servers to verify that mail claiming to come from a specific domain is authorized by that domain's administrators.
11 Aug 2024 - RFC
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