Summary
Effective deliverability training for email marketers encompasses a broad spectrum of technical and strategic areas. Sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, engagement metrics, and adherence to regulations like CAN-SPAM are foundational. Crucially, understanding the recipient's preferences and mailbox provider behavior is vital for optimizing inbox placement. The training must also integrate practical aspects such as email design best practices, spam trap avoidance, testing/monitoring protocols, feedback loop utilization, and SMTP standards. There's a recognized growing need for such training given the shifting email landscape.
Key findings
- Sender Reputation is Critical: A strong sender reputation directly correlates with higher inbox placement and a positive brand image.
- Authentication is Foundational: Proper implementation of email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for proving sender legitimacy and improving deliverability, particularly to Gmail.
- Engagement Impacts Placement: Engagement metrics like open rates and click-through rates significantly influence inbox placement, especially with Outlook.
- List Hygiene is Essential: Maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive or invalid addresses improves sender reputation and deliverability.
- Compliance is Non-Negotiable: Adherence to email marketing regulations, such as CAN-SPAM, is critical to avoid legal penalties.
- Recipients Must Be Understood: Understanding recipient preferences and how mailbox providers filter emails is key to improving deliverability.
- Training Demand is Increasing: There's a growing awareness and demand for comprehensive deliverability training.
Key considerations
- Design for Deliverability: Email design and coding practices have a direct impact on deliverability. Training should cover optimization techniques.
- Avoid Spam Traps: Training must educate marketers on how to identify and avoid spam traps to protect sender reputation.
- Monitor and Test: Continuous monitoring and testing of email rendering and sender reputation are crucial for identifying and addressing deliverability issues.
- Use Feedback Loops: Leveraging feedback loops provides valuable insights into spam complaints and allows for proactive issue resolution.
- SMTP Fundamentals: A solid understanding of SMTP protocol enhances the ability to troubleshoot and optimize email delivery.
- Personalization is Key: Tailoring content to specific audience segments improves engagement and reduces the likelihood of emails being marked as spam.
What email marketers say
8 marketer opinions
Deliverability training for email marketers should cover a wide range of topics, with a strong emphasis on sender reputation, authentication, list hygiene, email design, legal compliance (CAN-SPAM), personalization, testing, and the use of feedback loops. Understanding the recipient's mailbox provider, engagement metrics, and avoiding spam traps are also crucial elements to include. These areas help marketers ensure their emails reach the intended recipients' inboxes, maintain a positive sender reputation, and avoid legal repercussions.
Key opinions
- Sender Reputation: Sender reputation is paramount as it directly impacts inbox placement. Training should cover how to build and maintain a positive sender reputation.
- Authentication: Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for proving sender legitimacy and improving deliverability to major email providers.
- List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists by removing inactive or invalid addresses reduces bounce rates and improves sender reputation.
- Email Design: Coding practices and design elements can significantly impact deliverability. Training should cover optimization and avoiding spam triggers.
- Legal Compliance: Adhering to regulations like CAN-SPAM is crucial to avoid legal penalties and maintain deliverability.
- Personalization & Segmentation: Sending targeted and relevant content improves engagement and reduces spam complaints.
- Testing & Monitoring: Regular testing and monitoring of email rendering and sender reputation metrics are vital for identifying and resolving deliverability issues.
- Feedback Loops: Feedback loops from mailbox providers are important to receive feedback on spam complaints and take action.
Key considerations
- Recipient Understanding: Understanding recipient preferences and mailbox provider filtering is key to improving inbox placement.
- Engagement Metrics: Monitoring and improving engagement metrics (open rates, click-through rates) is essential for positive inbox placement.
- Spam Traps: Training should cover how to identify and avoid spam traps to protect sender reputation.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog recommends including testing and monitoring protocols in deliverability training. This involves teaching marketers how to use tools to check email rendering, identify deliverability issues, and monitor sender reputation metrics.
30 Jul 2022 - Email on Acid Blog
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks emphasizes the importance and timing of deliverability training as more individuals take on roles involving deliverability, and mentions an upcoming partnership in the deliverability training certification space.
19 Nov 2024 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Deliverability training for email marketers should prioritize sender reputation, authentication, and a deep understanding of the recipient and their mailbox provider. There's a growing need for deliverability training highlighted by recent industry changes. Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is considered foundational. Knowing what the recipient wants, how they interact with email, and how their mailbox provider filters emails significantly impacts inbox placement.
Key opinions
- Growing Need: There's an increasing demand for deliverability training driven by recent industry shifts.
- Sender Reputation: Maintaining a positive sender reputation is critical for inbox placement and brand image.
- Authentication: Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) forms the bedrock of a solid deliverability strategy.
- Recipient Understanding: Understanding the recipient and their mailbox provider is crucial for successful delivery.
Key considerations
- Recipient Preferences: Knowing what the recipient wants and how they engage with email should guide deliverability strategies.
- Mailbox Provider Filtering: Understanding how mailbox providers filter and evaluate email is essential for avoiding spam filters.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares a survey link to gather feedback on deliverability training interests, highlighting the growing need for such training due to recent changes.
20 Feb 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise responds that Authentication and Identification (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are the foundation of any deliverability setup and must be covered in detail.
30 Jul 2023 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Deliverability training should emphasize email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), engagement metrics, spam trap avoidance, and a foundational understanding of SMTP standards. Proper authentication proves legitimacy, engagement metrics influence inbox placement, avoiding spam traps protects sender reputation, and SMTP knowledge provides the technical underpinning for email delivery.
Key findings
- Authentication: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) significantly improves deliverability rates, particularly with Gmail.
- Engagement: Engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and complaints directly impact inbox placement, especially for Outlook users.
- Spam Traps: Landing in a spam trap can severely damage sender reputation and deliverability.
- SMTP Standards: Understanding SMTP protocol is key to mastering email delivery.
Key considerations
- Gmail Deliverability: Prioritize proper authentication to improve deliverability to Gmail users.
- Outlook Inboxing: Focus on improving engagement metrics to enhance inbox placement for Outlook users.
- Reputation Protection: Implement strategies to avoid hitting spam traps and damaging sender reputation.
- Technical Foundation: Provide a solid technical foundation by explaining SMTP concepts.
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus highlights the importance of training email marketers to identify and avoid spam traps. They explain that spam traps are email addresses used to identify spammers and that landing in one can severely damage sender reputation and deliverability.
7 Oct 2023 - Spamhaus
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft Docs underscores the significance of engagement metrics in deliverability training. It notes that factors like open rates, click-through rates, and user complaints are key indicators of email quality and impact inbox placement for Outlook users, making it vital for marketers to understand how to improve these metrics.
8 May 2025 - Microsoft Docs
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