Summary
Industry resources on email deliverability emphasize a multi-faceted approach encompassing technical setup, proactive monitoring, and engagement strategies. Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is consistently highlighted as a fundamental requirement. Maintaining a clean IP reputation, avoiding spam traps, and adhering to feedback loops are also crucial. Proactive measures include monitoring sender reputation, analyzing bounce rates and spam complaints, and testing emails before sending. Engaging content, list hygiene, and segmentation contribute to improved engagement and reduced spam complaints. Staying informed requires active engagement with industry blogs, forums, and conferences, along with monitoring mailbox provider communications.
Key findings
- Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for verifying sender identity and improving deliverability.
- Proactive Monitoring: Regularly monitor sender reputation, bounce rates, and spam complaints to identify and address issues.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean email list by removing inactive subscribers and invalid addresses.
- Engagement: Create engaging content that recipients want to receive to improve engagement metrics and avoid spam filters.
- Feedback Loops: Participate in feedback loops to understand and address spam complaints from mailbox providers.
- Staying Informed: Staying informed on industry practices is important through blogs, conferences and forums.
Key considerations
- Technical Setup: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records according to established specifications.
- Reputation Management: Actively manage your IP and domain reputation to avoid blacklisting and spam traps.
- Segmentation: Segment email lists to target specific demographics and content, improving engagement and reducing spam complaints.
- Email Testing: Test emails before sending to identify and resolve any deliverability issues.
- Complaint Rates: Keep spam complaint rates below 0.1% to maintain a positive sender reputation.
- Direct communication: Directly monitoring provider communication.
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Industry resources for staying informed about email service provider deliverability changes emphasize proactive monitoring, authentication, list hygiene, and engagement strategies. Resources include blogs, forums, and direct engagement with provider communications. Specific actions include monitoring sender reputation, analyzing bounce rates and spam complaints, using authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), segmenting email lists, warming up IP addresses, and participating in feedback loops. Regular email testing and creating engaging content are also vital for optimizing deliverability.
Key opinions
- Proactive Monitoring: Regularly monitor sender reputation, bounce rates, and spam complaints to identify deliverability issues.
- Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your sending domain and improve deliverability.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean email list by removing inactive subscribers and addressing invalid addresses.
- Engagement: Create engaging content that recipients want to receive to improve engagement metrics and reduce spam complaints.
- IP Warming: Gradually warm up new IP addresses when sending cold emails to establish a positive sending reputation.
- Testing: Test emails regularly to identify and fix problems before they impact deliverability.
Key considerations
- Reputable Sending Service: Choose a reputable email sending service provider to ensure reliable deliverability.
- Feedback Loops: Utilize feedback loops offered by mailbox providers to identify and address spam complaints.
- Segmented Lists: Segment email lists to target specific demographics and content, improving engagement and reducing spam complaints.
- Blocklist Monitoring: Monitor blocklists to quickly address deliverability issues caused by IP or domain blacklisting.
- Complaint Rates: Keep spam complaint rates below 0.1%.
- Provider Updates: Stay updated on mailbox provider guidelines.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit user u/emailmarketing suggests using a reputable email sending service, cleaning email lists regularly to remove inactive subscribers, and creating engaging content that recipients want to receive.
10 Jul 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from SendGrid recommends authenticating your sending domain, segmenting your email lists, and warming up your IP address to ensure optimal email deliverability.
15 Mar 2023 - SendGrid
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Experts recommend staying informed about email service provider deliverability changes by actively engaging with industry resources, monitoring provider communication channels, and participating in feedback loops. Key takeaways for senders include proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining low complaint rates, and providing easy unsubscribe options. Feedback loops are valuable for identifying and addressing deliverability issues related to spam complaints.
Key opinions
- Active Engagement: Staying informed requires active engagement with blogs, forums, conferences, and monitoring provider communication channels.
- Authentication: Proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for maintaining deliverability.
- Low Complaint Rates: Keeping complaint rates low (below 0.1%) is essential for avoiding deliverability issues.
- Easy Unsubscribe: Providing easy unsubscribe options is important for maintaining a positive sender reputation.
- Feedback Loops: Feedback loops (FBLs) provide valuable information about spam complaints.
Key considerations
- Industry Resources: Actively seek out and engage with industry resources to stay informed.
- Provider Communication: Directly monitor communication channels from mailbox providers.
- FBL Participation: Actively participate in feedback loops offered by mailbox providers.
- Authentication Implementation: Ensure proper implementation and maintenance of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Complaint Monitoring: Continuously monitor and address spam complaints received through feedback loops.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, answers that staying informed about mailbox provider updates requires active engagement with industry resources like blogs, forums, and conferences, as well as direct monitoring of provider communication channels for policy changes.
24 May 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise Staff, the article outlines key takeaways for senders, including ensuring proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), keeping complaint rates low (below 0.1%), and providing easy unsubscribe options.
3 Oct 2021 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
6 technical articles
Official documentation emphasizes authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) as a cornerstone of email deliverability. Maintaining a clean IP reputation, avoiding spam traps, monitoring spam rates via Postmaster Tools, and adhering to feedback loop programs are also critical. Resources like RFC Editor provide specifications for SPF, while DMARC.org explains DMARC implementation. M3AAWG shares best practices for email authentication, urging regular configuration monitoring.
Key findings
- Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for email authentication and improved deliverability.
- IP Reputation: Maintaining a clean IP reputation is vital for avoiding deliverability issues.
- Spam Monitoring: Monitoring spam rates through Postmaster Tools is crucial for identifying and addressing deliverability problems.
- Feedback Loops: Adhering to feedback loop programs helps identify and resolve issues related to spam complaints.
- Spam Traps: Avoid spam traps to maintain a positive sender reputation.
Key considerations
- SPF Configuration: Properly configure and maintain SPF records according to RFC specifications.
- DKIM Implementation: Implement DKIM for cryptographically signing email messages to verify sender authenticity.
- DMARC Deployment: Deploy DMARC to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks.
- Regular Audits: Regularly monitor and audit your authentication configurations.
- Guideline Adherence: Adhere to bulk sender guidelines provided by Gmail and best practices outlined by Microsoft.
Technical article
Documentation from M3AAWG shares best practices for email authentication, advising senders to implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Regularly monitor and audit their configurations.
21 Feb 2025 - M3AAWG
Technical article
Documentation from IETF gives DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) specifications for cryptographically signing email messages, allowing recipients to verify the sender's authenticity and message integrity.
14 Feb 2024 - RFC 4871
Do all email service providers support DMARC, and what does 'support' mean in this context?
Do SPF and DKIM records need to be aligned for all email service providers?
How do ESPs manage IP pools and how does it affect deliverability?
How do I properly set up SPF and DKIM records for email marketing, including handling multiple SPF records, IP ranges, bounce capturing, and Google Postmaster Tools verification?
How to set up SPF without ESP documentation?
