Recommended resources to learn about email deliverability

Key findings

• Start with guides: Many recommend starting with comprehensive guides that cover the basics of deliverability, often provided by ESPs or dedicated deliverability platforms. These resources (like this Campaign Monitor guide) can offer a solid foundation.
• Diverse resources: A combination of blogs, books, and industry organizations provides the most well-rounded education. Relying on a single source may limit your understanding of the complex factors that influence email deliverability.
• Focus on fundamentals: Understanding email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and sender reputation is repeatedly highlighted as essential knowledge for anyone looking to diagnose and prevent deliverability issues.
• Continuous learning: The email landscape is dynamic. What works today might not work tomorrow, emphasizing the need for ongoing learning and staying updated with industry changes.

Key considerations

• Practical application: While theoretical knowledge is important, hands-on experience and applying learned concepts are critical for true mastery. This often involves monitoring, testing, and troubleshooting.
• Community engagement: Engaging with email communities, like the Email Geeks Slack channel, offers invaluable insights, real-world advice, and access to collective experience that no single document can provide.
• Reliable sources: Not all information online is accurate or up-to-date. Prioritize established blogs, industry associations, and direct documentation from mailbox providers for reliable information.
• Diverse perspectives: Seek out resources from both marketing and technical perspectives to gain a holistic view of email deliverability, bridging the gap between campaign strategy and technical implementation.

Key opinions

• Practical guides are key: Marketers find deliverability guides from ESPs or specialized platforms highly valuable for understanding the basics and implementing core strategies.
• Focus on reputation: Maintaining a good sender reputation is paramount. Marketers prioritize content that explains factors like domain reputation, engagement, and bounce rates.
• Importance of authentication: Understanding SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is frequently cited as a crucial technical step that directly impacts inbox placement, even for non-technical marketers. They look for resources that simplify these concepts.
• List hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists to remove inactive or invalid addresses is a consistent piece of advice, as it impacts bounce rates and spam trap hits.

Key considerations

• Actionable advice: Marketers need resources that don't just explain concepts but offer clear, actionable steps they can implement within their email platforms.
• Content optimization: While technical aspects are important, marketers also seek guidance on crafting email content that avoids spam filters and resonates with recipients, thereby improving engagement metrics.
• Monitoring tools: Understanding how to use essential tools for tracking deliverability, like Postmaster Tools, is a key consideration for ongoing success.
• Avoiding blocklists: Marketers are keenly interested in understanding how to avoid common pitfalls that lead to being placed on an email blocklist or blacklist, as this directly impacts campaign reach. Learning about improving deliverability is a constant goal.

Key opinions

• Authoritative blogs are essential: Experts highly recommend established blogs like Word to the Wise and Spam Resource for their deep dives into deliverability topics.
• Industry best practices: Engaging with documents from organizations like M3AAWG is crucial for developing a correct mindset regarding email deliverability and understanding industry best practices.
• Continuous technical learning: The technical aspects, such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, are fundamental and require ongoing study to master.
• Understanding root causes: Experts focus on comprehending why deliverability fails (e.g., why emails fail) rather than just applying superficial fixes, advocating for a deeper, analytical approach.

Key considerations

• Analytical approach: Developing a mindset that analyzes problems and understands underlying mechanisms is crucial for true deliverability expertise.
• Reputation management: Experts delve into intricate details of domain reputation and how various factors, including blacklists and blocklists, impact it.
• Networking and community: Participation in expert communities like the Email Geeks Slack is highly valued for sharing complex insights and discussing emerging issues.
• Staying current: Given the dynamic nature of email, experts emphasize the importance of continuously monitoring industry news, mailbox provider policy changes (like Klaviyo's updates), and new spam countermeasures.

Key findings

• Standards are paramount: RFCs (Request for Comments) define the technical standards for email protocols, including SMTP, SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Adhering to these is non-negotiable for reliable delivery.
• Industry best practices: Organizations like M3AAWG (Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group) publish extensive documents outlining best practices for senders to combat spam and improve legitimate email delivery.
• Mailbox provider guidelines: Major mailbox providers (Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo) provide their own specific guidelines and postmaster tools. These often detail their unique filtering criteria and expectations for senders.
• Security protocols are critical: Documentation consistently stresses the importance of implementing and correctly configuring authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to prevent spoofing and enhance trust.

Key considerations

• Technical depth: While technical, these documents offer the most accurate and foundational understanding of email deliverability mechanics.
• Compliance: Adhering to documented standards and guidelines is key to compliance and maintaining a positive sending reputation. This includes understanding the impact of technical solutions.
• Evolving requirements: Documentation is regularly updated to reflect changes in the email ecosystem, such as new regulations or evolving threat landscapes, making continuous review necessary. An example of this is the Twilio SendGrid Deliverability Guide.
• Reference for troubleshooting: When troubleshooting complex deliverability issues, official documentation often provides the definitive answers regarding expected behavior and error codes.