Summary
Low email open rates in Salesforce Marketing Cloud often indicate underlying deliverability issues, such as improper email authentication (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) or sender reputation challenges. A common culprit can be misconfigured sender profiles or the use of a new, un-warmed subdomain. Initial troubleshooting should involve checking authentication settings and understanding the importance of proper subdomain warm-up, especially when transitioning email sending configurations. Patience is key, as deliverability metrics evolve over time.
Key findings
- Authentication issues: Lack of DKIM signing for bulk mail can severely impact deliverability, especially with major providers like Google and Yahoo.
- Sender profile configuration: Different sender profiles in Salesforce Marketing Cloud can have varying authentication setups, leading to discrepancies in deliverability.
- Subdomain impact: Transitioning to a new subdomain for email sending requires a proper warm-up process to build sender reputation and avoid deliverability issues.
- Reply-to address: Sending from an email address that cannot receive replies can negatively affect sender reputation and recipient engagement.
- Engagement tools: Engagement-focused strategies in Salesforce Marketing Cloud journeys can inherently improve list health and deliverability compared to manual batch sends.
Key considerations
- Verify DKIM setup: Ensure that all sender profiles used for bulk sending in SFMC are correctly configured to sign emails with DKIM. Learn more about troubleshooting SPF and DMARC settings.
- Subdomain warm-up: If migrating to a new subdomain, implement a gradual warm-up strategy to build a positive sending reputation. This is crucial for maintaining inbox placement.
- List health: Prioritize maintaining a clean and engaged email list. Segmenting recipients based on engagement can significantly improve open rates and overall deliverability.
- Email authentication in SFMC: Review resources on Salesforce email authentication for Marketing Cloud to ensure comprehensive setup of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
- Patience and monitoring: Deliverability metrics, especially open rates, can take time to reflect true inbox placement. Continue monitoring and iterating on strategies. For more, see how to diagnose and improve email deliverability and open rates.
What email marketers say
Email marketers often grapple with sudden drops in open rates, which can be alarming. Their experiences highlight the limitations of basic email testing tools for comprehensive deliverability insights. Many emphasize the importance of list health and engagement segmentation as primary drivers of inbox placement, rather than solely focusing on technical configurations. The transition between sender profiles or subdomains within Salesforce Marketing Cloud also poses a common challenge, requiring careful consideration of warm-up procedures to avoid reputation damage.
Key opinions
- Tool limitations: Tools like Mailtester provide limited insights into real-world deliverability, as they don't capture all factors influencing inbox placement.
- Engagement focus: Prioritizing list health and recipient engagement through segmentation is more impactful than relying on technical scores from general testing platforms.
- DKIM necessity: DKIM signing is a fundamental requirement for successful bulk email delivery, particularly to major mailbox providers like Google and Yahoo.
- Subdomain warming: Switching to a new subdomain (for example, one tied to a Salesforce Marketing Cloud Sender Authentication Package) necessitates a warm-up period.
- Reply-to address importance: Using a reply-to email address that can actually receive replies is important for sender reputation and engagement signals.
Key considerations
- Beyond test scores: Do not solely rely on generic email testing scores, as they often do not reflect the complex factors influencing deliverability to specific inbox providers. They are not a realistic measure of whether your email will be filtered.
- Segment by engagement: Focus on segmenting lists based on recipient engagement, a basic but effective best practice for improving open rates and overall deliverability. This can help improve email deliverability.
- Review SFMC sender profiles: Thoroughly check all sender profiles in Salesforce Marketing Cloud to ensure correct DKIM configuration for each sending domain or subdomain. Improper setup can lead to emails going to the spam folder.
- Strategic subdomain use: If using a subdomain configured with a Marketing Cloud Sender Authentication Package (SAP), ensure you are consistently using it. If changing, prepare for a warm-up period. This helps address why your emails are going to spam.
- Utilize RMM: Leverage Reply Mail Management (RMM) in SFMC to direct replies from your sending subdomain to a monitored inbox, ensuring engagement signals are captured and user replies are handled.
- Community insights: Engage with communities like the Salesforce Trailblazer Community for shared experiences and peer advice on deliverability challenges within SFMC.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks observes that initial low open rates might just require patience, but often indicate that emails are likely going to spam folders. They also note that their Mailtester score was 9/10 and MailGenius was 84, despite flagging spammy words, which suggests a disconnect between these tools and actual inbox placement.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks mentions that they are new to the role and have been out of the 'manual send' game, focusing more on journeys/automations previously. They acknowledge the challenges of balancing batch-and-blast interests with maintaining list health and proper data hygiene.
What the experts say
Experts in email deliverability consistently highlight that traditional email testing tools provide only a superficial view of complex deliverability factors. They strongly advocate for proper email authentication, especially DKIM signing, as a mandatory step for bulk senders to major mailbox providers. Furthermore, experts emphasize that any significant change to sending infrastructure, such as adopting a new subdomain, requires a structured warm-up process to build and maintain sender reputation. They also stress the importance of sending from a mailbox capable of receiving replies to improve engagement and trust.
Key opinions
- Outdated tools: Mail tester and similar platforms are increasingly less helpful as they do not accurately reflect the factors influencing modern deliverability filtering by inbox providers.
- DKIM essential: Sending bulk mail to Google and Yahoo requires DKIM authentication to ensure deliverability.
- Warm-up for subdomains: Transitioning to a new subdomain for email sending necessitates a warm-up period to establish a good sender reputation.
- Reply-enabled mailboxes: Emails should always be sent from a mailbox that can receive replies, as this is a signal of legitimate communication.
- Holistic view needed: Comprehensive understanding of authentication and configuration requires sending the actual mail intended for recipients to diagnostic tools, rather than just isolated tests.
Key considerations
- Beyond technical scores: While some tools offer technical checks, they do not provide a realistic sense of how emails will be filtered by specific inbox providers. Focus on core best practices like list health and engagement.
- Mandatory DKIM: Ensure that your emails are DKIM authenticated, as it is a critical requirement for bulk mailers to Google and Yahoo. Review a simple guide to DMARC, SPF, and DKIM.
- Sender profile configuration: If a sender profile in SFMC is not configured for DKIM signing, it should be corrected immediately to avoid deliverability issues.
- Subdomain warm-up strategy: When moving to a new subdomain, implement a gradual subdomain warm-up plan to build a positive sending reputation over time.
- Authenticated sending: Ensure all email authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are correctly implemented for improved Salesforce email deliverability, as detailed by Forvis Mazars.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks states that Mailtester and similar platforms are limited in their ability to surface the most important factors influencing deliverability. They mention these tools only provide a sense of some technical considerations and are becoming less helpful in the modern email landscape.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks advises focusing more on list health and the prior engagement of recipients. They suggest asking whether lists are segmented based on engagement and generally focusing on basic best practices to improve deliverability.
What the documentation says
Official documentation and guides emphasize that strong email authentication, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, is foundational for email deliverability, particularly within platforms like Salesforce Marketing Cloud. They outline the necessary steps for configuring these records and highlight the benefits of a Sender Authentication Package (SAP), which includes dedicated domains and IP addresses. The documentation also stresses the importance of IP and domain warm-up when new sending infrastructure is introduced to build a credible sending history.
Key findings
- Authentication requirements: SPF and DKIM policies are essential for authenticating email and improving deliverability in Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
- SAP benefits: The Sender Authentication Package provides dedicated domains, branding, and IP addresses to enhance email marketing reputation.
- Subdomain for tracking: Using a specific subdomain for email tracking (e.g., marketing.yourbrand.com) is a best practice.
- Gradual IP warm-up: A gradual increase in sending volume is recommended during IP warm-up to avoid deliverability issues.
- DMARC for policy enforcement: DMARC solutions enforce SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies to prevent unauthorized domain use and reduce phishing risks.
Key considerations
- Implement authentication: Follow step-by-step instructions for implementing SPF and DKIM policies as outlined in guides like Salesforce Email Authentication for Marketing Cloud.
- Sender authentication package (SAP): Utilize SFMC's Sender Authentication Package for dedicated domain and IP, which significantly improves email marketing reputation. Understanding the benefits of DMARC implementation is key.
- DKIM configuration: Properly configure DKIM and CNAME records, as incorrect setup can lead to undeliverable emails. See a practical guide to DKIM selector name examples.
- Subdomain warm-up: When switching to a new email subdomain, a warm-up period is recommended to prevent deliverability issues, as noted in Salesforce Trailhead resources.
- Review authentication guides: Consult comprehensive guides on Salesforce Email Authentication for Marketing Cloud for detailed steps on SPF, DKIM, and DMARC policies.
Technical article
Salesforce documentation on Trailhead explains that learning about the Sender Authentication Package benefits improves email marketing reputation. It highlights features like dedicated domain, branding, IP address, and more for enhanced deliverability.
Technical article
Salesforce Trailhead Community discussions indicate that users often face undeliverable email errors and seek guidance on properly configuring DKIM keys with their webhost, pointing to common authentication challenges.
Related resources
10 resources
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