Summary
Despite high deliverability rates, declining engagement (clicks, conversions, unsubscribes) often stems from issues beyond successful email delivery to the recipient's server. The problem typically lies in inbox placement, content relevance, sender reputation, technical configuration (DMARC), and user experience. Emails may be landing in spam folders due to poor sender reputation, user complaints, or strict DMARC policies. Irrelevant content, poor email design, lack of mobile optimization, inconsistent sending schedules, and list fatigue contribute to subscriber disengagement. Regularly monitoring inbox placement, proactively managing sender reputation, implementing robust segmentation strategies, and continually optimizing email content and design are critical for maintaining engagement.
Key findings
- Deliverability vs. Inboxing: High deliverability doesn't guarantee emails reach the inbox; many are filtered to spam.
- Sender Reputation is Key: Poor sender reputation significantly impacts inbox placement, regardless of deliverability metrics.
- User Complaints Matter: User complaints strongly influence spam filtering, even with proper authentication.
- Relevance Drives Engagement: Irrelevant content leads to disengagement; personalization and segmentation are crucial.
- Technical Configuration Impacts: Misconfigured DMARC policies and authentication issues can inadvertently block legitimate emails.
- Experience Matters: Poor email design, lack of mobile optimization, and accessibility issues detract from engagement.
- Frequency Fatigue: Sending too many emails (list fatigue) reduces responsiveness.
- List hygiene: Neglecting list hygiene impacts engagement negatively.
Key considerations
- Monitor Inbox Placement: Use seed lists and tools like Inbox Monster to track inbox placement rates across different ISPs.
- Manage Reputation: Monitor sender reputation using Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS, and other reputation services; address any issues proactively.
- Segment and Personalize: Implement robust segmentation strategies and personalize emails to deliver relevant content.
- Optimize for Mobile: Ensure emails are optimized for mobile devices to provide a seamless user experience.
- Test and Iterate: A/B test subject lines, content, and calls-to-action to identify what resonates with your audience.
- Review DMARC Setup: Regularly review and validate DMARC configuration to prevent legitimate emails from being blocked.
- Manage User Complaints: Address user complaints promptly and effectively to minimize their impact on inbox placement.
- Clean Your List: Maintain list hygiene by identifying and removing unengaged subscribers.
- Control Send Frequency: Ensure you are not sending emails too often.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Despite high email deliverability, declining clicks, conversions, and unsubscribes indicate engagement issues. The core problem often lies not in getting emails delivered to the server but in whether they reach the inbox and if subscribers find them relevant and engaging. Factors such as poor list hygiene, irrelevant content, inconsistent sending schedules, ineffective email design, lack of mobile optimization, and sender reputation can significantly impact engagement. Testing and monitoring inbox placement, subject lines, content, and overall email presentation are vital for diagnosing and addressing the root causes of declining engagement.
Key opinions
- Delivery vs. Inboxing: High deliverability doesn't guarantee inbox placement; emails can still land in spam folders.
- Irrelevant Content: Sending content that doesn't match subscriber interests leads to disengagement.
- List Hygiene: Outdated or unengaged subscribers decrease overall email performance.
- Inconsistent Schedules: Unpredictable sending patterns can cause subscribers to lose interest.
- Design and Accessibility: Poorly designed or inaccessible emails deter engagement.
- Mobile Optimization: Emails not optimized for mobile devices result in lower interaction.
- List Fatigue: Sending too many emails can overwhelm subscribers.
- Personalisation: Emails that do not make use of personalisation or do not address a pain point are less effective.
Key considerations
- Inbox Placement Testing: Use seed lists and tools like Inbox Monster to monitor inbox placement rates across different ISPs.
- Reputation Monitoring: Regularly check domain and IP reputation using Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft SNDS, and other reputation services.
- Segmentation and Personalization: Segment your audience and personalize emails to deliver relevant content and improve engagement.
- A/B Testing: Experiment with different subject lines, email copy, and calls-to-action to identify what resonates best with your audience.
- Email Design and Accessibility: Ensure emails are visually appealing, easy to read, and accessible to all subscribers.
- Mobile Optimization: Optimize emails for mobile devices to provide a seamless user experience.
- Sending Frequency: Adjust sending frequency based on subscriber engagement and preferences to avoid list fatigue.
- Video Marketing: Test to see if including video in email marketing increases conversions and engagement
Marketer view
Email marketer from Sendinblue suggests that inconsistent sending schedules can lead to subscriber disengagement. Establishing a consistent and predictable email schedule helps subscribers anticipate and engage with your content regularly.
14 Dec 2021 - Sendinblue
Marketer view
Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that a potential reason for declining engagement despite high deliverability is sending irrelevant content. It suggests segmenting your audience and personalizing emails to match their interests to improve engagement metrics.
23 Oct 2022 - Neil Patel Blog
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Despite high reported deliverability, declining engagement metrics (clicks, conversions, unsubscribes) often point to issues beyond whether the email technically 'delivered'. Understanding inbox placement, content relevance, and list hygiene are critical. Image load rates can provide insights into inbox vs. spam folder placement. Irrelevant content leads to disengagement, emphasizing the need for audience segmentation and targeted messaging. Neglecting list hygiene by sending to inactive subscribers negatively impacts engagement and conversion rates.
Key opinions
- Image Load Rates as Indicator: Image load rates (opens) can indicate inbox placement vs. spam folder placement; higher rates suggest better inboxing.
- Content Relevance is Critical: Irrelevant content is a major cause of disengagement, even with high deliverability.
- List Hygiene Matters: Neglecting list hygiene (removing inactive subscribers) negatively impacts engagement metrics.
Key considerations
- Track Image Load Rates: Monitor image load rates to gauge inbox placement effectiveness.
- Segment and Target: Segment your audience and target content based on subscriber behavior and preferences to improve relevance.
- Maintain List Hygiene: Regularly remove inactive subscribers to improve engagement and conversion rates.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that neglecting list hygiene (removing inactive subscribers) impacts engagement negatively. Even if emails are delivered, sending to unengaged users will decrease click-through rates and conversions.
22 Jul 2021 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests using image load rates (opens) as an indicator of inbox placement, noting that more inbox placements lead to more image loads, while more spam folder placements lead to fewer image loads.
8 Jun 2025 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Despite high reported deliverability, a decline in clicks, conversions, and unsubscribes can be attributed to several technical factors related to authentication, reputation, and user feedback. Spam filters prioritize user complaints, even with proper authentication. Strict DMARC policies, if misconfigured, can block legitimate emails. Sender reputation significantly impacts inbox placement, even if emails are technically delivered. Monitoring feedback loops is crucial for identifying and addressing high complaint rates, which negatively affect sender reputation. Proper DMARC setup is essential to prevent deliverability issues, spoofing, and phishing attacks.
Key findings
- User Complaints Impact: User complaints are a significant factor in spam filtering, overriding even proper authentication.
- DMARC Policy Risks: Strict or misconfigured DMARC policies can inadvertently block legitimate emails, reducing engagement.
- Sender Reputation Importance: Sender reputation heavily influences inbox placement, regardless of deliverability metrics.
- Feedback Loop Monitoring: Monitoring feedback loops is crucial for identifying and addressing high complaint rates, which can damage sender reputation.
- DMARC Setup Critical: Proper DMARC setup prevents spoofing and phishing but can cause deliverability issues if misconfigured.
Key considerations
- Complaint Management: Actively manage user complaints to minimize their impact on inbox placement.
- DMARC Configuration Review: Regularly review and adjust DMARC policies to ensure legitimate emails are not being blocked.
- Reputation Management: Focus on building and maintaining a positive sender reputation with mailbox providers.
- FBL Monitoring: Implement and monitor feedback loops to proactively identify and address deliverability issues.
- DMARC Validation: Validate DMARC records to ensure proper configuration and prevent unintended deliverability problems.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp explains that DMARC policies might be causing deliverability issues if not properly set up, as it prevents spoofing and phishing attacks, but if misconfigured, it may block legitimate emails.
28 Apr 2024 - Mailchimp Resource
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost explains the importance of monitoring feedback loops (FBLs). High complaint rates in FBLs can negatively impact sender reputation and inbox placement, even if initial deliverability appears high.
10 Jun 2022 - SparkPost Documentation
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