What is Mail Deliverability and How to Improve It?

In today's world, email marketing is one of the most effective ways for businesses to communicate with their customers and increase brand awareness. However, if the emails you send don't reach recipients' inboxes, all your efforts may be in vain. This is where the concept of "mail deliverability" comes into play. In this article, we will examine in detail what mail deliverability means, why it is important, and the strategies you can implement to increase deliverability.

What is Mail Deliverability?

Mail deliverability is the rate at which the emails you send reach recipients' inboxes. Simply put, it refers to your emails reaching the target audience without ending up in the spam folder or being blocked. Having high deliverability is critical to the success of your email marketing campaigns. If you have low deliverability, you will not be able to reach your potential customers, you will miss sales opportunities, and you will risk damaging your brand reputation.

Mail deliverability is not just about whether the email reaches its destination. It also includes factors such as the likelihood of the email ending up in the spam folder, how your reputation is evaluated by email service providers (ESPs), and how recipients interact with your emails.

Why is Mail Deliverability Important?

Mail deliverability is vital to the success of your email marketing strategy. Here are some reasons why it is so important:

Higher ROI: When your emails reach recipients' inboxes, you are more likely to engage with potential customers and make sales. This significantly increases the return on investment (ROI) of your email marketing campaigns.
Strong Customer Relationships: When your emails reach recipients regularly and reliably, you can build a stronger relationship with your customers. This increases customer loyalty and contributes to long-term success.
Brand Reputation: If your emails are marked as spam or blocked, it can damage your brand reputation. Having high deliverability protects and strengthens your brand's credibility.
Data Accuracy: Undeliverable emails reduce the quality of your email list. Having high deliverability helps you keep your list clean and up-to-date.

Factors Affecting Mail Deliverability

There are many factors that affect mail deliverability. Understanding and managing these factors correctly is critical to the success of your email marketing strategy. Here are the main factors affecting mail deliverability:

1. Sender Reputation

Sender reputation is a score assigned to you by email service providers (ESPs). This score is determined based on your email sending behavior, spam complaints, bounce rates, and other factors. Having a high sender reputation increases the likelihood of your emails reaching the inbox. Having a low sender reputation can cause your emails to be marked as spam or blocked.

To protect your sender reputation, you should pay attention to the following:

Avoid Spam Traps: Spam traps are email addresses used by email service providers to detect spam senders. Sending emails to these addresses can negatively affect your sender reputation.
Keep Your Bounce Rate Low: Your bounce rate is the percentage of emails you send that are returned. A high bounce rate may indicate that your email list is of poor quality and that you are sending spam.
Reduce Spam Complaints: If recipients mark your emails as spam, it can negatively affect your sender reputation. Make sure your emails are valuable and relevant to recipients.
Use Authentication Protocols: Authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verify that your emails are legitimate and improve your sender reputation.

2. Email Authentication

Email authentication is a way to prove that your emails are actually sent by you and are not fake. There are various authentication protocols such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance). By using these protocols, you can show email service providers that your emails are legitimate and improve your sender reputation.

SPF (Sender Policy Framework): SPF allows you to specify which IP addresses are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. This helps prevent spoofing and improves your sender reputation.

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying that your emails have not been altered during transmission and are actually sent by you.

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Using SPF and DKIM, DMARC allows you to specify to email service providers what to do when authentication fails (for example, reject the email or mark it as spam). In addition, thanks to DMARC reports, you can monitor your email sending performance and identify potential problems.

To configure email authentication, you need to add specific TXT records to your domain's DNS records. This can be done from your domain provider's control panel. For example, an SPF record might look like this:

v=spf1 a mx include:_spf.google.com ~all

This record specifies the IP addresses that are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. DKIM and DMARC records are configured similarly.

3. Email Content

Your email content can significantly affect mail deliverability. Spam filters scan your emails for specific words, phrases, and links to try to determine if your emails are spam. Therefore, it is important to avoid content that may trigger spam filters.

You should pay attention to the following in your email content:

Avoid Spam Words: Avoid spam words such as "Free", "discount", "buy now".
Limit Capitalization: Avoid writing your entire email or a large portion of it in capital letters.
Avoid Excessive Punctuation: Avoid using excessive exclamation marks or question marks in your emails.
Use Short URLs Carefully: Short URLs may be perceived as suspicious by spam filters. Use a reliable short URL service and manage your links carefully.
Optimize Image-to-Text Ratio: Avoid using too many images and too little text in your emails. Try to create text-heavy content.
Personalize Recipients: Personalize your emails with recipients' names or other personal information. This makes your emails appear more relevant and valuable.

4. Email List Hygiene

The quality of your email list is critical to your mail deliverability. A list containing old, invalid, or irrelevant email addresses can increase your bounce rate, cause spam complaints, and negatively affect your sender reputation.

To regularly clean and update your email list, you should do the following:

Use Double Opt-In: Ask new subscribers to verify their email addresses. This prevents incorrect or invalid email addresses from entering your list.
Regularly Clean Bounces: Remove hard bounce (permanently undeliverable email addresses) and soft bounce (temporarily undeliverable email addresses) addresses from your list.
Remove Irrelevant Subscribers: Remove subscribers who have not interacted with your emails for a certain period of time from your list.
Offer Unsubscribe Option: Make it easy for subscribers to unsubscribe from your emails. This reduces spam complaints and improves the quality of your list.

Tips to Improve Mail Deliverability

In addition to the factors mentioned above, here are some additional tips you can implement to improve your mail deliverability:

Implement a Warming Process: When you start using a new IP address or domain name, gradually increase your email sending volume. This allows email service providers to trust you.
Use Segmentation: Segment your email list by interests, demographics, or behaviors. This allows you to send more relevant and personalized emails.
Run A/B Tests: Experiment with different subject lines, content, and sending times to determine the best performing emails.
Choose the Right Email Service Provider (ESP): Use a reliable and reputable email service provider.
Monitor Feedback Loops: Monitor feedback loops (FBLs) from email service providers to identify spam complaints and other issues.

Conclusion and Summary

Mail deliverability is critical to the success of your email marketing strategy. By protecting your sender reputation, configuring email authentication, creating quality content, and regularly cleaning your email list, you can significantly increase your mail deliverability. Remember, having high deliverability allows you to reach potential customers, make sales, and protect your brand reputation. By implementing the tips mentioned in this article, you can maximize the success of your email marketing campaigns.