Landing in Spam? Improve your email deliverability

Landing in Spam? Here’s How Proactive Testing Boosts Email Deliverability & Your Bottom Line

You’ve crafted the perfect email marketing campaign. The copy is engaging, the visuals are stunning, and your offer is irresistible. You hit “send,” anticipating a flood of engagement, leads, and sales. But what if a significant chunk of those carefully crafted emails never even see the light of day, vanishing into the spam folder?

In today’s competitive digital landscape (and yes, it’s even more crowded than your local high street on a Saturday!), getting your message seen is paramount. If your emails aren’t reaching the inbox, you’re not just losing visibility; you’re losing potential customers and revenue. That’s where understanding and mastering email deliverability – supported by rigorous spam testing – becomes not just a technical task, but a critical sales driver.

Why Deliverability is King (and Queen, and the Entire Royal Court of Sales)

Email deliverability isn’t just about sending emails; it’s about them arriving in the intended recipient’s inbox. Think about it:

• ROI on Blast: Every email that lands in spam is wasted budget, wasted creative effort, and a missed sales opportunity.
• Reputation Matters: Consistently hitting spam folders damages your sender reputation, making it even harder for future emails to get through. This can impact your overall brand perception.
• Engagement Engine: Emails that reach the inbox have a chance to be opened, clicked, and converted. Those that don’t? No chance!

Good deliverability is the foundation upon which successful email marketing (and the sales it generates) is built.

Why Your Emails Might Be Shouting “Spam!”

Email service providers (ESPs) and inbox providers (like Gmail, Outlook) use sophisticated algorithms to protect users from unwanted mail. Your emails might be getting flagged for a variety of reasons:

• Technical Hiccups:
  • Poor sender reputation (IP address or domain).
  • Lack of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC – these are like digital ID cards for your emails).
  • High bounce rates from sending to old or invalid addresses.
  • Sending from a free domain email address (e.g., @gmail.com instead of @yourbusiness.co.uk).
• Content Catastrophes:
  • Using “spammy” trigger words and phrases (e.g., “FREE MONEY,” “Act now!!!!”, excessive use of capitals or exclamation marks).
  • Misleading subject lines that don’t match the email content.
  • Image-heavy emails with little text (filters can’t “read” images easily).
  • Including broken links or linking to untrustworthy sites.
  • Making it difficult for users to unsubscribe.

Proactive Spam Testing Explained

Instead of crossing your fingers and hoping for the best, spam testing allows you to identify potential deliverability issues before you send your campaign to your entire list. Essentially, spam testing tools:

• Analyse your email content: They scan for common spam triggers, problematic HTML, and image-to-text ratio issues.
• Check against major spam filters: They run your email through filters similar to those used by Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo, etc.
• Verify authentication: They check if your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are set up correctly.
• Review server and blocklist status: They check if your sending IP or domain is on any major blocklists.
• Provide a “Spam Score” or Report: This highlights potential issues and offers recommendations for improvement.

By spam testing, you gain actionable insights to refine your email so it has the best possible chance of landing where it belongs: your customer’s inbox. Actionable Strategies to Boost Deliverability (and Sales!) Spam testing is a diagnostic tool. The real magic happens when you combine it with these deliverability best practices:

• Build a Quality, Engaged List: Never buy email lists. Focus on organic growth and regularly clean your list to remove inactive subscribers.
• Authenticate Your Domain: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. This proves to inbox providers that your emails are legitimate. (This can sound technical, and it’s an area where expert help is invaluable).
• Warm-Up Your IP (If New): Gradually increase sending volume if you’re using a new IP address.
• Consistent Sending: Maintain a regular sending schedule so inbox providers recognize your patterns.
• Segment and Personalise: Send targeted content to specific segments of your audience. Personalisation boosts engagement, which inbox providers love.
• Craft Compelling, Honest Content: Write clear, valuable subject lines and email copy. Avoid clickbait and misleading statements.
• Optimise Images: Use alt text for all images and maintain a good text-to-image ratio.
• Easy Unsubscribe: Make it obvious and simple for users to opt-out. It’s better than them marking you as spam.
• Monitor Your Metrics: Keep an eye on open rates, click-through rates, bounce rates, and unsubscribe rates. These are all indicators of deliverability health.

Email marketing remains one of the highest ROI channels available – if your messages are delivered. Don’t let poor deliverability undermine your efforts and sabotage your sales.

Ready to ensure your emails hit the mark and drive real results? Contact us today for an email deliverability audit and let’s boost your inbox placement – and your bottom line!