With all the effort put towards crafting the perfect copy to captivate audiences with eye-catching subject lines, seeing little to no engagement can feel disheartening.
What went wrong?
The issue may lie in the user’s perception that they did not receive the email in the first place. Large internet companies, such as Gmail, are notorious for filtering emails into folders that are hidden from plain sight. If your email can’t be found in the user’s inbox, they can’t engage. As a result, your campaign is invisible.
This article will examine common issues that contribute to lower email deliverability rates and outline solutions that can help reverse these trends.
1. Email Authentication
Email Authentication acts as the identifier. There are three main pillars to handle first:
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This sets borders and states which IP addresses have the right to send emails on your behalf.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): It offers borders by adding a tamper-proof digital signature.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): This builds on SPF and DKIM by providing reports on whether emails are accepted or rejected by the target server.
A correct configuration establishes credibility and reduces the likelihood of emails being flagged as spam in Gmail. Most email marketing service providers, such as Mailchimp and SendGrid, offer detailed guides. If in doubt, the domain host’s support can help.
2. Cleanup of Email Lists
Contacts that cannot be engaged, such as those without valid addresses or outdated information, waste time and damage your reputation as a sender.
The reputation system will penalize you each time you attempt communication with non-responsive contacts.
Providing tools to enhance the deliverability of emails, like strict verification, would help. Some tools automatically purge and maintain current active lists, integrating directly with the email platform in real time.
As a bonus, here’s something useful: If someone hasn’t opened your emails in the last 3 to 6 months, it’s fine to say goodbye to them. This will improve your open rate, decrease your bounce rate, and enhance trust with Gmail and other email providers.
3. Watch Your Content
Content plays a significant role in spam filtering. Messages that sound suspicious or appear to be generated by a bot should be avoided. Such things are bound to trigger spam filters from a mile away.
Spam filters are known to avoid the following:
- Use all caps throughout the email, especially when writing the subject.
- Over-utilization of exclamation marks.
- Phrases that insinuate “Completely Free” or “Act Now!!!”
- Including multiple links
- Extravagant large file attachments (like cloud links).
Spam filters will check the words and structure of the email. Always maintain a clear layout and structure, and address the recipient in a friendly tone. In case you have doubts about your email passing the filters, use online email deliverability tools.
These great tools enable users to preview how their emails will appear on various platforms, including Gmail, while providing pointers on improving the content score.
4. Leverage a Professional Email-Sending Service
Are you still sending bulk emails via Gmail or an elementary web hosting service? That is an enormous warning sign.
Know that all email service providers scan your email sender’s addresses. Attempting to send more than five hundred emails using Gmail or Outlook accounts will put you at risk of being flagged.
Instead, utilize email marketing services as these platforms have proper infrastructure, such as shared or dedicated IPs with positive reputations, ample spam law tracking, and better tracking.
If you are at a high volume on this scale (in the thousands), consider acquiring a dedicated IP to prevent other users from influencing your deliverability on the same network.
5. Track Sending Reputation
Many marketers forget this: you need to keep track of your domain reputation score – yes, just like a credit score.
If, as a marketer, you are sending low-quality marketing emails with high bounce rates or, worse, receiving spam complaints, it spells disaster. Your reputation will diminish, and trust will be broken. Reputation dips mean your authentic emails will get routed straight to spam.
To avoid this situation, get these tools:
- Google Postmaster Tools: Check how Gmail sees your domain.
- Talos Intelligence: Check IP and domain reputation with Cisco’s system.
- Sender Score: Trust score from 0-100.
Those tools allow you to proactively manage your deliverability conditions before your campaigns fail.
Conclusion
If your emails do not perform well, it might not be your content. In most cases, the issue is related to deliverability. If you consistently get trapped in spam filters on Gmail, it’s time to reassess your approach.
Utilize tools to scan, supervise, and enhance every aspect of email delivery, adhering to all best practices. Refresh your lists. Employ proper authentication methods. Avoid sending emails from dubious platforms.
By doing these things, your emails will cease to vanish and finally begin to engage recipients.
