How to Make Sure Your Email Reaches Its Intended Recipients

Let’s find out “How to Make Sure Your Email Reaches Its Intended Recipients” You can create really awesome content and targeted offers, but if your emails aren’t reaching their intended recipients, then you’re just wasting time.

That’s why deliverability is so important, as it ensures that your emails land in the inboxes of your intended recipients (rather than landing in spam/bulk folders or simply disappearing into the unknown).

Question is, how do you improve your email deliverability rate?  Check out these ideas…

Use a Third-Party ESP

When you first start thinking about creating a mailing list, you’ll see that you have two options for managing this list:

1. Install an autoresponder/email management script directly on your own website.
2. Use a third-party ESP (email service provider).

Some people look at this decision in terms of cost. Usually, purchasing and installing a script is a one-time fee, so it looks like the more affordable option when compared to third-party services (which charge monthly fees).

But here’s the catch: if you run a script on your own server, then you are 100% responsible for handling deliverability issues. This can be a fairly technical project, and also very time-consuming.

Indeed, it’s for these reasons that a third-party email service provider often has dedicated staff working to boost deliverability. For example, the staff may work on getting “whitelisted” via common email platforms such as Gmail, Yahoo mail, and similar.

This brings us to the next point…

Choose a Reputable ESP

While most email service providers work hard to improve deliverability, not every company does. That’s why you’ll want to choose a reputable ESP that is known for good deliverability rates. When in doubt, inquire directly to the company about their deliverability rates and if (and how) they work to improve these rates.

TIP: Another reason to choose a reputable email service provider is because they will also focus on their uptime rates. If a service is going down often, then you’re going to miss out on subscribers who arrive on your lead page only to find an opt-in form that’s not working. What’s more, you may send out a time-sensitive email (such as one about a flash sale or a product that just went live), and if the service goes down the emails may not get delivered for hours… if at all. That’s why you’ll want to be sure to pick a provider that has a good uptime rating.

Next…

Check Your Spam Score

Another reason why you may struggle with low deliverability is if you create emails with high spam scores. These are the emails that are most likely to end up in a spam folder/bulk folder simply because the words you used triggered automatic filters.

Many email service providers offer tools that let you run an email test that scores the email and flags the type of content that would create a high score. If your email service provider doesn’t offer this, then you can use any number of tools available. Search Google for “test email spam score,” and you’ll get options like this: https://www.mail-tester.com/.

Here are a few tips for creating emails that won’t be flagged as spam…

• Avoid spammy words. This includes things related to pharmaceuticals, making money fast, and similar terms. Be sure to also avoid all caps, as well as excessive exclamation points.
• Don’t try to disguise spammy words. Some marketers figure they’ll get around the spam filter by disguising spammy words with symbols. Instead of using a word like “cash” they’ll spell it this way: “c@sh.” This sort of obfuscation will also get your email flagged as spam.
• Avoid spammy looking “From” fields and addresses. Use a normal address, such as “[email protected].” Don’t use email addresses with numbers (especially numbers at the beginning of the address), as that’s a strategy spammers typically employ (and thus it will boost your spam score).
• Use normal-size fonts. For example, use a typical 12-point font. Emails with big font or small font often get tagged as looking spammy.
• Use normal-sized images. Some spammers try to get around filters by placing all their text in an image. You may have seen this in your own inbox, the only text is created using images, as spam filters can’t read this text. However, spam filters recognize that spammers often use this strategy, so having large images will boost your spam score.

Your Turn

Your assignment for this lesson is to answer the following questions, and then take action as needed:

• Are you using a reputable email service provider that works diligently to improve deliverability? If not, you should seek out a different provider.
• Does your email service provider offer a tool that lets you check an email’s spam score? If not, find a tool that you can use.
• Do your emails (including those in your autoresponder) pass with a low spam score? If not, tweak them to improve their score.