Blog

Email deliverability is a hot topic, and everyone has their opinion. If you check LinkedIn, a lot of people are talking about how to improve deliverability and, more importantly, avoid spamming.

So, in this post, we will discuss some essentials about improving deliverability, which remains a significant challenge for:

• Outbound Cold Emailers
• Sales Personnel
• Marketing Professionals

The Challenge with Cold Email Deliverability

Outbound email marketers that use only ONE domain often end up getting spammed. Regardless of the email copy quality, automation settings, or low volume of emails, you can still get spammed.

That's why you should NEVER use your primary domain for cold emails. Instead, use multiple domains.

Getting Spammed Hurts Marketing Professionals

Interestingly, anyone can be marked as spam, and being marked spam is the worst that can happen to:

• Marketing people who are looking for new and quality leads.
• Sales professionals who are in the later stages of a funnel.
• Customer service executives often face trouble when the customers stop interacting.

The Drawbacks of Spamming

There is no specific reason why you might be spammed. For example, some people don't like sales emails, so they would mark you as spam. But once you're spammed for whatever reasons, it can take a long time to recover the domain and start all over.

So, imagine that happening to your primary domain. It can severely affect your business. As a result:

• Sales executives must keep a deal open.
• Marketers are forced to send manual emails to prospects which take more time.

Why Use Multiple Domains for Cold Emails

Having multiple domains gives you a better chance of higher deliverability. It minimizes your chances of going to spam. So, if you have five domains and one goes to spam, you still have four domains to work with. It's like having multiple fishing poles in the water. It just improves your chances of catching the fish.

But how does that happen? Suppose you have a hundred emails and ten different domains. You can divide the emails into ten emails per domain. Hence, it doesn't attract any attention from email services, so they don't see that as spam.

But you're probably getting spammed if you send a duplicate hundred emails from one domain.

That's why it's a great idea to use as many domains as possible. For example, at RevFuel, there are about 16 to 17, which may be overkill, but it works great, especially for high-volume emailing.

Turn On Some Important Settings

Once you have multiple domains, it's time to turn on some basic email settings. These settings include:

• MX Record – Tells the internet where to deliver the emails. Mostly it's automatically configured, but you may need to adjust some settings in some cases.
• DKIM – Domain Keys Identified Mail (DKIM) is a signature added to every email to prove the sender's origin and avoid spoofing.
• SPF – Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is a record that tells the internet which domains can send emails on your behalf.
• DMARC- Domain-Based Message Authentication (DMARC) indicates that you want to be authenticated to confirm that the emails are coming from a legitimate source. 

These settings are critical to avoid spamming. However, if you still need to turn them on, it's better to refrain from sending any cold emails.

Start with Email Warm Ups

Once the settings are on, you can move to email warmups. Email warmups ensure you don't get spammed immediately for sending too many emails from your new domain.

What are Email Warmups, and Why are they Important?

When you get a new domain, it's a fresh and baby email address that needs time to mature. So, when Google, Outlook, and other email services notice a high volume of emails immediately, they will probably identify you as spam.

That's why it's critical to start slow. That's where email warmup tools come in.

Think of an email warmup tool as a group of senders and receivers. You can send your emails to a warmup tool that will receive, open and reply to your emails. So, it enhances your reputation and increases deliverability. As a result, email services identify you as non-spam because you have a decent open and reply rate to show for it.

Benefits of Email Warm-Up Tools

An email warmup tool provides several benefits, such as:

• Improves sender reputation
• Fast tracks deliverability rates
• Helps maintain deliverability rate

That's why it's best to continue warmups even after establishing your email domain. Instead, lower the email volume.

Measures to Avoid Spamming

Some more essentials to avoid spamming include:

Ensuring the Right Target Audience

Even with the correct settings turned on and email warmup tools, you can still end up in spam by sending emails to the wrong prospects. If the receiver isn't the right target audience, they may get annoyed and turn on spam.

Likewise, better-written copies of the wrong ICP/BP are more likely to get spammed. Generally, poorly targeted emails are one of the major causes of getting spammed.

Cleanse Your Data for Quality Leads

It's best to use validated data to ensure your emails reach the right audience. For instance, tools like seamless.ai provide an email score from zero to 90%. It recommends sending emails to those with 70% or above.

As you focus on the recommended quality, it reduces the chances of bounces. Too many bounces could lead to spamming. Moreover, it's better to use bounce checker tools to ensure the email is validated and your recipient won't bounce.

Use Tools to Ensure Higher Deliverability

Additionally, it's best to use tools to ensure higher deliverability. These tools include:

• Custom Tracking URL Tools – These tools feature a hidden link to ensure recipients open the links in an email copy. Moreover, it's best to use trackers that allow multiple URLs for different domains.
• Reduce the Number of Links – Some people prefer HTML emails, but it's not ideal until they receive a response. Instantly suggests minimizing links in the email. Some email services feature HTML filters that identify HTML as spam.
• Use Text-Only Emails – Text-only emails are the best options for marketing emails, and they perform better in terms of not getting spammed.

Best Tools for Better Deliverability

Some of the recommended tools to enhance deliverability include:

• Domain Host – GoDaddy
• Email Providers – Google, Outlook, Zoho
• Email Warmup – Gmass, Instantly

Moreover, make sure that the outbound prospecting tools have custom URL settings.

Tips for Monitoring Deliverability

To ensure better deliverability, here are a couple of monitoring tips that should help.

Compare Open and Reply Rates

Reply rates may seem promising, but sometimes, services identify automatic responses as replies too. So, it doesn't serve the purpose. However, by comparing reply and open rates, you can better monitor the performance and deliverability.

Random Email Tests

Send random emails to addresses that you have never sent to before. These could be your friends and acquaintances. Check if the emails are going to the primary inbox to confirm deliverability.

‍