Most deliverability advice looks only at email list issues and how to design, send and manage your email campaigns. However, not all deliverability problems are solved by removing inactive subscribers and spam complainers, or tuning up your email coding to avoid triggering a spam filter.
Instead, seemingly unrelated business decisions can affect the wider application of your email program and undermine its deliverability. That was the case for a client who faced blocking until we expanded our review beyond email decision-making.
The client, a SaaS company, enlisted my consultancy to review its email marketing program. It sent transactional and promotional messages to free-trial users and paying customers who had stopped using the service.
They were experiencing zero delivery to Gmail inboxes, and Gmail comprised 70% of their database. As a result, they were effectively blocked from reaching most of their customers.
I discovered two major problem areas:
- Transactional emails that generated abnormally high spam complaints.
- Promotional emails sent to unengaged customers.
The emails themselves did not have problems that would have triggered spam filters. Rather, business decisions driving the messaging were the culprits in both cases.
While the company had been able to skate by in previous years, these high complaint rates caught up with them earlier this year. That’s when more stringent engagement rules went into effect at Gmail and Yahoo Mail and resulted in zero delivery at Gmail.
Dig deeper: Email deliverability: What you need to know
The trouble with transactional emails
As part of my deliverability review, I discovered unusually high spam complaints from the company’s transactional emails. This was unusual because these usually generate few, if any, complaints. Customers love them because they show their behavior. They help ensure they bought the right items. They also confirmed they used the right payment method and sent their purchases to the correct address.
The problem wasn’t the emails. It was how the company managed messaging for its free trial service and for people who canceled their paid service.
They offered every new customer a free trial and even used double opt-in to confirm the free trial to avoid misuse from scammers or hackers.
However, the email confirming the start of free trials — a transactional email, unlike the regular promotional messages — went out to all users before they confirmed their opt-ins to the trial service. We suspected the company’s affiliate partners were signing people up for trial services without their knowledge.
To overcome this, we paused the confirmation emails, waiting until customers had opted in before sending them. This helped reduce complaints, but they were still well over Gmail’s complaint threshold.
You can check out, but you can never leave
Looking at the company’s membership structure, we discovered customers could not close their accounts, even if they never converted from a free trial or they canceled a paid service.
These customers were no longer interested in the company’s promotions. They either stopped opening and clicking on the promotional messages or hit the spam-complaint button.
However, the company disregarded those clear inactivity signals and continued to send promotional and transactional emails, such as upgrades and nudges regarding inactivity. This was another business decision, leading to near-total blocking at its most important inbox provider.
You can see how these business decisions created an environment for deliverability disaster. Mistimed transactional emails caused high spam complaints from users who had never signed up for an account. Users could not cancel their accounts, and the company continued to message emotionally disengaged subscribers.
This situation happened for several years but was not a significant problem. The high complaint rate didn’t keep the company’s emails out of Gmail inboxes. But then along came “Yahoogle,” which imposed a 0.3% spam complaint threshold, and suddenly the complaints and inactions became a stopper.
3 ways to maintain or regain inbox access
The new deliverability rules at Gmail and Yahoo Mail surprised many email senders this year. If you’re also dealing with reduced inbox access, these three steps can help you detect and correct problems inside and outside of email.
1. Conduct a comprehensive audit of your marketing program
I did a deliverability review for this client, covering one aspect of the email program. It exposed problems such as volume spikes, lack of engagement, high complaints and Yahoogle violations. However, it did not examine issues beyond email like a full email audit. If we had been able to do the full audit, which reviews the entire customer journey, the issue would be resolved much earlier.
2. Review business decisions that have an impact on your email program
A deeper examination would have revealed the impact of not being able to cancel an account. This came to light in this case only because I kept digging away to find things that the focused deliverability review did not expose.
3. Address deliverability problems when they arise
This client’s email practices had several big red flags waving before the Yahoogle changes, including many spam complaints on transactional emails. Even though the company was not penalized, this kind of email is out of character. It should have warranted an investigation much sooner. Had that happened, the company might not have been blocked by its most important inbox provider.
Poor deliverability affects revenue and engagement
That should be an obvious statement. If your business relies on inbox access for promotional and transactional emails, you must do everything possible to maintain that access. Understanding all the conditions and decisions that drive email messaging and working to solve problems when they arise will help you keep that path clear.
Dig deeper: Email deliverability vs. email warmup: Which can skyrocket your outreach efforts?
The post Why bad business decisions can hurt email deliverability appeared first on MarTech.
**How Poor Business Decisions Negatively Impact Email Deliverability**
In the digital age, email remains one of the most effective tools for communication and marketing. Businesses rely heavily on email campaigns to engage customers, promote products, and drive revenue. However, the success of these efforts hinges on one critical factor: email deliverability. Email deliverability refers to the ability of an email to successfully land in a recipient’s inbox rather than being flagged as spam or bouncing back. Unfortunately, poor business decisions can severely impact email deliverability, undermining the effectiveness of email campaigns and damaging a company’s reputation.
In this article, we’ll explore how poor business decisions can negatively affect email deliverability and provide actionable insights to avoid these pitfalls.
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### **1. Purchasing Email Lists**
One of the most common mistakes businesses make is purchasing email lists. While it may seem like a quick way to grow your audience, this practice often leads to disastrous consequences for email deliverability. Purchased lists typically contain outdated, inaccurate, or irrelevant email addresses. Worse, they may include spam traps—email addresses specifically created to catch spammers.
When emails are sent to these low-quality lists, they are more likely to bounce or be flagged as spam. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and email platforms like Gmail or Outlook monitor these metrics closely. High bounce rates and spam complaints can lead to your domain or IP address being blacklisted, making it nearly impossible for future emails to reach inboxes.
**Solution:** Focus on organic list-building strategies. Use opt-in forms on your website, offer valuable content in exchange for email addresses, and ensure that recipients have explicitly agreed to receive your emails.
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### **2. Ignoring Email Authentication Protocols**
Email authentication protocols, such as SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance), are essential for verifying the legitimacy of your emails. Failing to implement these protocols is a critical oversight that can harm your email deliverability.
Without proper authentication, ISPs may view your emails as suspicious, increasing the likelihood that they will be marked as spam. Additionally, cybercriminals can exploit your domain for phishing or spoofing attacks, further damaging your sender reputation.
**Solution:** Work with your IT team or email service provider to set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. These protocols help ISPs verify that your emails are coming from a trusted source, improving your chances of landing in the inbox.
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### **3. Overlooking Email Content Quality**
The content of your emails plays a significant role in determining deliverability. Poor business decisions, such as sending overly promotional or irrelevant content, can lead to high unsubscribe rates and spam complaints. Additionally, using spammy language (e.g., “FREE!!!”, “Act Now!”, or excessive use of capital letters and exclamation marks) can trigger spam filters.
Another common mistake is neglecting the balance between text and images. Emails that are image-heavy or contain large attachments may be flagged as spam or fail to load properly, frustrating recipients.
**Solution:** Create high-quality, engaging content that provides value to your audience. Personalize your emails based on recipient preferences and behaviors, and avoid spammy language. Test your emails before sending to ensure they display correctly across devices and email clients.
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### **4. Failing to Maintain a Clean Email List**
An outdated or poorly managed email list is a recipe for deliverability issues. Continuing to send emails to inactive or invalid addresses can result in high bounce rates and damage your sender reputation. Additionally, failing to remove recipients who consistently ignore your emails can lead to low engagement rates, signaling to ISPs that your emails are not relevant.
**Solution:** Regularly clean your email list by removing invalid addresses, inactive subscribers, and those who have unsubscribed. Use email verification tools to identify and remove problematic addresses before sending campaigns.
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### **5. Sending Emails Too Frequently or Inconsistently**
Striking the right balance in email frequency is crucial. Sending too many emails can overwhelm recipients, leading to unsubscribes and spam complaints. On the other hand, sending emails too infrequently can cause recipients to forget about your brand, increasing the likelihood that they will mark your emails as spam when they do receive them.
**Solution:** Establish a consistent email schedule that aligns with your audience’s preferences. Use analytics to monitor engagement rates and adjust your frequency accordingly.
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### **6. Neglecting to Monitor Sender Reputation**
Your sender reputation is a score assigned by ISPs based on factors like bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement levels. A poor sender reputation can cause your emails to be blocked or sent to the spam folder. Unfortunately, many businesses fail to monitor this critical metric, leaving them unaware of deliverability issues until it’s too late.
**Solution:** Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools, Sender Score, or your email service provider’s analytics to monitor your sender reputation. Address
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