Email Deliverability: How to Improve Open Rates & Avoid Spam

Introduction

Quick Overview:

Definition: Email deliverability is the ability of an email to land in the recipient’s primary inbox rather than the spam folder.
Key Factors: Sender reputation, technical authentication (DMARC), and subscriber engagement levels.
Common Spam Triggers: Using “salesy” language (like “Free Money”), excessive punctuation, and all-caps subject lines.
Engagement Strategy: Sending to smaller groups of people who have opened an email in the last 15–30 days helps rebuild a high sender score.
Technical Setup: Proper email authentication tells providers like Gmail and Outlook that your messages are legitimate and safe.
Maintenance: Regular “list cleaning” to remove inactive subscribers is essential for maintaining high open rates.
The Result: Strong deliverability leads to higher visibility, more clicks, and increased sales conversions.

Improving Open Rates

If your open rates are low, it’s a sign that your emails may not be reaching inboxes or that your audience isn’t finding them compelling. Here’s what you can do:

Segment Your List – Ensure you’re targeting the most engaged subscribers to improve open rates and engagement.
Optimise Your Subject Lines – Use personalisation, curiosity, or urgency to capture attention. A/B test different styles to see what resonates best.
Send at the Right Time – Test different send times to find when your audience is most active.
Monitor Spam and Unsubscribe Rates – High rates indicate issues with content, frequency, or list quality.
Improve Your “From” Name and Email – Use a recognisable name (like a brand or person) to build trust and encourage opens.

Your Email Deliverability Checklist

Here’s a checklist to help you boost your email deliverability and get out of spam.

Authenticate Your Emails: Set up DMARC records to verify your emails and build trust with inbox providers. This helps prevent your messages from being flagged as spam.
Avoid Spam Triggers: Steer clear of spammy words (like “free money” or “act now”), excessive punctuation, and all-caps subject lines. These can cause email providers to filter your messages into spam folders.
Send to Smaller, Engaged Segments: If you’re experiencing poor deliverability, begin by sending emails to subscribers who have engaged within the last 15 days (opened or clicked). As engagement improves, gradually expand your reach to include 30-day and 60-day engaged segments. This approach helps improve deliverability by targeting the most active recipients first.
Monitor Spam and Unsubscribe Rates : Regularly monitor spam complaints and unsubscribe rates, as they can harm your sender reputation. High rates may signal irrelevant content or over-sending, affecting your deliverability. Stay on top of these metrics to maintain a strong inbox placement.
Make Your Unsubscribe Link Clear: Allowing people to opt out easily reduces spam complaints and protects your sender reputation.
Use Smart Sending: Avoid bombarding subscribers with too many emails in a short timeframe. Spacing out emails can improve engagement and reduce complaints.
A/B Test Email Content: Experiment with different layouts, copy styles, and image choices to determine what drives the highest engagement. By testing various elements, you can fine-tune your content to better resonate with your audience and boost overall performance. But remember, only test one variable at a time.
Monitor Your Deliverability Score Daily: Regularly check your deliverability score on platforms like Klaviyo (or any other email service) to identify and address potential issues early. Staying on top of your performance helps ensure consistent inbox placement and prevents long-term deliverability problems.
Clean Your List Regularly: Regularly review your email list and remove inactive subscribers to maintain high deliverability. Implement a sunset flow to automatically unsubscribe those who remain unengaged after a final re-engagement attempt. A well-maintained list improves sender reputation, reduces spam complaints, and ensures your emails reach the right audience.

Set Your Emails Up For Success

Strong email deliverability is the foundation of successful email marketing. By focusing on authentication, segmentation, and engagement, you can improve email deliverability and maintain a solid sender reputation.

The key is to stay proactive. Regularly monitor your deliverability metrics, clean your list, and test different strategies to keep engagement high. When your emails consistently land where they should, you’ll see better open rates, stronger customer relationships, and ultimately, more conversions. Keep optimising, and watch your email performance improve.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are my marketing emails going straight to spam?

Emails often land in spam because of poor sender reputation, a lack of technical authentication, or using “trigger words” like “Act Now.” Madcraft can perform a full deliverability audit to identify and fix the specific reasons your emails are being filtered.

How can I improve my email open rates?

The best way to increase opens is to segment your list so you only message active users and use personalised, interesting subject lines. Madcraft helps businesses build advanced segmentation strategies that ensure messages reach the most engaged subscribers.

What is the best way to clean an email list?

You should remove subscribers who haven’t interacted with your emails in several months or use an automated “sunset flow” to opt them out. Madcraft can set up automated list-cleaning processes to keep your sender reputation healthy without any manual work.

What are DMARC records and do I need them?

DMARC is a technical security layer that proves to email providers that your email is actually from you and not a scammer. Madcraft handles the technical setup of DMARC and other authentication records to keep your emails out of the spam folder.

How do I stop my emails from being flagged as spam?

Avoid using all-caps subject lines, excessive emojis, or suspicious links, and always make sure your unsubscribe link is easy to find. Madcraft provides content optimisation services to ensure your email design and copy meet the highest deliverability standards.

How often should I check my email deliverability score?

You should monitor your metrics daily within your email platform to catch any sudden drops in performance or spikes in spam complaints. Madcraft offers professional monitoring and reporting to ensure your email campaigns stay profitable and high-performing.