Your Email Delivery Checklist

Email deliverability is a vital component of making your business succeed. With so much uncertainty surrounding the delivery of your messages, optimizing this aspect of your company is an important step in enhancing your brand’s reputation. Without further ado, MxToolbox offers a helpful list of ways to optimize your email delivery.

1. Build and Maintain a Credible Email List

Creating an extensive email list helps your company reach the desired target audience and grow your brand. Generally, three subscription processes are available for implementation:

• Opt-out: If an individual registers, makes a purchase, or signs up for something on your website, they (often unknowingly) agree to receive emails from you. They can choose to opt out of your email list later, but initial permission to email them was granted. Although this method can quickly grow your list, it also leaves you susceptible to spam complaints when you send unwanted emails, which hurts customer confidence. Not to mention, this is often viewed as a devious approach.
• Opt-in: When a customer actively opts in/chooses to be on your email list, they either check a box on your site during registration or checkout, or they consent via a sign-up button. Because they voluntarily agree to receive your emails, this option generates a positive brand reputation for your company.
• Double opt-in: This method involves the same process as the opt-in scenario, plus a second confirmation to ensure the safest way to build your list. After opting in, an email is sent from you with a link for the customer to click acknowledging they want to receive your messages moving forward. Not only does this approach increase name confidence, it greatly reduces deliverability and spam issues.

Deciding which route is most beneficial to your business is a critical step in securing email deliverability. Typically, asking permission before subscribing a customer is best, which leads to our next entry.

2. Honor Unsubscribe Requests

When customers are given the option to subscribe or unsubscribe to email marketing, honoring their requests is expected and necessary. With the abundance of spoofing and phishing email scams growing worldwide, improving customer confidence in your company is as important as ever. By allowing clients to unsubscribe from your email list via an included link in each message, your reputation will grow. Moreover, honoring all unsubscribe requests creates a level of trust among the public. Confirm that your unsubscribe process is fully functional often, and be sure to routinely update your email recipients list.

3. Monitor Blacklists

Nowadays, most anti-spam systems use blacklists to filter fraudulent emails and ensure malicious messages bypass unsuspecting recipients. Be prudent regarding your company’s status and regularly confirm your IP is not listed on blacklists. If it happens to land on one, most systems offer the possibility to be removed from their blacklist; however, avoid this scenario by keeping a clean email distribution list and implementing all three authentication protocols (discussed below). Moreover, MxToolbox allows you to check the status of your IP on the main blacklists, so take advantage of this feature as soon as possible.

4. Ensure SPF Is Accurate

To help optimize email deliverability, implementing authentication methods is a huge step in the right direction. Sender Policy Framework (SPF) allows the owner of a domain to set a range of IP addresses and domains that are authorized to send email on behalf of that domain. Confirming that your SPF protocols are correct provides assurances to email recipients that illegitimate messages are relegated to quarantine or reject status, thus allowing legitimate emails to be safely delivered as intended.

5. Verify DKIM Is Active

Working in conjunction with SPF, DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) provides a signature in the header of any outbound email, which allows the sender to take responsibility for its content. By digitally signing sent messages, your company instills confidence in customers’ minds and increases your reputation. The more your emails are scrutinized and successfully pass authentication methods, the higher your electronic correspondences are optimized.

6. Protect your domain with DMARC

Of course, both SPF and DKIM are best utilized in combination with DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance). This trio works well to combat email abuse, namely spoofing, phishing, and spam. Designed to reduce fraudulent email by giving senders insight on what recipients see, DMARC helps in the fight against malicious email practices harmful to your business. The ability to view and decode data sent from recipients allows you to understand what customers observe when various emails sent from your domain reach inboxes.

Key Take Away

Optimizing email delivery is something all businesses that send messages to customers should make a top priority. Although many actions can help increase your email’s overall deliverability, MxToolbox has highlighted some of the more beneficial and proactive steps to ensure your emails are received as intended. Don’t wait before it’s too late!