Email delivery best practices are a topic that has been around for many years and never seems to go out of fashion. Many factors can affect the ability of your email to reach your recipient’s inbox. This blog post will cover 20 best practices for email delivery

Your business’s lifeblood is email deliverability. Your business needs to have email deliverability.

There was a time when if you had an address to email, chances were that you would open any emails sent to that address unless they were spam. People are now signing up for newsletters and lists with both their personal and professional addresses.

This guide will provide you with best practices for email delivery and help you understand what works and what doesn’t when it comes to optimizing your email deliverability rate.

Best Practices for Email Delivery

Here are some tips to help you increase the chances of your emails being opened and read.

1.) Imagine yourself as a subscriber to an email. Would you be interested?

Do you have something that will make me want to open it immediately? If yes, then go ahead! You can also rewrite your subject lines or content before you send another email.

2.) Be consistent in your formatting. Keep important information at top of emails. To keep your email subscribers engaged, ensure that the formatting is consistent across all content.

It can help to emphasize important points of what you are trying to convey by emphasizing specific words or phrases. It makes it easier for readers to pick up and follow your instructions.

3.) Look for the spam trap: Many Internet Service Providers use a spam trap to flag spam messages as spam and allow senders to verify their accounts.

This can be avoided by using an email verification tool such as I update. It will help you weed spam emails out before ISPs label them as fraudulent.

4.) Do not look at just bounces: Not looking at only hard and soft bounces isn’t enough when you evaluate your list. There are many reasons people might mark your messages spam, in addition to unsubscribing from your list.

As mentioned above, people can sign up for many lists and newsletters using their personal and work addresses. They may receive messages that are not relevant to them.

5.) You should use a consistent subject line for your message: This will increase your open rates. The subject line should be concise and direct, communicate the main purpose of your email clearly, and include a compelling call to action (CTA).

To entice people to open your email, make sure you include keywords or phrases from the body in your headline.

Subscribers are more likely to open emails from people they trust, regardless of whether it’s seeing the address on a familiar face or recognizing one of their interests in the From field.

Using people’s first names is a good idea as it will allow you to build rapport with them and increase their likelihood of opening your emails.

6.) Keep your source consistent: People can change their email addresses, so it’s important to have a reliable “from” address. It is crucial to have a trusted source for brand perception and long-term success.

7.) Make it easy to unsubscribe subscribers: Make the decision clear by placing an “unsubscribe” link at the top of each message. Requiring more clicks is a quick and easy way to lose your readers. You can either link to your unsubscribe form or frame it in your message to make it clear how you want to avoid future emails.

Ensure you have an unsubscribe link at the bottom of your first email. This allows new readers to know where to go if they don’t want any information from you.

You should not use hyperlinks in this area. This could cause someone who doesn’t see the “unsubscribe” option (who has enabled images), to click on one of your links and create a hard bounce!

8.) Don’t make it hard: You want people to get what they want when they want it. Make it easy for them to unsubscribe. They may mark your messages spam if they cannot find the link. Use simple language that is easy to understand.

9.) Only email active subscribers If you send a new message, people may be more inclined to open it. But does that mean they should? It’s important to be both annoying and creative.

It is best to assume that spammers will mark every email as spam. Therefore, it is important to be cautious when you send out sales or promotional emails.

It is best to only send emails to active subscribers. This usually means that someone has opened at most one email within the last six months. However, this can vary.

Sending to a list that isn’t active should be checked manually. This is so that you can be sure it’s someone who values your content and wants to see it.

10.) Send drip campaigns: Instead of spamming your subscribers with many emails at once, you can schedule your messages to have maximum effect.

You can set up a campaign series to plan an email campaign, rather than rush it. This builds trust and shows readers you care about their inboxes.

If they do not want to receive future communications, make sure they have the option to opt-out!

11.) Delete non-reactive subscribers Check email addresses carefully to find those that last been active a while ago.

If they have not opened any emails in six months, it is possible that they have moved on to other things or changed their email address. It’s best to delete them from your mailing list.

12.) Avoid buying lists This is a great way to build negative trust with customers and ISPs. This is a surefire way to be on everyone’s permanent blacklist. If someone feels spammy, they likely are.

13.) Focus on building relationships, not sales. Building customer loyalty allows you to send more messages; brand recognition helps people identify whether the content is valuable.

Consider the lifetime value of each subscriber. This is how much they spend on you. Consider whether your message will be of any benefit to them over that time. You can make your email more profitable if it isn’t.

14.) Use a mailing list manager service: Many people who sign up for lists don’t want to see every message that comes in, so what can you do?

An online service is free and manages your relationships with subscribers to ensure maximum engagement.

You can use data to establish content frequency and timing, create landing pages that capture leads, and track the performance of every campaign over time.

Whatever works best! If someone opens an email you send but doesn’t open any other emails, resend the message the next day. This will keep your list active, and you’ll get new subscribers.

15.) Be consistent. To build a relationship with your readers, ensure that the person who owns or manages your emails sends out a consistent flow of content.

You can fill their inbox with relevant information and they will be more inclined to help you when you are in need.

Remember that emails may not be received as often as you would like. Send out email campaigns at least five times per week.

16.) Make it easy for readers and friends to share what they love:

Share buttons can be found on all major social networks to make sharing easy for those who enjoy your content. Are you running a newsletter? You should make sure that they can sign up with just one click

17.) Encourage discussion: Ask questions to allow readers to exchange ideas. Because you are connecting with them on an individual level, this helps to build relationships.

Everyone wins when readers respond to one another. Both the sender and recipient gain valuable insights into their target audience. The receiver has the opportunity to express their opinions or views directly with them.

This will help you build trust and provide insight into the interests of different segments within your target audience.

18.) Offer value: It doesn’t matter what, it is a good idea to ensure that your emails provide value to your readers in some way. An email is an offer and people will accept it only if they have something to do with it.

What content is most effective for your audience? Include relevant details and be specific, such as how-to videos, case studies, or stories from readers.

19.) Use images: Emails that contain visual elements are more likely to be opened than those with plain text. Therefore, it is important to include at least one picture whenever possible. Don’t forget to include social sharing buttons if you don’t have one.

These will increase awareness of your brand and make it easier to find your content by other interested people.

20.) Make mobile your priority. More than half of all emails are opened via mobile devices.

Keep copy and images brief and easily readable. Use responsive design to ensure seamless viewing on multiple devices.

Litmus has a fascinating statistic: 25% of all openings in Q4 2011 were on BlackBerry devices, while BlackBerries accounted for only 4% of global smartphone sales.

This means that BlackBerry users receive nearly twice the email as those who use other phones.

Additional Tips

Are you sending too many emails? You can try timing them differently. Everybody has a different schedule. You never know when they will be receiving your bulk of emails.

It can be overwhelming for someone to receive an email every day from you, especially if they aren’t interested in the topic. To avoid “inbox fatigue”, send emails at different times and days.

Do not overcomplicate. Imagine what it would be like to receive an email full of too much information. It is important that the email is simple to read and understand, but still informative enough to allow people to take something away.

Do not force them to read just a few words. Use a standard font size and organize the sentences in a way that is easy to read. It is important to make the newsletter inviting enough that people read it. Keep in mind that email is a privilege and not a right.

These are just a few tips to improve your email. Please leave any suggestions or best practices in the comments section below. We wish you all the best with your future newsletters.