EMAIL DELIVERABILITY

EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
There’s no question that email software and the people who use it are getting better at filtering out spam. This is good
since it makes it easier for engaging emails to get through — but without a strong focus on deliverability, sometimes even
quality, permission-based emails can get filtered out of your subscriber’s inboxes.

According to Return Path’s 24% 21% 26%

Deliverability Benchmark
Report 2015, worldwide, 21% of
permission-based emails get sent
NORTH
to a spam folder or go missing. AMERICA
CANADA BRAZIL
This means that for every five
emails you send, one of them
never reaches your subscriber.
76% 79% 74%
Spam filtering and subscriber
engagement are critical factors
in the decline in inbox
placement rates, which 20% 12%
decreased by 4% since 2014,
with significant declines for US INBOX
and Canadian businesses.
EUROPE AUSTRALIA
SPAM/MISSING
In this section, we review what
drives modern email deliverability Return Path Deliverability Benchmark Report 2015
and show how the best practices
of engaging email can improve 80% 88%
your deliverability.

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EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
Your Reputation as
a Sender Is Crucial
Email deliverability is more and Algorithmic Filters Spam Traps
more about your reputation as a Most email applications use A spam trap is an inactive, If you’re not a spammer, you’re
sender and less about the actual algorithms to compare all incoming deliverable email address owned by probably thinking that you don’t
content of your emails. This does emails to those marked as junk. Any an ISP to catch spammy senders. have to worry about spam traps. But
not mean that content is not email with a similar sender, links, or So, you want to be scrupulous about it can be all too easy to end up with
important, but it does mean that content is more likely to be your email list building and email spam trap email addresses on your
marketers need to give plenty of considered spam. But the analyzing sends or you could severely hurt contact lists if you’re not using
attention to how their emails are doesn’t stop there: The subscriber’s your deliverability and sender secure opt-in techniques, or if you’re
being delivered. internet service provider (ISP) reputation. Worse, your IP address buying or borrowing email lists from
remembers the URLs and domains could be put on a blacklist, an online unsavory sources.
When it comes to modern email in the spam. If those URLs and database of spammy senders. And
delivery, it’s good to know domains are reported, then any other once your IP address is on a blacklist,
the fundamentals. email containing them has a harder it’ll be even more difficult to get your
time getting through to the recipient emails delivered.
— even if it’s from a completely
different sender.

“More than 80% of all delivery issues arise because of a

problem with your sending reputation.”
– George Bilbrey,
President of Return Path

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EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
Blacklists Bounce Handling
Blacklisting is a process of actively ISP and email receiving systems Authentication Protocols
monitoring the Internet for reports of are moving away from standard Use protocols to help email
senders sending unsolicited email address validation more and receivers separate legitimate
commercial email, and then publicly more by using their own custom messages from spam and
listing that information on Internet bounce codes. Modern email malware, so less false-positive
sites for others to reference as a marketing service providers need to filtering occurs. The most common
measure to fight spam. Many ISPs know what all the different new email authentication protocols are
and independent organizations use bounce codes mean so they can DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail),
these blacklists as a reference filter properly process soft and hard SPF (Sender Protection
applied to their inbound mail servers bounces while giving senders the Framework), and SenderID.
to aid in preventing spam, and to visibility they need to manage their
encourage internet security. email campaigns. Receiver and ISP Relations
Your email provider should be able
Shared or Dedicated IP to handle relationships with ISPs
If you are a low-volume sender, a and receivers, especially if your
shared IP address might suffice, but legitimate emails are getting
if you are a high volume sender, a marked as false-positive spam.
dedicated IP is usually best
(assuming you are a “good” sender).
EMAIL DELIVERABILITY

Gmail’s Tabbed Inbox?

Gmail’s new tabbed inbox automatically
filters incoming email into one of several
“buckets” (tabs) – primary, social,
promotions, updates, and forums:
1. Primary – Email from your family 4. Updates – Email from blog There’s been lots of discussion about This is because if someone wants your
and friends, as well as other commenting services, what this means for email marketers email, they’ll find it. And if they know your
messages not classified as bulk confirmation/transactional (“does the new Promotions tab kill email emails are consistently valuable and/or
(one to many). Also, any emails, Google calendar marketing?”). We think not. But it means enjoyable, they’ll open them – even if
message that does not fit nicely reminders, and other “updates.” that the themes of the guide become they’re sitting next to a bunch of other,
into the other tabs will fall here. Note: Sometimes “promotional” more important than ever. If you send less engaging emails.
2. Social – Email from social media emails will end up here as well.
timely, relevant, engaging, valuable,
networks such as Facebook, 5. Forums – Email from any human emails to people who want them,
LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, listservs or other “groups” the Gmail changes will have little impact.
and so on. (forums) you are part of.
3. Promotions – Email marketing
messages from companies,
brands, and individuals – any
messages that are sent from an
email service provider and/or
marketing automation company
as well as any “mass” (bulk)
mailings will probably land in
this tab.

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EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
Engagement Matters
to Deliverability
Consumers use the spam button to tattletale
How your recipients engage with Yahoo! has acknowledged that as it
your emails is a major factor in future more precisely analyzes user behavior on companies that send unwanted emails,
deliverability. Engagement data is a to weed out spam, some genuine even if they initially opted in to receive them.
prominent measure of deliverability at senders might find themselves facing
If recipients don’t want or expect your
some of the major ISPs. Big league deliverability challenges. And due to
email providers, such as Yahoo!, smarter spam filtering algorithms and emails, they are more likely to mark them as
Gmail, Hotmail, and Outlook, have features like Gmail’s category tabs, spam. Disturbingly, Return Path reports that
made it clear that they analyze which your emails may not even make it to
recipients are more likely to tag your email
emails their users open and click your recipient’s primary inbox if they
through to gauge whether emails are not engaging them. as spam than to simply unsubscribe, even if
from a particular sender are spam. If your “unsubscribe” link is conspicuous.
users are not opening and clicking This is why engagement matters even
certain emails, to the spam folder for deliverability.
they eventually go.
EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
Content still matters Trigger Words
We haven’t yet talked much about The rules of content are ever-
the actual content of your emails. changing. It used to be that if your
This is not because content is emails included certain “trigger” Check Your Content
meaningless; it’s just that reputation words, such as “free,” there was a You can use a spam content check tool, such as
and engagement matter more. pretty good chance they would Marketo’s Email Deliverability Power Pack
However, if you find that your emails never reach the inbox. Today, solution, to get a sense of whether or not your
are landing in junk boxes, despite however, those once-forbidden email content is “spammy” and make sure your
your adherence to all the words no longer cause email content isn’t inadvertently raising red flags with
deliverability best practices we’ve marketing messages to ISPs or email clients.
mentioned, then it’s probably time to get blocked.
review your content.
Here’s the best advice we can give
you for determining what not to do
with content: Look at the emails in
your own spam folder, and don’t
do what those guys are doing!

Screenshot: Marketo Email Deliverability Power Pack

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EMAIL DELIVERABILITY

Deliverability: a Partnership
between Email Provider and Sender
With all the issues surrounding The Provider’s Responsibility The Sender’s Responsibility
deliverability of your marketing emails, 1. Your provider is responsible for making sure its 1. As a sender, you must keep your lists clean, take
you can see how important it is for a email technology is up-to-date and compliant the time to understand your audience, and craft
sender (that’s you) to work closely with a with today’s legal requirements. This means it carefully-targeted messages that are relevant to
provider (your email marketing service) to must optimize the back-end of its delivery specific subscriber sub-lists.
make sure sent emails are getting platform for reduced friction with corporate 2. Y
ou are ultimately responsible for what you send
through to recipients. Deliverability is a filtering systems. A good provider must also and to whom it’s sent. Corporate email systems
shared responsibility. Here’s how it cultivate good relationships with receivers by keep a close eye on how the subscribers under
breaks down: applying proactive issue resolutions, feedback their watch are interacting with your emails. They
loops, and whitelisting practices. score you based on your engagement levels, so
2. A modern email marketing service provider will you want your subscribers to open, click,
allow you to segment your contact lists into forward, save, and print on a steady basis. If
sub-lists so that you can target specific your subscribers are ignoring you, you are in
customers with specific messages. This is danger of being blacklisted.
essential to keeping your audience engaged with 3. If you send relevant messages to a willing opt-in
relevant content and making sure the right list, you’ll build a good deliverability reputation; if
person gets the right message at the right time. you don’t, your reputation will suffer.

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EMAIL DELIVERABILITY
Seven Best Practices
for Deliverability
Take the following proactive steps to
give your emails the best chance of
hitting the inbox:
1. Follow the trust and 5. Manage your complaint rate. up against your competitors’. Sender 7. Be transparent.
engagement mantra. If your email marketing service warns Score’s proprietary algorithm ranks a Let your subscribers and potential
Give your subscribers a good you that complaints made against sending IP address on scale of 0 to subscribers know how you’re doing
reason to opt in and set clear you are high, take the warning 100, where 0 is the worst score and when it comes to complaint rates,
expectations about what’s to seriously. Set up an email address 100 is the best. Ranking is based on bounces rates, and your Sender
come. Then, follow through on — abuse@your-domain.com — that factors such as complaints against Score rank. Here’s how Marketo
your promises with timely, a representative of your email you, volume of your emails, your presents this data to give our clients
targeted, valuable emails. marketing service or an anti-spam external reputation, number of confidence that their emails are
organization can use to contact you unknown users, and amount of getting delivered. For more on this,
2. Use responsible methods with any complaints. Register that rejected emails. Another reputation see Marketo’s Trust page.
to build your lists. email address with www.abuse.net, monitoring option is SenderBase. Part (marketo.com/trust)
Verify all new email addresses an anti-spam advocacy group and of the Cisco IronPort SenderBase
before sending your messages, resource center, to show anti-spam Security Network, SenderBase rates
and regularly scrub your contact organizations that you are your IP as good (little-to-no threat
lists to remove inactive addresses. responsible and that you’ve given activity), neutral (within acceptable
thought to the email abuse issue. parameters), or poor (showing a
3. Choose a solid email
problematic level of threat activity).
marketing service provider. 6. Be proactive about closely
Make sure the vendor you choose monitoring your reputation
is sophisticated enough to handle Trusted IPs All IPs
metrics.
bounce codes, feedback loops, Get your email reputation score to Cisco
Return Path
Cisco
Return Path
and connection optimization. SenderBase SenderBase
learn what you need to change Month
Good/Neutral/
Sender Score
Good/Neutral/
Sender Score
0 to 100 0 to 100
about your program in order to Poor Poor
4. Create engaging content.
improve your reputation and your June 2013 Good 99 Good 97
On its own, bad content won’t
inbox placement rates. Return Path, May 2013 Good 99 Good 96
prevent your emails from being
a leader in email intelligence, offers a
delivered, but if your content is April 2013 Good 99 Good 96
product called Sender Score, which,
boring or irrelevant, people won’t March 2013 Good 99 Good 98
in addition to providing you with your
engage with it or, worse, will mark February 2013 Good 99 Good 95
reputation score, shows you how
your emails as spam.
your email marketing program stacks January 2013 Good 99 Good 95
December 2012 Good 98 Good 95
LEGAL ISSUES
Being a law-abiding email marketer is a big part of establishing trust,
not just with your audience but also with ISPs and other companies.

With email marketing, the “country of United States Australia

reception” principle usually applies. When it comes to the legalities of The following brief from the Bureau of Here are the key requirements of the
This means the law of the country of email marketing in the U.S., the Consumer Protection Business Spam Act of 2003:
the recipient of an email applies, even if Controlling the Assault of Non- Center breaks down the law into
you (the sender) are situated abroad. solicited Pornography and seven main requirements for email • Consent - make sure you have
This makes it important to understand Marketing Act of 2003 — also marketers: consent to contact the recipient
the nuances of each country you known as the CAN-SPAM Act — is and can prove you have
1. Don’t use false or misleading obtained it.
market in. Wikipedia has a big list of the governing law. The CAN-SPAM header information.
Email Spam Legislation by Country. Act, updated in 2008, makes it • Identify - include accurate
possible for spammers to be fined 2. Don’t use deceptive subject lines.
information to identify yourself or
This guide is not meant to be a legal $11,000 per violation. Yes, that’s your organisation as the authorised
3. Identify your messages as ads.
document, and we’re not lawyers, so right —$11K for sending one sender of the message.
we can only give you an overview of inappropriate email! Authentic 4. Tell recipients where you’re located.
legal compliance. Play it safe – be sure marketers must stay on their toes to • Unsubscribe - make sure your
5. Tell recipients how to opt out of
to consult with legal counsel or a avoid using deceptive language in receiving future emails. messages have a functional
member of your company’s their email headers, subject lines, unsubscribe facility, so that
compliance team for specifics of the and from and reply-to addresses. 6. Honor opt-out requests promptly recipients can unsubscribe at
(within 10 days).
laws in your region. any time.
7. Monitor what others are doing on
your behalf.

For more information, read the

Bureau of Consumer Protection
Business Center’s full Compliance
Guide, and the updates to the
CAN-SPAM Act.

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LEGAL ISSUES
Canada CASL prohibits the following:
Canada’s anti-spam law, otherwise
• Sending commercial electronic • Using false or misleading
known as CASL, addresses a wide
messages without the representations online in the
range of issues stemming from
recipient’s consent (permission). promotion of products or
electronic communications to
This includes sending services.
content and spyware. It is enforced
messages to emails, on social
by three different federal agencies: • Collecting personal information
media, and even by text.
Canadian Radio-Television and by accessing a computer system
Telecommunications Commission • Altering transmission data in an in violation of federal law.
(CRTC), Competition Bureau, and electronic message that causes
Office of the Privacy Commissioner of the message to be delivered to • Collecting electronic addresses
Canada. And starting July 2017, a different destination without using computer programs or
individuals and organizations express consent. using the addresses without
affected by a violation will be able to permission (via address
bring a private right of action in court • Installing computer programs harvesting).
against them. without the express consent of
the owner of the computer
system or its agent, such as an
authorized employee.

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