Why email deliverability matters for publishers

Poor email deliverability creates an invisible wall between you and your customers. We see this scenario play out too often: → A marketing team creates amazing content → The brand sends it out → Emails go to spam or bounce → Sales opportunities vanish That’s why you *must* make email deliverability your top priority. Here’s how: ↓ 1. Track key metrics daily Leverage your ESP to monitor: → Unsubscribe rates → Bounces → Domain health When numbers spike, find out why— Was it a specific campaign? A particular segment? Pinpoint the issue and fix it. 2. Segment strategically Ditch the “one size fits all” approach— Break your list into targeted groups: → New subscribers → Frequent buyers → People who browse but don’t buy → Fans of certain products → Engagement tracks based on varying levels of engagement …then write emails that fit each one. A skincare brand we work with split their list by skin type— Oily skin folks got different product recs than dry skin types… …and opens jumped 25% in just one month. 3. Keep your list clean Get rid of… → People who never open emails → Emails that bounce → Inactive contacts A small, engaged list beats a big, quiet one— This helps you avoid the dreaded Gmail promotions tab (once you get in, it’s hard to get out!). 4. Make it personal Use what you know about each subscriber to… → Recommend products they’ll like → Send emails when they’re likely to read → Create content based on their likes and needs Make your emails feel like they’re just for them. These elements work together: → Segmentation boosts relevance → Monitoring catches issues early → A clean list helps emails get through → Personal touches keep people reading The goal isn't more emails— It’s *better* emails that actually get in the hands of consumers when they are most likely to buy Quality content + the right consumers + engaged readers… …that's the formula for turning emails into revenue.

Case Study. Must read. Fixing Gmail deliverability isn’t as simple as changing your IP or switching platforms. In one real case: A brand moved to a dedicated IP on their ESP’s advice, hoping it would fix domain reputation issues. Warm-up was done correctly. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC were all passing. But Gmail Postmaster reputation dropped to "bad" and stayed there Gmail inbox placement went to 0%. CTRs were around 0.2%, and nothing improved. The core issue wasn't technical. It was behavioral. Their student emails were opt-in. But corporate emails came from purchased ZoomInfo lists. Gmail picked up on this and punished the entire domain. Changing IPs just exposed the issue faster. Their suppression logic also made things worse: 1. Users were suppressed only after 10 sends with no clicks 2. That means 10 chances to hurt domain reputation 3. Engagement-based filtering is strict 4. If people don’t interact, Gmail assumes your content is unwanted Technical setup wasn't perfect either: 1. Their signup API lacked rate limits 2. Bots were likely abusing the form 3. This led to emails being sent to fake or unverified addresses More bad signals sent to Gmail A "0% spam complaint rate" looked good on paper, but it was misleading. If no one sees your email in the inbox, they can’t complain. That’s a sign your emails are already deep in spam. Should you ever change IPs? Yes, if recommended by an experienced deliverability expert because the IPs are burnt and beyond recovery anytime soon. But only after identifying and fixing the root cause. Changing IPs without fixing your behavior is just a temporary patch What can actually help? Along with all other best practices, 1. Stop mailing Gmail users for a while. 2. Start fresh with small, high-quality segments. 3. Promote your email content on your website or social media to drive awareness. Good deliverability doesn’t come from tools or IPs. It comes from permission, relevance, and engagement. I have seen a lot of marketers with no optin lists but with content relevance and positive engagement they are doing great. If Gmail doesn’t see real interest in your emails, nothing else will matter. Happy to chat if you're navigating a similar situation. #email #emailmarketing

Email deliverability has sure had its moment in the sun this year. Yet, most of the chatter I hear is about how to solve issues, not prevent them. For every 1 sender making proactive improvements to their email program, I hear from 10 — maybe even 20 — who are actively looking to solve a problem after the damage has been done. The problem: deliverability issues are much costlier to clean up than people realize. Less emails in the inbox = less revenue for your business. That’s…not a surprise. But there are many costs involved with deliverability issues that businesses most commonly forget to plan for like... 🥜 Distractions for Employees 🐿 Analyzing #email data points and figuring out what’s gone wrong is time consuming and stressful. Not to mention, how much of that time could be spent on something more impactful to your business, like building new features, improving security of customer data, or proactively helping customers improve performance. 💸 Increased Staffing Expenses Your customer support and success teams might need to work overtime trying to calm down and assist customers who’ve been affected. If you don’t have experts on staff who know how to solve the issue, you might need to hire a #deliverability consultant, which can be expensive…particularly if you’re desperate to solve the issue “yesterday”. 📉 Customer Churn If you aren’t able to successfully deliver to (or for) your customers, they'll find someone else who can. Even if you end up saving them, it’s going to cost you the time it takes for your leadership team to repair the relationship. It might also require you to give discounts or elevated levels of service for free to salvage the relationship. 📉📉 Less Revenue If email is a main driver of revenue for your business, there’s the direct impact of missing the #inbox. Even if you don’t rely on email to keep the lights on, improving your relationship with email subscribers can build trust and loyalty (and referrals!), which can lead to business success down the road. Play the long game, friends! ❤️🩹 Impacts on Your Health Cleaning up deliverability messes is a big task…mentally and emotionally. #Authentication terms like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC bring on ice cream headaches. Improving sender reputation sounds more painful than getting yourself back in shape. And it can sometimes feel like the spam filters managed by mailbox providers are seriously out to get you (even though they’re actually not; I swear). Deliverability is complicated. But if you’re doing your best to send it right on a regular basis, you’ll be better prepared to deal with an issue when you suspect one. It’ll be quicker and easier to fix, too. What are some ways to proactively set yourself up for email success?

I used to focus on email list growth. More subscribers. More sign-ups. More leads. But my revenue? Flatlined. So I doubled down on list-building efforts. More lead magnets, more opt-ins, more everything. Still… my emails weren’t converting. Until I realized…It wasn’t about the number of subscribers. It was about who was actually seeing my emails. Here’s what I changed that helped me (and my clients) turn email lists into sales engines—without chasing vanity metrics. → Email Visibility Most people think email success is about subject lines and send times. But if your emails don’t even land in the inbox, none of that matters. When we use my Deliverability First Framework, we: 1️⃣ Diagnose deliverability issues If your emails land in spam or promotions, your list size is meaningless. We check domain authentication, engagement signals, and sender reputation to ensure emails actually get seen. 2️⃣ Optimize for engaged subscribers Email providers track how people interact with your emails. Low open rates? High spam complaints? That’s a one-way ticket to the spam folder. We focus on keeping lists clean, active, and responsive. 3️⃣ Segment for conversion Most emails speak to a broad audience. But broad emails get ignored. We categorize subscribers by interest, intent, and readiness—so every email feels relevant and drives action. This process has helped me (and my clients) get higher open rates, stronger deliverability, and more sales. You may get fewer subscribers. But you get the right subscribers. Because we’re in business to sell, not just collect emails. And that’s how I’ve helped clients turn their email lists into profitable assets—without chasing numbers. Because: • Broad lists = lower engagement • Targeted lists = higher conversions And when your emails consistently land in the inbox, you don’t have to stress about reach, impressions, or algorithms. Your list works for you. So instead of obsessing over how many people join your list… Focus on making sure the right people actually see your emails. Because deliverability isn’t just about avoiding spam. It’s the foundation of email marketing success.

What if Email Deliverability didn’t matter? No spam filters. No inbox placement challenges. Sounds ideal, right? But would it be? Think again. Without deliverability standards, inbox providers would have to fight back even harder against abuse. Stricter Blocking - more aggressive filtering to keep out bad actors. Delayed Deliveries - emails stuck in limbo while systems analyze content. Deep Content Scanning - increased scrutiny on every message, possibly even compromising privacy. The reality? Deliverability exists to protect the inbox... ...and brands that follow best practices will always have the upper hand. High deliverability = high trust = high engagement. Takeaway: If you’re not prioritizing email reputation, authentication, and engagement, you’re already falling behind. Deliverability isn’t a barrier - it’s your competitive advantage.

Reality: Your emails are getting filtered out. No one’s talking about this: → Gmail now groups unknown senders → Apple pre-sorts inboxes by "brand familiarity" → Outlook deprioritizes anything without human ID Which means: Your “From” field matters more than your subject line. What to do: • Test real names: “Ashley from [Brand]” > just “Brand Name” • Be consistent. Don’t rotate between “Team,” “Support,” “Info” • Add photo icons if supported (BIMI can display your brand logo) Also: Stop burning your sender reputation with pointless flows. If someone doesn’t open 5 in a row, slow down on the sends. Deliverability is behavioral now more than ever before. Inbox trust = inbox visibility.