Email Deliverability Basics: How to Stay Out of Spam

Deliverability is whether your email reaches the inbox instead of the spam folder or never arriving at all. You cannot control it fully, but a few habits make a big difference.

Authenticate your domain

Three settings prove your emails really come from you. Your email platform will tell you what to add to your domain's DNS records.

• SPF lists which servers may send email for your domain.
• DKIM adds a digital signature so receivers can tell the message was not altered.
• DMARC tells receivers what to do if SPF or DKIM checks fail, and sends you reports.

Use your own domain

Large mailbox providers have tightened requirements for bulk senders in recent years, including authentication and an easy way to unsubscribe. Sending from your own domain with proper authentication is the safest path. Check each provider's current sender guidelines, because requirements change.

Keep your list clean

• Only email people who opted in.
• Remove addresses that bounce repeatedly.
• Stop emailing people who have not engaged for a long time, or ask if they still want to hear from you.

Watch complaints

When people mark your email as spam, mailbox providers notice. Keep complaint rates very low by making unsubscribing easy and sending only what you promised.

Send consistently

Sudden jumps in volume look suspicious. If you are new or have a new domain, start with smaller sends to your most engaged subscribers and increase gradually.

Write like a human

• Avoid misleading subject lines and shouting in capitals.
• Balance images and text, and always include real text, not just a big picture.
• Include a working unsubscribe link and your postal address.