A low email open rate can be a bit of a bummer because it means your customers aren’t engaging with your marketing campaigns. There are a few reasons this could be happening — maybe you’re not sending to the right people, maybe your subject lines are lackluster, or maybe your email deliverability is suffering.
Luckily, we’re here to help you with the last one. In this post, we’ll cover what email deliverability is, why it’s important, and common mistakes that can hurt your deliverability. Then, we’ll show you how to fix those mistakes and give you some best practices to follow to make sure your emails land in the inbox every time.
1. Not getting permission
The most important part of the email marketing campaign, is getting permission to email your audience. This is called permission-based marketing. With this approach, you only send emails to people who have given you permission to contact them.
There are a few ways to get permission from your audience. The most common is to have them opt-in to receive emails from you. This can be done by having them check a box on a form, or by having them fill out data and then sending them a confirmation email.
If you don’t get permission to email your audience, there is a good chance that your emails will be marked as spam. This can have a negative impact on your email deliverability, and can even get you blacklisted.
2. Using your email service provider for cold emails
If you’re sending out cold emails, you need to be extra careful.
What are cold emails? They’re emails sent to people who don’t know you or haven’t interacted with your brand before.
It’s a common misconception that you can use your email marketing service to send cold emails. But if you do, you could get your account suspended or even shut down.
Most email marketing services have strict policies when it comes to cold emails. And if you violate those terms, it can hurt your sender reputation.
Instead, use a dedicated cold email service like Lemlist or Mailshake. These tools are designed specifically for cold email outreach and can help you avoid deliverability issues.
3. Not maintaining your lists
Another common error that can hurt your email deliverability is not maintaining your email lists. Lists that are not regularly updated can be filled with spam traps, hard bounces, and inactive email accounts.
To keep your list clean, you need to regularly remove inactive subscribers and hard bounces. You should also make sure to add any new subscribers who have signed up for your list.
One of the best ways to keep your list clean is to use an email verifier . These tools can help you identify and remove invalid email addresses, hard bounces, and spam traps.
4. Ignoring the impact of spam complaints
Even if you do everything right, some people are just going to mark your emails as spam. It happens to everyone, and it’s not the end of the world.
However, if your spam complaint rate is consistently high, inbox providers will notice and may start sending your emails to the spam folder for your entire audience.
The best way to prevent spam complaints is to send emails only to people who want to receive them. You can do this by asking new subscribers to confirm their subscription and by removing anyone who asks to be unsubscribed from your list.
You should also avoid using misleading subject lines and ensure that your emails provide value to your audience.
5. Not authenticating your email
Email authentication is a way to verify that the email is really from the sender and not a spammer. It also helps to ensure the email is not altered in any way during transit.
There are a few different methods of email authentication, but the most common are Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC).
By authenticating your email, you can help to ensure that your emails are delivered to the inbox and not the spam folder.
6. Failing to use a consistent IP address
When you send an email, your email service provider (ESP) uses an IP address to deliver it. And, that IP address is like a digital fingerprint. It tells the recipient’s email server who’s sending the email and where it’s coming from.
If you’re sending emails from a different IP address every time you send an email, that can raise a red flag. Email servers may see you as a spammer, and that can hurt your deliverability.
To avoid this, use the same IP address to send your emails. This is called a dedicated IP address. You can also use a shared IP address, which is an IP address that’s used by multiple senders.
If you’re using a shared IP address, make sure you’re not sending emails from a new IP address. You can also use an IP address that’s been used by other senders.
7. Not including an unsubscribe link
You may think that by not including an unsubscribe link, you can keep people on your list and avoid losing subscribers. But this is a bad idea for a few reasons.
First, it’s illegal. The CAN-SPAM Act requires you to include a way for people to opt out of your emails.
Second, it can hurt your email deliverability. If you don’t include an unsubscribe link, people who want to opt out of your emails may report your emails as spam instead. This can lead to spam complaints, which can hurt your sender reputation and your email deliverability.
Instead of trying to hide the unsubscribe link, make sure it’s easy to find and that it works. You can include an unsubscribe link in the footer of your email, and you can use an email marketing tool like Retainful, AWeber to automatically add an unsubscribe link to your emails.
8. Using spammy language
Certain words and phrases are more likely to trigger spam filters than others. Here are a few examples:
• “Free”
• “Make money”
• “Get rich”
• “Work from home”
• “Pre-approved”
• “Best price”
• “Order now”
• “Call now”
• “Limited time”
• “No cost”
• “No catch”
Avoid using these words and phrases in your subject lines, email body, or preheader text. Instead, use power words and phrases that are proven to increase email open rates.
You should also avoid using all caps, excessive exclamation points, and dollar signs in your subject lines and email body.
9. Not using a good subject line
Your subject line is the first thing your recipients see when they open their inbox. If your subject line doesn’t make a good first impression, it can lead to low open rates and even spam complaints.
Use a subject line that’s related to the content of your email. Avoid using all caps and excessive punctuation. You should also avoid using words that are commonly associated with spam, like “free,” “cash,” and “amazing.”
To make sure your subject line is effective, test it with a small group of recipients before you send the email to your entire list. This will help you identify any problems with your subject line and make any necessary changes before the email is sent.
10. Not testing your emails
Finally, not testing your emails before sending them can lead to a host of problems. From broken links to typos to formatting issues, mistakes in your emails can hurt your deliverability.
Before you send your email to your list, send it to a few test email accounts and review it carefully. If you have the budget, you can also use an email testing tool to test your email across different devices, email clients, and browsers.
11. Forgetting to add value in your emails
One of the biggest mistakes is sending emails that don’t provide real value to your subscribers. People are more likely to engage and stay subscribed if they feel your emails offer something useful, whether that’s helpful content, exclusive deals, or opportunities to participate.
One great way to add value is through referral programs. Using tools like ReferralCandy, you can reward your customers for sharing your brand with their friends in an authentic way. Referral programs not only encourage engagement but also build trust because recommendations come from real people, not just your marketing messages. Including referral incentives in your emails gives subscribers a reason to open, click, and share, which boosts your deliverability and helps grow your community naturally.
Conclusion
If you’re looking for an email tool to help you manage your email list and send out regular email campaigns, check out HubSpot’s email marketing tool – or many others.
