Tips
A few years ago we held a webinar where 20% of attendees said that their email deliverability wasn’t great, but 100% said that it was a topic they were hoping to learn more about and improve their skills around. Today, that need is even higher as inboxes and ESPs continue to find ways to reduce spam and ensure that valid messages are making it to the inbox.
As we look ahead to 2025 we put together this simple, straightforward checklist to help your team get as many messages as possible successfully delivered to your guests.
It sounds obvious, but it’s first on our list for a reason because it’s one of the most common mistakes. To get more specific, sending emails people actually asked for includes:
Similar to the first point, this is making sure folks are expecting to get emails when they hand over their email address. A few entry points you may want to double check include:
When people sign up for your wi-fi, they expect wi-fi. When people sign up for a sweekstakes, they expect a chance to win. If you’re planning to use that email for marketing, make it clear.
Email providers are looking at engagement more than ever which means creating and sending engaging content is crucial to maintaining deliverability. Inbox providers are watching:
Pro Tip: Build a master engagement query that segments out everyone in your database who has interacted with emails, joined your database, or visited your website within the last 12 months. Then use this as needed to avoid sending too often to the rest of your less-engagement subscribers.
Email authentication is set up through a series of records associated with the domain (e.g., “myresort.com”) from which your emails are sent. Your ESP will provide the information and settings for each record. This might be something your IT team will need to set up for you. There are three types of records you’ll want to ensure are in place.
Pro Tip: That last one – DMARC – is much more critical than it used to be, especially if you are sending more than 5,000 emails a day to Gmail or Yahoo addresses.
Instead of just watching opens, clicks, revenue, etc., add deliverability KPIs to your email monitoring and reporting. This would include:
Keep in mind that preventing email delivery issues is significantly easier than fixing email delivery issues. Make a plan now to work these tips into your email workflow and your future self will thank you. These won’t guarantee you’ll steer clear of all deliverability issues but they’ll give you the best chances at doing so.
Want to dig further into your deliverability? Download our Deliverability: What You Need to Know white paper to see important benchmarks and more.
Have more questions or want a detailed dive into some of these best practices? Reach out to your account manager. We have in-house deliverability experts who can help guide your team to the inbox and beyond.
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