Why Email Deliverability Matters

Deliverability is whether your email reaches the inbox, lands in spam or gets blocked entirely. It’s easy to ignore because you can’t see it happening. A campaign can look like it’s running fine while most messages never reach a human.

01Authentication comes first

Inbox providers want proof that you are who you say you are. Three DNS records handle that:

Google and Yahoo now require bulk senders to have authentication in place and to make unsubscribing easy. Even at lower volumes, skipping these steps hurts your inbox placement.

02Protect your main domain

Many companies send cold outreach from a separate but related domain, so any reputation problems don’t affect the domain their team uses for everyday email with customers. It’s a simple precaution that can prevent a serious headache.

03Warm up new inboxes

A brand-new inbox that suddenly sends hundreds of emails looks suspicious. Start with low volume and increase gradually over several weeks. Keep daily sending volume per inbox modest even after warm-up.

04Keep your list clean

Bounces and spam complaints are two of the strongest negative signals. Verify email addresses before sending, remove anyone who bounces and stop emailing people who ask you to. A smaller, accurate list will outperform a large, messy one.

05Write like a person

Heavy formatting, lots of links, large images and pushy sales language can all trigger filters. Plain, short, conversational emails tend to perform better with both filters and readers.

06Monitor and adjust

Watch bounce rates, reply rates and any sudden drop in engagement. If numbers fall off quickly, pause and check your setup before sending more. Catching a problem early is far easier than repairing a damaged domain reputation.

Written by Scott Henkin, Founder of Tek & Tel

Scott brings more than 20 years of sales experience to helping businesses build stronger pipelines through appointment setting, sales development, LinkedIn outreach, cold email and lead generation.