Email Marketing: Improving the Deliverability of Your Campaign
Make sure your campaign actually gets delivered to your recipients' inboxes. There are many factors that affect email deliverability, and following best practices give your campaign a better chance of reaching your contacts.Learn about:
What is email deliverability? Factors that influence email deliverability Tips for improving your email deliverability Frequently asked questions (FAQs)What is Email Deliverability?Email deliverability refers to the process of successfully allowing an email to reach the inbox of the intended recipient. It determines whether your email lands in someone's inbox, spam folder, or if it bounces back and never gets to the recipient. There are a few reasons an email might not reach the intended inbox:
Hard bounce: The email address is invalid or does not exist. Soft bounce: There was a technical issue when sending to the address. Spam folder: Email filtered as spam. Blocked: Blocked by an ISP or internet protocol.Factors that Influence Email DeliverabilityWhen you send an email, there are protocols in place behind the scenes to ensure that your IP address, content, and more is trustworthy. To make sure your emails don't get blocked or marked as spam, understand the three main factors that influence your email deliverability.The three main factors are:
Sender Reputation: A sender reputation score signals to an internet service provider (ISP) how trustworthy you are. It is something you build over time, like online clout, and is boosted by positive subscriber actions (e.g. clicks on a campaign) and having a well-maintained email list. Learn more about improving your email sender reputation.
Your Identification: There are different online protocols run behind the scenes and work like a background check to make sure you are legitimate online. These include things like a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM). If you purchase a business email through Wix or have connected your mailbox domain to the Wix name servers, then those records are connected too.Note:To assist with your campaign's deliverability and identification, Wix Email Marketing automatically adds 5 DNS records (3 sendgrid.net keys and 2 ascendbywix.com keys) once a campaign is sent. These keys work in the background to validate your campaign and are expected behavior when assigning a custom mailbox as a sender address.
Your email content: Following email marketing best practices gets you the best chance of email deliverability. Everything from your subject line, images, and content of the campaign need to be relevant, proofread, and formatted correctly.Tips to Improve Your Email DeliverabilityClick below for some best practices to follow to make sure your campaigns are getting to your subscribers' inboxes.Only email subscribers (people signed up to your mailing list)You should only be sending campaigns to those who have already consented to receive correspondence from you. Sending emails to people who have never heard of your business or haven't asked for information is the quickest way to gather spam complaints and lower your sender reputation. Build your email list organicallyThe best way to ensure long term email marketing success is by gradually building a list of people who are engaged with your content, and who want to be there. If you send your campaign to email addresses you've bought or scraped off the internet, it's going to do you more harm than good.Organically grow your mailing list by adding subscriber forms to your site, and offering valuable content in exchange for signing up for your newsletter or latest offers. To align with best practices, make sure you also add a double-opt in for visitors to confirm their consent to be emailed by you.Regularly maintain your email listCheck your email list frequently for inactive subscribers, spam emails, as well as email addresses that no longer exist. If you send campaigns to non-existent email addresses, you'll get a hard bounce which negatively affects your sender reputation score.Tip: Provide a way for people to easily unsubscribe from your mailing list to comply with email marketing best practices.Write an informative and engaging subject lineYour subject line should be straightforward and instantly let someone know what the content of the email contains. If your subject line reads like spam or clickbait (e.g. CLICK NOW or regret it later!) you are likely to get complaints or filtered as spam.Clearly identify yourself and your businessWhen a subscriber opens your email they need to immediately understand who is emailing them and what the email is about. Make sure your business name and address are clearly identified somewhere in the content or footer of the email. This builds trust and can increase your chance of getting replies.Keep your audience engagedDo your best to send relevant and stimulating content that gets subscribers interacting with your campaign. Include links to sign up or view more content, ask for feedback, and keep the conversation going. When your subscribers are engaged with your emails, it shows ISPs that your content is valuable.Gradually increase the number of emails you sendGradually warm up your email list to avoid triggering spam filters. ISPs track email patterns, and sudden spikes in volume can lead to your campaign being blacklisted. Start with fewer emails and increase frequency as you see engagement and positive responses.FAQsClick below to learn more.What should I do if my campaign is still not reaching inboxes?If your campaign isn't reaching inboxes, review your sender reputation, email content, and identification protocols. Ensure you're following best practices and consider reaching out to Wix support for further assistance.Why aren't my subscribers receiving my campaign?The most likely reason subscribers aren't seeing your campaign is that it's caught in a spam folder. This will still show as 'delivered' in your email marketing dashboard as the campaign reached the intended recipient, but the subscriber can't see it in their inbox. Learn more about preventing spam. What can I suggest my subscribers to do when they don't receive my campaign?If your campaign didn't receive a campaign ask subscribers to do the following:
Check their spam filters in case the email went to spam Add the 'From' email address to their contact lists so it is not viewed as foreign Check their webmail provider rules to see if a campaign can deliver up to 24 hours laterCan I send an email campaign to a role address?We do not recommend sending campaigns to role addresses. Because role addresses are often associated with many recipients (such as a business's 'support@' redirecting to 20 customer service representatives), they can generate spam complaints or fall into spam traps. Learn more about role addresses and how they affect deliverability. How can I track the success of my email campaigns?Use Wix's email marketing analytics to track opens, clicks, bounces, and other metrics. This data helps you understand your campaign's performance and make necessary adjustments for future emails.Note: Always provide a way for your subscribers to easily unsubscribe from your emails. This not only complies with regulations but also helps maintain a healthy email list.