5 Tips for Improving Email Deliverability and Engagement

There's no doubt that email marketing is a classic yet powerful tool to connect with your audience, turn leads into customers, and boost your sales. There's a good reason why 73% of marketers say email is important to their success. 

But it's much harder to see these benefits if people aren't getting your emails.

When you consider that about 16% of emails don't reach their intended destination, it's easy to see how this roadblock can have a significant impact on clicks and conversions.

The key is to focus on improving your email deliverability rate. 

So, what's "email deliverability"? It's just a technical way of saying the percentage of your emails that successfully land in your subscribers' inboxes. So, if you send 1,000 emails and 200 bounce or are otherwise rejected, you have a delivery rate of 80%.

The average delivery rate will vary based on the size of your audience, your industry, and where you get your leads.

Under the right circumstances, email deliverability not only makes your brand look good but also helps you save money and boost engagement since your emails will more likely end up in front of your subscribers.

Today, I'll show you 5 simple yet impactful ways to boost your deliverability and get more eyes on your marketing emails.

Let's get started!

Avoid Buying Email Lists at All Costs

You might think grabbing an email list off the web is a fast track to expanding your community. But trust me, that's a road you don't want to take. The truth is that buying leads is one of the worst things you can do for your business. 

The simple truth is people are not interested in engaging with brands if they don't start the conversation first -- and that does not include the legal repercussions, depending on where you live.

If that happens too often, email services start seeing you as an unwanted guest at the party, which means your emails could end up marked as spam or kicked back to your provider. Keep pushing your luck, and people who actually signed up will also have a harder time receiving your messages.

What should you do instead? Focus on building your list organically. Create eye-catching, valuable content that's so good people can't help but sign up. When you do things this way, everyone who's on your list is there because they want to be, which means your emails are more likely to land in the right inbox. 

Embrace Double Opt-Ins

Odds are, you know about single opt-in forms. Essentially, these are popups or forms that ask users to subscribe to your email list by entering their name and email address. 

But what about double opt-ins? Put plainly, double opt-ins are how you can confirm with people that they are genuinely interested in receiving emails from your company. You can do this by triggering a confirmation email as soon as a user signs up or by creating a 2-step popup.

Though it sounds simple, confirming their email not only boosts your email's chances of being read but also ramps up the level of engagement you'll see.

Think of it this way: if a subscriber needs to confirm their interest, it shows that they are eager for your messages and intend to read them. On the other hand, if a subscriber changes their mind, you don't have to worry about burdening people (and your wallet) by sending emails that no one will ever read.

If enough people don't open your marketing messages, email service providers may see your emails as unreliable and make it harder for everyone else to read them. 

So, make double opt-ins a part of your strategy. It's a straightforward step that can make a big difference in reaching a more interested audience.

Set the Stage and Deliver on Your Promises

Now, let's talk about delivering on your promises and how setting the stage for subscribers can improve your deliverability rate. If you offer a discount, content upgrade, or other type of lead magnet as a hook to get someone to sign up, send it as soon as they submit their form. 

Think about it - if you sign up for something cool and get it right away, you're going to feel pretty good about your decision. This initial fulfillment not only meets but exceeds expectations, setting a positive tone for your relationship moving forward.

It's also worth noting that welcome emails, the ones that will have this unique offer, are powerhouses when it comes to engaging your audience. They actually get 5 times more clicks than regular emails. That's huge! 

You can use this opportunity to show people what you have in store for them. Share some of your best articles and establish expectations so they know what happens next. For example, you could say, "Keep your eyes peeled for my next email tomorrow night, where I will show you how to (something the reader finds valuable). This is a surefire way to get them to open your next message, which sends positive delivery signals to ESPs.

Being helpful and transparent in this way builds trust from the get-go and transforms your emails from mere messages to updates from someone they know and respect.

Test Before You Hit Send

If there's one thing I learned over the years, it's that issues like broken links or wonky formatting can really hurt your delivery rate. You do not want to put a ton of time and energy into creating a perfect email for it to end up looking like a jumbled mess in someone's inbox. That's a quick way to get marked as spam and decrease your visibility.

By developing consistent, reliable tests, you catch these problems before they reach your audience. This means more people will see, open, and engage with your message, which sends a positive signal to service providers.

One of the main things I suggest checking is email deliverability. If your email doesn't even open on your subscriber's phone or the images don't load, they're likely to delete it. Now, considering that almost 70% of the world owns a mobile device, you can see why poor mobile optimization is a problem. 

Your best bet is to test on a range of devices so you can pinpoint these issues and make sure everyone has the opportunity to check out your message.

A strategy that's worked well for us is using a checklist. Before hitting 'send,' we ensure images load quickly, links work, and the layout adapts to different screens. This results in more messages delivered, which has a positive impact on our sender reputation.

Let Your Subscribers Call the Shots

Personalization is an excellent way to ensure people open your emails. You'll want to include custom tweaks wherever you can. My advice is to start by including the subscribers' name in the subject line or first line of the email. 

A whopping 47% of emails are opened or discarded based on the subject line. If you can capture your audiences' attention with their name at this moment, there's a better chance they'll keep reading your message instead of deleting it.

And since people in this position tend to engage with your emails, they are less likely to be flagged as spam and more likely to be seen as valuable resources. This proactive engagement doesn't just improve deliverability; it strengthens the relationship between you and your audience.

It's also worth mentioning that personalization also drives sales. A whopping 80% of consumers say they're more likely to purchase from companies offering personalized experiences.

We've found that letting subscribers choose their preferences gives them a personalized journey and is a great way to start personalizing. I send out a quarterly survey so people can adjust their preferences as needed. This is one tip you shouldn't skip. Since implementing this strategy, there's been a spike in engagement, opens, and conversions.

Conclusion

There you have it. The tips outlined here today have helped us improve email deliverability and boost engagement. I'm confident that if you reflect on your email marketing strategy and find ways to start using these strategies, you'll see much better results on future campaigns.