Statistics show that 23.5% of all legitimate emails sent do not reach the users’ Inbox and 75% are reported as spam. Another alarming statistic puts Latin America in second place with the worst deliverability rate (28%) in global parameters.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have as their craft a task to stop emails from unauthorized entry, however, many legitimate and allowed messages sent are falling into the spam box. Statistics indicate that more than 90% of emails are considered spam, a percentage equivalent to 9 out of 10 emails. This can be seen by the conduct of known servers like Yahoo, which accepts 1 in 8 emails, and Hotmail, which filters 1 of 3 incoming emails.

How ISPs manage emails delivery

There is no point on devoting hours to produce a text that will not even be read, isn’t it? So it takes some care to ensure that your contacts will receive content in their inbox. The responsible for the barrier imposed by email providers is a set of anti-spam filters, which helps to protect the user from unwanted messages.

These filters evaluate all information from the sender, such as where the email came from, where it goes, what the content. One of the main items in question is the reputation of the sending server. They also take into account the content, especially the subject line, if it brings offensive words or terms such as "free", "promotion" or "click here".

Besides this, there are several factors that directly affect the deliverability of emails. Among them, SPF and DKIM settings, IPs reputation ratings and domains, claims from lack of opt-in. All are questions that depend on you. And the main sign of this negative impact is identified in the reports that show high deliverability rate and low open rate.

The most interesting fact, as you can see in the above paragraph, is that the detour to the spam box is not necessarily related to ISPs. After all, the concern of email providers is what your customers want to receive in their inboxes.

Understand the difference between Delivery x Deliverability

Before measuring efforts to prevent your emails from falling into the spam box without reaching the desired destination, you need to know what paths are leading to it. The first step is to understand the difference between delivery and deliverability. The terms are often used to define the same concept. However, this difference goes beyond meaning.

The deliverability rate is calculated based on the reference of emails sent. Through it, you know if all emails were delivered to their recipients, but a question echoes unanswered: where? To the Inbox or as a Spam? There are still cases where emails are blocked in the first filters without reaching anywhere.

If you want to avoid it, the platform must offer a minimum of infrastructure, such as quality of transmission through dedicated IPs and strong policy for spam control. The sender must prioritize and respect the good practices for email marketing. So far, you have overcome the first barriers to reach your recipients, and from here, you can focus even more on the process of deliverability.

Mission accomplished! When email marketing reaches the final destination

If delivery is only about the initial process of the email path, how email can reach the final destination? Who completes this path is deliverability. But what is the meaning of the term? Deliverability is actually a set of strategies based on the compliance of some rules and good practices, reputation IPs and domains established by the Internet Service Providers. The aim is to fulfill the ability to achieve the desired final destination: the Inbox.

Technical issues aside, the provider observes the behavior of the sender and classifies, from there, the reputation according to volume, frequency of emails and especially their engagement effect.

In addition, you can’t forget about opt-in on email marketing which validates the sending and the option to opt-out, giving to your contact list the right to unsubscribe. Well fulfilling this role can be critical to keep your emails out from the unwanted Blacklists and from being reported as spam.

Learn what is important to ensure the email reaches its destination

After showing the reasons that can lead an email marketing campaign to be blocked, we will present more detailed solutions on how to prevent this from happening. You can also refer to this post and more on this link. In a few words, good practices that can and should be applied to increase your chances of getting better results.

Choose platform

Opt-in and Opt-out

Base Hygiene

Segmentation

Relevant content

Optimization for Mobile

A/B Testing

Frequency of emails

Analysis of the metrics

By combining all of these solutions, we come to an important moment as long as creating a successful email marketing strategy: planning. So think carefully about every action, evaluate the risks and apply constant improvements. After all, the deliverability is crucial in determining the success or decline of an email marketing campaign.

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