Want to Increase Email deliverability? 5 Easy Things to Try

How many times have you opened your spam folder this week?

Thrice? Twice? Oh. Not even once.

That’s what we thought.

And that is why you can’t afford to have your emails in the spam folder. You want your emails to land in the primary inbox, not the spam folder, because only then does it stand a chance to be opened. How do you do this? By boosting your email deliverability.

Email Delivery vs. Email Deliverability

Email delivery and email deliverability are not one and the same.

Email delivery describes whether or not your email is delivered. That is, is the target email address valid? Once an email does not bounce, it counts as delivered regardless of what folder it lands in your recipient’s mailbox.

Email deliverability, on the other hand, refers to the inbox placement of your email. Where does the sent email land in the recipient’s mailbox? Does it go into spam or the inbox?

Email delivery is often dependent on the recipient or subscriber. After all, what can you do if a subscriber provides an invalid address?

Email deliverability, however, rests on your shoulders as a K12 marketer. Your authentication, domain setup, email content, and formatting all play a role in email deliverability.

Optimal Email Deliverability Rate

As a K12 marketer, you should target an email deliverability rate of at least 95%. The higher your deliverability rate, the better your chances of getting your prospects to read the email and take the action you want them to.

If you have an email deliverability rate lower than 95%, something is wrong. You may be targeting the wrong audience or sending unoptimized emails.

Boosting Your Email Deliverability

Here are a few tips to help you boost your email deliverability.

Let Go of the Archaic Mailing Lists

Audit your mailing list. An effective email marketing strategy delivered to old and inactive email addresses will do your business no good. If you keep sending emails to old mailing lists, you risk a high bounce rate and multiple spam reports. When your emails are continually reported as spam, your sending address will be flagged, and so will your domain. Consequently, your emails land in the spam folder, slimming the chances of them ever getting opened, and the vicious cycle continues.

So, audit your mailing list. K12 Prospects offers you up-to-date email addresses and allows you to get a customized mailing list that serves your business.

Meet Your Customers’ Expectations

If someone subscribed to your business emails as a K12 marketer, it means they are interested in your products and/or services and are probably looking to learn more about your offer and/or services. Don’t mistake this for an absolute interest in you or your brand.

Streamline your email content to focus on your subscribers’ needs. If your mailing list subscribed in the hopes of receiving updates on your latest laptop models, and you then send them an email about collegiate sports applications, your subscribers will most likely ignore your emails. Or worse, they could be marked as spam or go ahead and unsubscribe—not pleasant.

Your subscribers should know exactly what to expect from you and have their expectations met. A subscriber is more likely to open an email when it’s on a topic of interest, and they know what to expect.

Slow Down on the Attachments

Avoid attaching PDFs to your email; spam filters don’t like them, and neither should you. Attaching a pdf is seldom a good idea. Over the years, spammers have used PDF files to sneak across unwanted macros to unsuspecting individuals. More so, PDFs are more likely to carry viruses. So, spam filters are extra beware of emails with pdf attachments. In fact, it looks like extra effort is made to flag them.

So, rather than attaching a pdf document, encourage your subscribers to see the information on your website or social media platforms. Alternatively, you can pass across the needed information in the mail itself.

Address Spam Complaints

ISPs use Email Feedback Loops (FBLs). That way, you’re informed of spam complaints from your subscribers. When you get these notifications, it’s best to address the issue, not overlook it. With each spam report comes the risk of an Internet Service Provider assigning your brand a lower sender reputation. And, the lower your sender reputation, the more likely it is for your emails to end up in the spam folder. So, format your emails properly and adopt the tips listed above as soon as you receive the first set of spam complaints.

Start with the right mailing list

Your subscribers must be people who are truly your target audience and are interested in or need your services. We understand that compiling rich mailing lists as a K12 marketer could be a bit difficult. So, we do it for you. All you have to do is define your K12 Prospects and download the list in a minute. You’re set to have your emails delivered to the inbox of those who really want to hear from and buy from you.