Imagine…. You’re working crazy hours for a new product or service launch for your business. You spend weeks and weeks putting together content, drafting emails, and basically giving it nothing short of your heart and soul. When it's done and ready for your mailing list, you press the magic “send” button to unleash your email-driven funnel.

You hold your breath and wait for signs that your campaign is in motion but it never comes. For whatever reason, it's been a couple of hours and not a single email has been opened. You realize your test email never came through either. [Insert panic mode] You frantically begin combing through the campaign details trying to figure out if something was missed or forgotten. But oddly everything checks out. Something tells you to check your spam folder. And when you do, you find your launch email nestled in that dreaded folder.

This, my friend, is a classic email deliverability issue. Email deliverability is a term that covers a range factors that determine whether or not your email recipient(s) actually gets the emails that you send.  They typically occur from any of the following issues:

• When your email tool (like an app or program you use to send or receive email) is not properly configured
• When your domain hosting (wherever you purchased your domain from) is not properly configured
• When your email account has been compromised
• When you've (usually unknowingly) triggered a spam "sensor"
• Due to repeated email "violations" have gotten your email blacklisted.

In nearly every instance, having your email placed on a spam list can be incredibly devastating especially for businesses. Your ability to communicate with customers and clients via email is dramatically limited until it's resolved.

Most people don’t care about email deliverability until it’s entirely too late. 

When everything is good: emails are being sent as planned without errors. You press send, it arrives in the intended mailbox within seconds. 

When everything is NOT so good: every single one of your emails bounces and no one gets anything you send. And sometimes you know and, far too often, you have no clue it’s even happening. 

Typically, email deliverability issues are avoidable and in this article, I go over some important tips that will help you preserve your email status.

Here are 4 ways to protect and preserve your email deliverability:

1. Don’t spam your email list or send mass email accounts  — I know this seems like a no brainer, but you’d be surprised how many business owners unknowingly spam their audience without knowing it. Sending mass emails (more than 10 recipients) from free email accounts like Yahoo and Gmail, are one of the more popular offenses. As tempting as it might be to add as many people as possible to an email to get your message across, it’s done of the fastest ways to get your account to be blacklisted. 
2. Make sure you have the appropriate email (MX) records setup with your domain. Your email is controlled by a set of “records” hosted by your domain (and/or website hosting company). Many of these companies have default records that sometimes impact your email deliverability. If you’re not a “techie” person but want to make sure this isn’t the case, reach out to your hosting/support for assistance.  
3. Make sure that you’re spelling the name of your email recipient correctly, especially if it’s a Gmail or Google Suite. Google and It’s servers dominate a large portion of the email industry. Most people have a personal Gmail account, business Gsuite, or both. Over the years, I’ve noticed even more clients having issues with their email deliverability, especially when they are interacting with Google/GSuite accounts. Small errors, like typos in the email address, are enough to set off a Google spam filter. Google’s email servers are especially sensitive and getting on their blacklist/blocked list can be an uphill climb. 
4. Reduce the number of emails you send in a 10-minute span. In a world filled with spam, spam filters are working overtime to capture and protect email users globally from various forms of spam and email attacks. Sending too many emails in a short amount of time (10 mins or less) can occasionally trigger these spam filters. If your account is temporarily disabled because you’ve repeatedly triggered a spam filter, wait 12-24 hours before sending emails again. 
5. Install an SSL on your website. Email servers and even email marketing companies like Mailerlite want to see that you've prioritized site security. Want a FREE SSL? Click here to learn more about how to get one for FREE.

While I can't promise that you'll never experience deliverability issues, following these tips will help you avoid that dreaded experience. Suspect you're experiencing email deliverability issues? Let our team help you find the route of your issues and get you on an action plan to resolve your email deliverability quickly so you can get back to business.