Your email deliverability rate can directly impact how many emails reach prospects’ inboxes.
Unlike open rates or click-through rates, deliverability ensures your email lands in the primary inbox– not spam or junk folders.
With more businesses relying on digital channels to connect, understanding deliverability can make or break your outreach efforts.
In simple terms, email deliverability is the ability of an email to reach its intended recipient’s inbox.
Deliverability depends on several factors, from your sender's reputation to content relevance, and differs from delivery rate.
The delivery rate only considers whether an email reaches the recipient’s server, while deliverability ensures the email reaches the inbox.
Here’s a breakdown of factors that contribute to solid email deliverability:
Every email represents an opportunity to build trust and engage decision-makers. Poor deliverability reduces these opportunities and can impact revenue. When emails land in the spam folder, your message is lost.
Imagine you’re launching a new service and emailing 5,000 prospects. If only half of your emails land in the primary inbox, your potential for responses, conversions, and revenue is halved. Deliverability makes a huge difference in terms of both reach and return.
Here’s a step-by-step approach to optimizing deliverability for B2B campaigns:
Implementing SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is crucial. These protocols verify your email’s legitimacy, reducing the likelihood of it being marked as spam.
Tip: Most B2B email providers offer setup assistance. If you need further guidance, contact your provider or IT team.
An up-to-date email list is key. Non-engaged recipients or inactive addresses contribute to high bounce rates, which can impact your sender's reputation.
Example: You may run an audit every quarter to remove contacts who haven’t opened your emails in six months. This will maintain a list of active, engaged prospects, directly improving your deliverability rate.
Deliverability improves when recipients find your content valuable. Segment your list based on industry, job role, or previous engagement, and tailor your messaging to meet their needs.
Example: Content could focus on supply chain solutions for prospects in the manufacturing industry, while contacts in the finance industry might be interested in cost-saving strategies.
Relevant content signals to recipients (and email providers) that your emails are worth opening, boosting engagement and deliverability.
Let’s review a few common errors in your email campaigns that impact deliverability and how to avoid them.
Measuring deliverability success means going beyond just checking open rates. Here are some critical metrics to track:
If you’re interested in tracking these metrics, email marketing tools like Mailchimp or SendGrid offer in-depth analytics to help monitor deliverability health.
Implementing good deliverability practices isn’t a one-time activity. Here’s how you can keep your B2B emails in inboxes consistently:
For B2B success, ensuring strong email deliverability can’t be an afterthought. Consistently monitoring, maintaining, and optimizing deliverability can drastically improve your outreach effectiveness, brand reputation, and ROI.
By keeping a clean list, providing relevant content, and following best practices, you set your campaigns up for maximum engagement and success.
So, keep deliverability front and center in your strategy—it’s the key to driving meaningful, high-quality connections with your audience.