SmartReach.io: Email Deliverability Suite of Features

For running successful cold email campaigns, you must take care of the email deliverability. It can literally make or break your cold email outreach campaigns.

Majority of the SDRs craft the perfect email pitch, segment their audience with precision, and hit ‘send’ on hundred of emails on automation—only to have them languish unread in spam folders or bounce back entirely. 

This scenario is more common than you might think, with studies showing that up to 20% of commercial emails never reach their intended recipients’ inboxes.

And in B2B sales, this isn’t just an inconvenience. You lose opportunities and revenue. Every email that bounces or hits the spam folder is a potential deal slipping through your fingers.

But here’s the good news: you can still improve your cold email deliverability along with your ROI from email outbound. 

Yeah, that’s what we will showcase in this article.

We’ll be talking about all the things you can do to improve your cold email deliverability using SmartReach’s advanced suite of deliverability features.

So, let’s get started with some basics in the beginning.

What is “Email Deliverability”?

Email deliverability is the ability of your emails to reach recipients’ inboxes. 

It’s usually measured by the percentage of your emails that successfully land in inboxes rather than spam folders or bounce back. 

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Here’s what you need to know about email deliverability 👇

• It’s more than just email delivery: An email can be “delivered” but still end up in the spam folder. Good deliverability means landing in the primary inbox.

• It affects your email campaign success rate: The better your deliverability, the more people see your emails. More eyes on your emails mean more chances to make a sale.

• It’s about sender reputation: Email service providers(ESP) judge you based on how you send emails. Send good emails consistently, and they’ll trust you more.

• It changes over time: Your deliverability can go up or down based on how you manage your email campaigns.

• It involves technical stuff: Things like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC matter. Don’t worry if these sound confusing – we’ll break them down later.

For sales teams, high email deliverability means more of your cold emails get seen, increasing your chances of connecting with prospects.

Email deliverability v/s Email delivery – What’s the difference?

A lot of people especially the new cold emailers, often confuse “email deliverability” with “email delivery”. 

But both of these terms have different meanings and separate impact on email campaigns altogether,  such as—

➡️ Email delivery

This just means your email was accepted by the recipient’s server. It doesn’t guarantee the email reached the inbox. 

For example, high delivery rates can be misleading. You might think your campaign is successful because 95% of emails were “delivered,” but if most landed in spam, your results will be poor.

➡️ Email deliverability

On contrary, it refers to the ability to reach the recipient’s actual inbox. It’s about getting past spam filters and landing where your prospects will see it. 

Focusing on deliverability ensures your messages have the best chance of being seen and acted upon, directly improving your open rates, click-through rates, and ultimately, your sales conversions.

How SmartReach.io solves email deliverability challenges?

SmartReach is an AI-enabled sales engagement platform built for sending outbound sequences via channels such as Email, Calling, LinkedIn, Whatsapp and Text messages.

SmartReach’s advanced suite of deliverability features have been developed to give your campaign a solid boost in performance. 

SmartReach.io usually addresses all 5 types of common deliverability challenges that most email campaigns suffer from, such as —-

• Authentication & technical set-up
• Continuous sender reputation management
• Crafting email content to avoid SPAM
• Sending practices & volume management
• Consistent inbox placement & deliverability tracking

Now let’s see what each of these challenges are and how SmartReach.io will help you tackle them.

Challenge #1 👉  Authentication & technical set-up

Proper email authentication is crucial for improving deliverability. It verifies your identity to email services and helps prevent spoofing. 

Without proper authentication, your emails are more likely to be marked as spam or bounce outright, severely limiting your campaign’s reach and effectiveness.

SmartReach solves it with —-

• Auto Authentication ➡️ Automated SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup wizards before starting a campaign.

• Auto SPAM Test ➡️ Real-time authentication and security checks before starting campaigns.

Challenge #2 👉 Continuous sender reputation management

Your email sender reputation determines how email providers treat your messages. A poor reputation can lead to blocked or filtered emails. 

Once damaged, it can take months to recover, resulting in long-term deliverability issues in your email outreach efforts.

SmartReach.io solves it with —

• Free Unlimited Domain Warm-up ➡️ Automated email warm-up using Warmup Hero to build up your sender reputation from scratch. This identifies the placement of your emails and takes necessary action to fosters positive interactions with your email.

• Free Unlimited Email Validation  ➡️ Real-time email verification for your email lists to identify invalid email addresses and save you from bounces. This is a built-in feature that notifies you whenever a validation fails.

• Email Inbox Rotation ➡️ Inbox rotation feature sends emails from multiple email inboxes, helping you adhere to ESP sending limits while at the same time scale-up campaigns without getting flagged as spam. You can add up to 25 emails from a single or varied ESPs to a campaign

• Blacklist Checking ➡️ Continuous blacklist checking and removal assistance to keep your sender reputation high.

• ESP Matching ➡️ ESP Matching identifies the recepients email service provider and send emails accordingly for maximum deliverability. For this, you will need to add emails from multiple ESP to your campaigns

Challenge #3 👉 Crafting email content to avoid SPAM

Email content and structure significantly impact your email deliverability. 

Poor design or spammy content can trigger filters. Even well-intentioned emails can land in spam filters if they contain certain spam-triggering words, phrases, or design elements, leading to wasted outbound efforts and missed opportunities.

SmartReach.io solves it with —

• AI-Content Writer ➡️ Write email copies using prompts with SmartReach’s AI content writer for crafting optimized and personalized email sequences at scale. It is trained to avoid using thousands of spammy keywords.

• Spintax ➡️  Spintax automatically generates multiple variations of your email content, allowing you to create diverse, natural-sounding messages for your email sequences. It reduces repetitive content, improves uniqueness across your email copies and increase your overall email engagement.

• Custom Column ➡️ Create custom columns to use unique prospect information for creating tailored email copies based on each prospect’s specific characteristics. (e.g., job joining date, promotions etc.)

• Merge-tag ➡️ Insert personalized details like names, company details, or any custom fields into your email copies. Merge tags create tailored email copies that resonates with each individual prospect, helping you improve email deliverability.

• Email Variants ➡️ Create up to 5 variants of subject lines and email body for each sequence. This when combined with spintax and inbox rotation will ensure superior email deliverability

• Email Templates Library ➡️ Responsive and vast email templates library with deliverability-optimized copies for almost every use case.

Challenge #4 👉 Sending practices & volume management

How and when you send emails can impact your campaign’s deliverability.  Inconsistent or overly aggressive sending can raise red flags for the ESPs. 

Sudden spikes in email sending volume or erratic sending patterns can trigger spam filters and damage your reputation, leading to reduced inbox placement.

SmartReach.io solves it with —-

• Advanced Campaign Scheduler  ➡️ SmartReach lets you emails based on the prospects’ timezones for maximum open rate and optimzed deliverability.

• Sending Limits  ➡️ Stay compliant with Google and Yahoo’s latest email sender policy by adhering to SmartReach’s account based sending limits and daily sending limits. This helps you prevent your emails from getting flagged as spam by major email services such as Google, Yahoo, Outlook etc.  

• Campaign Soft-start ➡️ Ramp up your email sending volume for newly set-up email accounts without crossing the daily limits imposed by ESPs.

• Campaign Monitoring & Pause ➡️ Automated sending pause if unusual metrics (such as high spam rate, high bounce rate etc.) are detected in your campaign helping you avoid damaging sender reputation further.

• Auto Unsubscribcription ➡️ Add unsubscription to your email sequences with a single click. When a prospect unsubscribes your email, SmartReach automatically puts this prospect into a DNC list from all your campaigns, saving you from getting reported as spam in future.

Challenge #5 👉 Consistent inbox placement & deliverability tracking

Understanding where your emails land and why is key to improving deliverability. Lack of visibility can lead to undetected issues. 

Without proper tracking, you might be unaware of deliverability problems until they’ve significantly impacted your campaign performance and damaged sender reputation.

SmartReach.io solves it with —

• Best Time to Send Report ➡️ Find out the best time to send your email campaigns for the maxim engagement based on the past prospect interaction.

• Detailed Reporting & Analytics ➡️ More than 15 Detailed deliverability reports and analytics based on domains, senders, channels used and campaigns.

• Customized Third Party Reporting ➡️ Integrate your favourite analytics tool with SmartReach via API key to generate customized reports as needed.

• Real Time Delivery Status ➡️ Real-time delivery status tracking of your outbound messages with possible reasons of failure.

• Inbox Placement Report ➡️ Find out how many of your delivered emails actually landed in the prospect’s primary inbox.

By addressing these major challenge areas, SmartReach.io provides a comprehensive solution to improve and maintain high email deliverability rates. 

SmartReach ensures that your emails not only gets delivered but also have the best chance of being opened and replied  by your prospects.

How to get the best email deliverability using SmartReach.io?

Now let’s look at the settings and best practices that you can follow to get the best email deliverability while using SmartReach.io.

#1 Set-up robust email authentication

Set up SPF,DKIM, and DMARC to verify your identity to email service providers. 

These authentication methods work together to significantly reduce the chances of your emails being spoofed or marked as spam. 

According to a Return Path study, properly authenticated emails are 25% more likely to reach the inbox.

Your action items 👇

• Check out the guides such as SPF, DKIM, DMARC Setup In Google Workspace or SPF, DKIM and DMARC for Microsoft 365 to authenticate these records in domain level. 

• Run a spam test inside SmartReach to find out if your SPF, DMARC and DKIM records are set-up properly.

• Additionally, use a tool like Mx LookUp to check time to time if your domain has been blacklisted or not.  (This is quite common for new cold emailers btw!)

#2 Warm-up your email inboxes for at least 2 weeks 

Warming-up your email inboxes and gradually increasing their sending volume establishes a positive reputation with ESPs. This will lead to more of your emails landing inbox.

Your action items 👇

• After your technical set-up, log-in to WarmupHero and put your email addresses on email warmup.

• Use “Soft-start” to gradually increase your daily sending limits over several weeks. 

• Monitors engagement metrics such as open rates, reply rates, inbox placement report and adjusts the ramp-up speed accordingly.

This gradual approach can reduce the risk of your emails being blocked or filtered, potentially improving your initial deliverability by up to 50% compared to sending at full volume immediately.

#3 Use easy opt-out process for your prospects 

Implement a clearly visible opt-out process that will help your emails from getting reported to spam. 

Too many spam reporting = lowered sender reputation = lower deliverability.

It also saves you from different privacy laws of the different geographies that you are targeting.

Your action items 👇

• Add a visible “Unsubscription” button to the end of your emails.

• While building a prospect list, be super specific, niche and relevant to what your target audience looks like. It will likely target only the relevant people you can cater to helping you naturally keep the unsubcriptions rates and spam reports low. 

#4 Personalize your email content as much as you can 

While this will not directly impact your deliverability, but it will boost up reply rates, such positive interactions will further improve your deliverability. 

Your action items 👇

• Write specific prompts to generate email copies using SmartReach Content AI.

• Use Spintax to personalize those email copies further.

• Write in plain text format and avoid HTML format.

Note: Keep the email subject lines within 4-5 words. Keep your email body short and to the point usually within 125 words. Avoid spam trigger words and phrases in your copies. 

#5 Implement “Email throttling” for your campaigns

Email throttling will help you maintain a good deliverability by avoiding rate limits set by Email Service Providers (ESPs). These email sending limits restrict the number of emails sent from a single IP address within a specific timeframe to prevent spam.

Exceeding these limits can cause soft bounces, where emails are temporarily undeliverable. 

Your action items 👇

• Set-up all your sending emails using Inbox rotation to distribute the daily sending limits between different email inboxes.

• Start your campaigns with “Soft-start” and gradually multiply the sending volume after every 14-Days.

• Put a long gap between the sending delay of the emails to let SmartReach mimic the human-like sending pattern and avoid spam traps.

Note: We recommend sending not more than 50 emails per day per email address. It has been proven that sending fewer emails yields better results in the long-term.

#6 Build effective email list (AVOID buying email lists)

Build your email list from scratch to improve deliverability. 

Collect email addresses through legitimate means such as website sign-ups, B2B contact databases, lead finders, in-house prospecting or social media campaigns. 

This approach ensures that your subscribers are genuinely interested in your content, leading to higher engagement rates and fewer spam complaints. 

Also, avoid purchasing email lists, as these often contain outdated or invalid addresses and can severely damage your sender reputation. 

Organic list growth may be slower, but it results in a higher-quality audience and better long-term deliverability.

Your action items 👇

• Set all your search parameters (e.g., company type, industry, job title, first name, last name) inside SmartReach lead finder to find out prospect email addresses and phone numbers for running outreach campaigns.

• Export them directly to your campaign and give a specific name to each prospect list.

#7 Test and optimize your campaigns regularly

Continuously monitor your cold email analytics and improve your email content on regular intervals.

Conduct regular A/B tests on email subject lines, email body copies, sending times etc.

Monitor open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaints to identify trends. Use these insights to refine your email strategy, adjusting underperforming elements and replicating successes. 

Additionally, check email performance across different ESPs  to ensure consistent deliverability. This data-driven approach helps prevent deliverability issues and enhances email effectiveness.

Your action items 👇

• Run A/B test using SmartReach for email copies and subject lines.

• Monitor the results of A/B testing per month/week and refine your outbound strategy accordingly.

By following the above best practices and leveraging SmartReach’s features, you can significantly improve your email deliverability, ensuring your messages reach your prospects’ inboxes and drive better results for your campaigns.

BTW, We have covered more effective and practical tips on email delivery improvement in our article 👉 How To Improve Email Deliverability. 

Make sure you check that out!

Email deliverability: Conclusion

In conclusion, email deliverability is crucial for successful B2B sales campaigns. 

By implementing best practices such as proper authentication, list hygiene, content optimization, and regular testing, you can significantly improve your inbox placement rates. 

SmartReach.io offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to tackle these challenges, from automated authentication setup to advanced throttling features. 

By leveraging SmartReach’s capabilities and following these guidelines, you can ensure your messages consistently reach your prospects’ inboxes, ultimately driving better sales engagement and higher ROI for your email campaigns.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q)

Q. How to improve email deliverability?

To improve email deliverability, follow these key practices:

• Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols to authenticate emails.
• Build a quality email list and clean it regularly.
• Maintain a good sender reputation by monitoring your sender score and addressing issues promptly.
• Personalize your emails and provide value to the recipients.
• Optimize sending practices with  consistent email volumes and  throttling.
• Monitor and analyze crucial metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates.
• Send targeted content to improve engagement.
• Comply with privacy regulations such asCAN-SPAM, CCPA GDPR etc.
•  A/B test your email subject lines, content, and send times.
• Provide easy unsubscribe options with clear opt-out methods.

Q. What is email deliverability?

Email deliverability is the ability of your emails to successfully reach recipients’ inboxes. It encompasses factors like sender reputation, email authentication, content quality, and technical setup. High deliverability means your messages bypass spam filters and land in the primary inbox, increasing the chances of being seen and engaged with. It’s a critical metric for the effectiveness of your email campaigns.

Q. Why is email deliverability important?

Emai deliverability is important for the following reasons:

1. High deliverability maximizes your audience reach and positively impacts your email marketing ROI.

2. Consistent inbox placement builds trust and protects your brand image.

3. Emails in the primary inbox lead to better engagement and conversion rates.

4. Good deliverability optimizes your email outreach budget.

5. Consistent inbox placement gives you an edge over your competitors.

6. High deliverability provides accurate metrics for campaign analysis.

Q. How to test email deliverability?

To test deliverability:

1. Create a test email account.

2.Test across different providers.

3. Avoid spam triggers.

4. Verify authentication protocols.

5. Monitor engagement metrics.

6. Use seed lists for testing.”

Remember to regularly assess and optimize your email deliverability strategy for better results.

Q. What is a good email deliverability rate?

Always aim for email deliverability rate above 90%. For optimal performance, target email deliverability around 95% for cold email outreach campaigns. Be aware that 100% email deliverability is a myth and never possible.

Q. How to increase email deliverability?

Here are some practical tips to boost email deliverability for cold outreach campaigns:

1. Clean Lists:  Regularly review and remove inactive or invalid email addresses.

2. Opt-In Only: Send emails to opted-in subscribers; avoid purchased lists.

3. Easy Unsubscribe: Make unsubscribing straightforward.

4. Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication.

5. Avoid Spam Triggers: Craft clear, relevant content.