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Achieving a high inbox placement rate means your emails successfully land in the inbox instead of the spam folder.
This outcome is largely influenced by the reputation of your sender domain.
Rebuilding and maintaining a strong sender reputation takes time, but the following recommendations can help you get started.
1. Identify Important Dates and Potential Causes
Begin by pinpointing when you first noticed a drop in open rates or a surge in spam complaints.
Look for any significant changes, such as adding new subscriber lists or increasing your send volume unexpectedly.
These details can provide insights into the root cause of delivery issues. The more information you gather, the easier it is to pinpoint the factors contributing to poor inbox placement.
Pro Tip: Use Google Postmaster Tools to monitor your domain reputation and track any sudden changes over time.
2. Slow Down Your Email Frequency
Consider pausing all email sends for one week to allow your domain “cool-down” time.
After this break, start sending again but only to your most engaged contacts - those who clicked a link in your emails within the last 30 days.
Engaged contacts are more likely to open and respond positively, which helps improve your sender reputation and inbox placement.
Recommended Daily Sends: Keep your email volume between 25,000 and 50,000 per day when restarting.
Gradual Increase: If you see progress, expand your send list to contacts who opened or clicked within the last three months, then six months, as your domain reputation recovers.
3. Remove Unengaged Contacts
Prune your subscriber lists to remove individuals who haven’t interacted (opened or clicked) in six months or more. Continuing to send emails to these inactive contacts can harm your domain reputation.
4. Make Unsubscribing Easy
When recipients can’t easily locate your unsubscribe link, they’re more likely to mark your emails as spam.
To avoid this, include an unsubscribe option at both the top and bottom of your emails.
This approach encourages subscribers to opt out cleanly if they’re no longer interested, preventing unnecessary spam complaints.
5. Review Your Opt-In Process
Ensure your content aligns with what subscribers initially signed up to receive. If you haven’t already, consider enabling double opt-in and using the Captcha field (for inline forms) to verify that all new signups are legitimate.
It’s also wise to refrain from purchasing or renting email lists, as these contacts often aren’t genuinely interested in your content and can lead to higher spam complaint rates.
6. Personalise Your Campaigns
Most email service providers (ESPs) favor messages that feel tailored to the individual recipient. Personalising your subject lines, “From” addresses, and body content can significantly improve your inbox placement.
How to Personalise: Use tags, custom fields, and conditional content in your CCK campaigns to show subscribers relevant, targeted messages.
7. Be Patient
Rebuilding your sending reputation requires consistent effort and can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days.
By following the steps above and gradually returning to your typical sending volume, you’ll give your domain the best chance to earn the trust of email service providers - and land reliably in the inbox.
Remember: Achieving strong inbox placement is an ongoing process. By maintaining good list hygiene, sending relevant content to engaged subscribers, and carefully monitoring your sender reputation, you’ll be well on your way to a healthier email strategy with CCK.