Email marketing can be a powerful tool for businesses to reach their target audience, but achieving high delivery rates can be a challenge. Sending emails that actually make it to the inbox and are not flagged as spam requires following best practices to maintain a good sending reputation. Here are some tips to ensure your email campaigns have great delivery rates:
1. Don't send to invalid email addresses
One of the key factors that can affect your email delivery rates is the quality of your email list. Always make sure that your list is up-to-date and contains valid email addresses. Avoid purchasing email lists or using email addresses without permission, as this can lead to high bounce rates and damage your sending reputation.
Recommendations:
Stay below 2% of bounce rate on your campaigns.
Always send campaigns to business addresses of individuals (and not generic addresses)
Minimize bounced emails by verifying email addresses before sending campaigns. Leverage tools like Email Hunter for efficient verification.
Send a maximum of 200 emails per day
2. Warm-up your domain
Domain warm-up is a process of gradually establishing a positive sending reputation for a new domain or IP address by gradually increasing the volume of emails sent over a period of time. This helps prevent the domain from being flagged as spam by email filters and improves deliverability.
Here are some best practices for domain warm-up:
1. Start with a small volume: Begin by sending a small number of emails, 10 emails to start, to a highly engaged segment of your email list. This allows you to monitor deliverability and engagement rates before ramping up.
2. Gradually increase volume: Slowly increase the volume of emails sent over a period of 2-4 weeks (for example, send 10 emails per day on week 1, 20 on week 2, 30 on week 3 and 50 on week 4). Monitor key metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaints to ensure your reputation is not negatively impacted.
In general, the bigger the number of recipients of your campaigns, the more likely they are to be detected as spam.
3. Remove pixel tracking
When sending emails from folk, by default we add tracking to the emails in order to track message analytics such as open & click rates.
Adding this pixel tracking to the email, can cause deliverability issues, as the emails can be marked as spam.
So removing the pixel tracking by turning off the tracking in folk, can improve the deliverability of your emails.
You can do it from your Settings > Senders, by unselecting the tracking option:
4. Personalize your emails
Personalizing your emails by addressing recipients by name and sending relevant content can help improve engagement and reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam. Use segmentation to target specific groups of subscribers based on their interests or behavior for more effective email campaigns.
Make your emails unique and well structured:
Always personalize your emails (using folk variables). Incorporate custom variables, change syntax, and use diverse greetings to avoid the monotony of mass messaging.
Use LinkedIn for the best source of data, as people tend to regularly update their job position and company (using folkX extension)
Don’t use the words “test”, “free”, “win” that often trigger spam detectors. You can check online if your emails contains spam detection trigger words with tools like Folderly or MailMeteor
Make your emails look simple with a refined style
Don't put attachments in your emails. If you need to send a file, just use links (e.g. Google Drive).
5. Avoid spam trigger words
Certain words and phrases can trigger spam filters and damage your email deliverability. Be especially careful to avoid language that sounds like scams, creates false urgency, or makes unrealistic promises.
Financial spam triggers to avoid:
"Money back guarantee," "cash bonus," "earn $," "serious cash"
"No credit check," "eliminate debt," "financial freedom"
"Unsecured credit," "loan approved," "investment decision"
"Double your income," "million dollars," "billion dollars"
Urgency words that raise red flags:
"Act now," "urgent," "limited time," "expires soon"
"Click here," "claim your," "instant access"
"Once in a lifetime," "act immediately," "hurry up"
"Action required," "cancel now," "supplies are limited"
Overly promotional language:
"100% free," "guaranteed," "incredible deal," "huge discount"
"You are a winner," "best price ever," "zero risk"
"Amazing opportunity," "unbelievable," "revolutionary"
"F r e e," "0% risk," "satisfaction guaranteed"
Suspicious sales language:
"Claims not to be selling anything," "not spam," "don't delete"
"Hidden charges," "no extra cost," "risk-free"
"Join millions," "explode your business," "pure profits"
Instead, use clear, professional language:
"Payment due" instead of "urgent payment required"
"Invoice attached" instead of "claim your invoice"
"Standard rate" instead of "special price"
"Professional services" instead of "amazing service"
6. Avoid link shorteners and attachments
Link shorteners and email attachments are common red flags that can trigger spam filters and make recipients suspicious of your emails.
Why to avoid link shorteners:
Services like bit.ly, tinyurl.com, and t.co are frequently used in spam and phishing emails
Recipients can't see where the link actually leads, creating security concerns
Email filters often flag shortened links as suspicious
They reduce trust and transparency in professional communications
Attachment concerns:
Email attachments are known vectors for viruses and malware
Many email systems automatically flag or block emails with attachments
Large attachments can cause delivery issues
Recipients may be hesitant to download files from emails
Better alternatives:
Instead of link shorteners, use full URLs or hyperlink descriptive text:
"View document at: https://docs.google.com/document/d/your-actual-link"
Or hyperlink text: "View project proposal"
Instead of attachments, use cloud storage links:
"View your document here: [Google Drive link]"
"Download files from: [Dropbox shared folder]"
Upload documents to your website or client portal
7. Special considerations for payment emails
Payment emails require extra care because they're commonly used in phishing attacks. Follow these additional guidelines when sending invoices or payment requests:
Provide complete payment context:
Include invoice number (e.g., "Invoice #2024-0158")
Specify due date with timezone (e.g., "Due: March 15, 2024 by 5:00 PM EST")
Add currency symbols and breakdowns ($1,200 USD - Design services: $800, Revisions: $400)
For recurring payments, specify installment details (e.g., "Payment 2 of 5 monthly installments")
Include complete company information:
Full legal business name (not just your first name)
Complete business address with city, state, and postal code
Business phone number and email address
VAT number or business registration number (where applicable)
Professional email signature (avoid generic image signatures)
Explain payment links clearly:
Describe the payment processor: "This link takes you to a secure Stripe-hosted checkout page"
Reference the specific invoice: "for Invoice #2024-0158"
Mention security: "All payment information is processed securely through our payment partner"
Provide the exact URL or make it visible (not hidden behind "click here")
Offer alternative payment methods: "You can also reply to this email to arrange bank transfer"
8. Monitor your sending reputation
Regularly check your sending reputation using tools like Sender Score or Sender Reputation Data (SRD) to track how ISPs and email filters view your email practices. A good sending reputation is crucial for achieving high delivery rates, so address any issues that may be negatively impacting your reputation.
Recommendations:
Check if you're on a blocklist (click here)
Assess the quality of your IP (click here)
Analyze your current stats to get a better insight (delivery & open rate of your previous campaigns on folk)
Assess the effectiveness of your emails by conducting spam tests using tools like Glockapps and Mailreach. Understand the percentage of emails landing in spam based on recipient location and email providers.
9. Test your emails
Before sending out a large email campaign, test your emails to ensure they render correctly on various devices and email clients. Use A/B testing to experiment with different subject lines, content, and sending times to optimize your campaigns for better engagement and delivery rates.
By following these best practices, you can increase the chances of your emails reaching the inbox and avoid being marked as spam. Maintaining a good sending reputation and sending relevant, targeted emails to a quality list can help improve your email delivery rates and maximize the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.
FAQ
How do I prevent bounces?
For hard bounces, when the email is permanently rejected because the email address is invalid or the email addresses don’t exist, you can use Bouncer to help you clean your list of leads and check for bounces (before sending your campaign).
How many emails can I send per day?
There is no daily cap for how many messages you can send daily, but we recommend staying under a quota of 200 emails per day.
How to warm up my emails?
Gradually introduce a new email address into mass emailing to avoid triggering spam filters. Utilize warm-up solutions like Mailreach to establish credibility over time.