What is email deliverability, and what factors impact it?

A hand holding a smartphone sending emails

Email deliverability is a term you may not be familiar with, but it’s an important concept to understand and master if you want to improve your communications strategy through e-mail marketing.

It’s often a mystery why some e-mails end up in the inbox while others are never seen. 

Why are your e-mail campaigns not working? Learn about e-mail deliverability to maximize the success of your campaigns.

What is email deliverability?

Email deliverability is a term that describes the likelihood and ability of an e-mail to be delivered to its recipient without being rejected by ISPs (internet service providers) or spam filters, for example. 

When you send an e-mail to an acquaintance or a friend, there is a good chance that it will be delivered to his main mailbox. This is because it is a one-to-one communication, so it is not considered as spam by the various filters.

However, when you send a newsletter or e-mail marketing campaign, your distribution list is larger, and it will be more difficult to get your messages delivered to the inbox of everyone on your entire mailing list. 

This e-mail deliverability can vary depending on a number of factors. 

Factors that impact your email deliverability 

For the good deliverability of your e-mails, you must take into account several factors. Indeed, there are many elements that can affect the way your e-mails are delivered to the recipients.  Let’s take a look.

Your sender reputation:

Your reputation has a major impact on your deliverability rate and determines inbox your email will end up in. The better your reputation, the more likely your emails are to be seen by your recipients. Your reputation takes into account your domain name and your sending IP address.

The content of your email:

As important for your readers as for ISP or ESP, which studies your email's content and structure. The analysis can determine whether your email is considered spam based on the quality of the HTML code, the words used, the type of links or even the subject you've specified.

Email feedback:

Are you getting a good open rate? Are users rejecting your e-mails or flagging you as spam? These elements influence your deliverability. So it's important to keep an eye on this data and avoid high rates of complaints or spam reports from your readers.

Your mailing frequency :

To avoid being seen as a spammer and improve your deliverability, we recommend that you don't send too many emails in a limited period of time. Sending too many messages too often can also increase the unsubscribe rate or the rate at which messages are reported as spam. It is better to target your messages with communications that are relevant and in line with your recipients' habits.

Your email infrastructure:

Your email infrastructure, or the solutions and services set up to deliver your messages during your marketing or sales campaigns, as well as authentication, have a significant impact on your deliverability. The purpose of your routing is to ensure that your emails arrive in your readers' inboxes.

Quality of your mailing lists:

When deciding to launch an email marketing campaign, it's important to consider the quality of your mailing lists. Are all your readers opting in to receive your newsletter? Is your list up-to-date and verified? All of these elements will have an impact not only on your email, but also on its bounce rate. A misspelled or incorrect email address will cause a bounce, which will affect your reputation and therefore your deliverability.