Email Deliverability Checklist for Sales Teams
Want your sales emails to land in inboxes, not spam folders? Here's everything you need to know to improve email deliverability and boost your outreach success:
- Deliverability Rates: Aim for 95%-98% for cold outreach. Below 70%? Act fast.
- Key Metrics: Keep bounce rates under 2%, spam complaints below 0.1%, and unsubscribe rates under 0.3%.
- Technical Setup: Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email authentication. Warm up new domains and subdomains gradually.
- Clean Lists: Validate emails regularly, remove inactive contacts, and avoid sending to role-based addresses (e.g., support@company.com).
- Content Tips: Avoid spammy language, personalize emails, and test spam scores before sending.
- Monitor Performance: Use tools like Google Postmaster and blacklist checks to track domain reputation and fix issues quickly.
Pro Tip: Tools like Warmforge automate email warm-ups, DNS monitoring, and placement tests to save time and protect your sender reputation.
Email deliverability isn’t a one-time task - it’s an ongoing process. Follow these steps to ensure your emails consistently reach your audience and drive more sales.
The ONLY Email Deliverability Checklist You’ll EVER Need
Setting Up Technical Infrastructure for Better Deliverability
To ensure your sales emails land in inboxes instead of spam folders, it's crucial to have the right technical setup. A well-structured email infrastructure supports your outreach efforts by building trust with email service providers and safeguarding your sender reputation. This involves three main components: email authentication protocols, dedicated subdomains, and domain rotation strategies. Let’s break down how to get these elements in place.
Configuring Email Authentication Protocols
Email authentication is all about proving your emails are legitimate. It reassures receiving servers that your messages are trustworthy and not part of phishing or spoofing attempts. The three essential protocols - SPF, DKIM, and DMARC - work together to protect your emails.
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): This protocol lists which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. When your email is received, the server checks your SPF record to confirm its legitimacy. To set it up, create a DNS TXT record that includes the authorized IPs for your domain.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, confirming that the message hasn’t been tampered with during transit and verifying the sender’s identity. You’ll need to generate DKIM keys and add them to your DNS settings.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Building on SPF and DKIM, DMARC tells receiving servers what to do if an email fails authentication. It also validates the visible sender and provides reports to help you monitor issues.
"All of these requirements have been well-documented best practices for years. A lot of senders have already implemented them. Authenticating your email traffic should be something that you're already doing if you care about the health of your email traffic as well as your infrastructure."
– Marcel Becker, Senior Director of Product at Yahoo
If your team sends over 5,000 emails daily, having SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is not optional - it’s mandatory for providers like Gmail and Yahoo. Start by consulting your IT team to confirm if these protocols are already in place. If not, follow your email provider’s setup guides and use tools like MXToolbox to test your SPF records. Regularly review DMARC reports to fine-tune your setup and resolve any issues.
Creating Dedicated Subdomains for Outreach
Using dedicated subdomains for sales outreach helps protect your main domain's reputation while improving email deliverability. Subdomains act as extensions of your primary domain, organizing different types of email communication.
The key advantage? Reputation isolation. If your cold outreach campaigns run into deliverability problems, your primary domain remains unaffected. This makes recovery easier and allows different teams to maintain separate email reputations.
For instance, large companies like Target and Ticketmaster use subdomains to segment their communication. Target employs addresses like "orders@oe.target.com" and "TargetCircle@oe.target.com", while Ticketmaster uses "customer_support@email.ticketmaster.com" and "newsletter@email.ticketmaster.com".
When creating subdomains, choose clear prefixes like "sales", "outreach", or "prospecting" to define their purpose. Apply SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to each subdomain for consistent authentication. To build trust with email providers, warm up new subdomains gradually over 4–8 weeks. Start by sending emails to your most engaged contacts and slowly increase the volume. This cautious approach ensures smoother deliverability and reduces the risk of being flagged as spam.
Implementing Domain Rotation Strategies
Domain rotation is a game-changer for high-volume email campaigns. By using multiple email addresses and domains, you spread out your sending activity, reducing the chances of being flagged by email service providers.
Sending too many emails from a single domain can raise red flags. Distributing your volume across multiple domains and IPs keeps your activity below suspicious thresholds. For example, Google requires bulk senders to maintain a spam complaint rate under 0.3%.
Here’s how to implement domain rotation effectively:
- Segment Your Email List: Break your contacts into smaller groups based on interests or demographics. This allows for more targeted outreach.
- Set Up Multiple Domains: Use different email service providers to diversify your sending domains and IPs. Apply authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) to each domain.
- Warm Up New Domains: Start small - send five to ten emails daily to trusted contacts and encourage replies. Subscribe to newsletters and register on platforms like Facebook to balance sending and receiving activity.
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Choose a Rotation Strategy:
- Sequential: Rotate domains in a set order.
- Volume-Based: Switch domains once a specific send limit is reached.
- Smart Rotation: Use algorithms to optimize domain usage based on performance.
Track each domain’s performance by monitoring open rates, click-through rates, and feedback. Consistency in branding and messaging across all domains is essential to avoid confusing recipients. Automation tools can also help streamline the rotation process and ensure smooth operations.
Keeping Email Lists Clean and Valid
Maintaining a clean email list is just as important as having solid technical settings when it comes to ensuring your emails land in inboxes. A messy contact list filled with invalid addresses, unengaged subscribers, or low-quality leads can harm your sender reputation. High bounce rates and poor engagement signal email providers that your emails might belong in the spam folder. Regularly cleaning your list - removing problematic contacts before they cause issues - is key to avoiding these pitfalls. Validating your email addresses consistently sets the stage for a more responsive and effective email list.
Validating Email Addresses Before Sending
Validating email addresses ensures they’re properly formatted and actually exist, which helps reduce bounce rates and protects your sender reputation. Without this step, sending emails to invalid addresses wastes effort and increases the risk of getting flagged or blocked by email providers.
To stay proactive, verify new email addresses as soon as they’re added, recheck them if bounce rates increase, and schedule regular validations every three to six months. Over time, email lists naturally degrade - addresses become outdated, improperly formatted, or even turn into spam traps. For ongoing accuracy, use real-time API tools to screen new email addresses as they’re entered into your system. Pair this with periodic batch verifications and occasional manual reviews. Tools like ZeroBounce and NeverBounce are great options for bulk verification and can integrate seamlessly with your web forms and CRM systems.
Removing Inactive and Invalid Contacts
Once you’ve validated all the addresses on your list, the next step is to remove contacts that don’t engage. Keeping inactive subscribers can hurt your engagement rates and send a message to email providers that your content isn’t connecting with your audience.
Define what inactivity means for your outreach efforts. Many teams consider contacts inactive if they haven’t opened an email in 90 to 180 days. Use metrics like "Last email opened", "Last email clicked", and "Create date" to identify these dormant contacts.
Before deleting inactive contacts outright, try a re-engagement campaign. Send a series of targeted emails asking if they’re still interested in hearing from you. Make it easy for them to unsubscribe if they’re no longer interested - this ensures that only engaged contacts remain on your list [22–24].
"A clean email list is the ultimate email performance enhancer, if you manage it correctly. When these lists get dirty, your sender reputation suffers, and that hurts your deliverability big time."
– Mailgun
Implement a sunset policy to automatically remove unresponsive contacts after a set period. Hard bounces should be removed immediately since these addresses are permanently invalid. Monitor soft bounces too - if they happen repeatedly, they could eventually turn into hard bounces. Also, remove role-based addresses like support@company.com or info@company.com, which often show low engagement. Finally, suppress any contacts who have marked your emails as spam to prevent further complaints.
"Email list hygiene is like normal hygiene - it should be a regular part of your routine."
– Jesse Sumrak, Twilio
Separating Contest and Giveaway Leads
Contest and giveaway leads require special handling to protect your sender reputation. These contacts are often motivated by the chance to win a prize rather than genuine interest in your product or service. As a result, they may include duplicate, invalid, or disposable email addresses that can harm your deliverability if mixed with your main list.
The best approach is to keep contest entrants in a separate list. This allows you to run targeted re-engagement campaigns and thoroughly clean these contacts before integrating them into your primary outreach efforts. Additionally, under regulations like GDPR, contest participants must give explicit consent to receive marketing emails beyond contest-related updates. This is a great opportunity to identify which entrants are genuinely interested in your offerings.
Writing Email Content That Avoids Spam Filters
Getting your emails into inboxes isn't just about technical setup - it’s also about crafting content that avoids spam filters. These filters scrutinize your word choices, formatting, and HTML structure, so understanding their triggers is crucial.
Checking Spam Scores Before Sending
Before you hit "send" on any campaign, testing your emails can save you from deliverability headaches. Spam checkers evaluate your content, sender reputation, and setup to flag potential issues.
Here are some tools that can help:
- MailGenius: Offers recommendations to improve your spam score, making it easy to identify and fix potential problems.
- Mail Tester: Rates your email on a scale of 1 to 10 while pointing out specific areas of concern.
- Mailgun and GlockApps: Provide scalable spam testing options for businesses of all sizes.
- Email on Acid and Litmus: These advanced platforms go beyond spam testing, offering comprehensive deliverability insights.
Another option is Mailmeteor, trusted by millions of professionals. Its spam checker zeroes in on problematic language, flagging phrases that might seem "unnatural, shady, or overpromising".
"Improve your inbox placement and prevent emails from landing in the spam folder." – MailGenius
Combining regular spam testing with attention to technical details like domain reputation, IP reputation, and DNS records helps maintain a strong spam score. Once your email content clears these checks, you can focus on making it more engaging through personalization.
Enhancing Personalization
Personalization goes far beyond just inserting a recipient’s name - it can significantly boost both engagement and deliverability. In fact, personalized emails are 26% more likely to be opened and can drive sales increases of up to 20%. When emails feel tailored and relevant, they’re more likely to resonate with recipients and even signal to email providers that your content is valuable.
Big brands like Netflix, Amazon, and Starbucks have mastered personalization. Netflix uses recipient names in content recommendations, while Amazon takes it a step further with subject lines like "Jane, your next book awaits!" Starbucks leverages data from its loyalty program, app usage, and social media to create highly targeted offers.
Sales teams can also use CRM data to craft emails that address specific pain points, recent company news, or industry challenges. For example, Airbnb personalizes review requests based on details of each guest’s stay, and Dropbox re-engages lapsed users by focusing on features they’ve previously enjoyed.
| Personalization Level | Example | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | "Hi {{first_name}}" | Standard open rates |
| Behavioral | "We noticed you downloaded our pricing guide" | 29% higher open rates |
| Contextual | "Congrats on your recent Series A funding!" | 41% higher click rates |
Spotify curates personalized playlists based on listening habits, while Sephora tailors promotions to align with purchase history and preferences.
"Personalization increases open rates, and it shows your audience that you acknowledge and understand their wants and needs. It leads to more engaged readers driven toward action, and it's pretty central to an effective lead nurture strategy." – Benchmark Team
The key is to balance personalization with authenticity. Personalized cold emails, for instance, are opened 82% more often than generic ones. Start simple and refine your approach as you gain deeper insights from your audience data.
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Tracking Deliverability Metrics and Performance
Keeping a close eye on email performance is a must for effective sales outreach. As Valentino Crawford wisely states, "You cannot change what you don't manage; you cannot manage what you don't track". The trick lies in identifying the right metrics and understanding what they tell you. Let’s break down the key metrics you should monitor to ensure your email campaigns stay on track.
Monitoring Complaint and Bounce Rates
Once your email infrastructure is solid, it’s time to focus on the numbers that matter most. Bounce rates and complaint rates act as red flags for potential deliverability issues.
- Bounce rates: Keep these below 2%. If they climb to 5% or higher, email providers might start reviewing your account. Exceeding 10% could even result in a temporary suspension.
- Complaint rates: Aim to stay under 0.1%. Crossing the 0.5% line may lead to pauses in your ability to send emails. For optimal results, strive to keep spam complaints below 0.01%.
Here’s a quick guide to assess your performance:
| Metric | Needs Attention | Room for Improvement | Healthy |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bounce rate | > 2% | 1%-2% | < 1.0% |
| Unsubscribe rate | > 1% | 0.3%-1% | < 0.3% |
| Spam complaint rate | > 0.05% | 0.01%-0.05% | < 0.01% |
If you notice sudden spikes in any of these metrics, it’s time to dig deeper. Review your recent email content, sending practices, and list sources. Often, issues stem from outdated email lists or questionable subscriber acquisition methods. Did you know that around 9% of emails entered into web forms are invalid? Regularly cleaning your email lists is essential. Setting up automated alerts for when metrics exceed safe levels can help you address problems before they snowball into major deliverability issues.
Setting Up Google Postmaster and Microsoft SNDS
Tools like Google Postmaster and Microsoft SNDS provide invaluable insights into how your emails perform with two of the biggest email providers. Considering Gmail holds over 30% of the email client market share as of 2024, monitoring your Gmail performance is non-negotiable.
- Google Postmaster Tools: This tool provides data on your domain and IP reputation, spam complaints, delivery errors, and authentication issues. Gmail enforces strict standards, including a complaint rate threshold of 0.3%.
- Microsoft SNDS: Covering Outlook, Hotmail, and other Microsoft services, this tool gives you insight into how recipients engage with your emails. As Em Blitstein from Sinch Mailgun explains, "Microsoft SNDS offers valuable insights and metrics to monitor and improve your reputation based on how your recipients engage – if they are Microsoft mailbox users".
To get started, verify your domain via DNS records. Then, check for trends and authentication failures weekly. For a more streamlined approach, integrate data from both tools into a single dashboard for easy analysis.
Running Weekly Blacklist Checks
Blacklist monitoring is another critical step to protect your sender reputation. Blacklists like Spamhaus, Barracuda, and SURBL maintain databases of flagged senders. Email providers use these lists to decide whether your emails land in the inbox or the dreaded spam folder.
Make it a habit to check your sending domains and IP addresses against these blacklists weekly. Many monitoring services offer automated alerts if your domains appear on any new lists. Acting quickly is key - some blacklists automatically remove entries after a period of good behavior, while others require you to submit manual delisting requests.
If you find yourself on a blacklist, start by identifying the root cause. Review your recent sending patterns, complaint rates, and any possible security breaches. Once you’ve addressed the issue, follow the delisting procedures outlined by the specific blacklist provider. Tools like Warmforge simplify this process by offering automated blacklist monitoring and health checks, scanning multiple databases, and alerting you to potential problems early. Pair this with regular DNS and MX record checks to maintain a strong sender reputation.
For context, a good email deliverability rate should be at least 85%, though the ideal range is 98–99%. Staying proactive with these practices is the key to keeping your deliverability rates high and your sales outreach effective.
Improving Deliverability with Warmforge Integration
Warmforge integration takes email deliverability to the next level by automating key processes and ensuring your domain’s health remains strong. While metrics provide valuable insights, proactive strategies are the real game-changer. Warmforge simplifies this by handling the heavy lifting, so you can focus on connecting with prospects. Let’s explore how Warmforge’s tools can supercharge your email deliverability.
Setting Up AI-Powered Email Warm-Up
When it comes to cold outreach, warming up your email is a must. It’s all about building credibility and engagement before scaling up your volume. Warmforge uses advanced machine learning to make this process seamless. Here’s how it works: the system sends emails gradually, simulates real interactions, and even generates replies. These actions signal to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that you’re a trustworthy sender.
What sets Warmforge apart is its ability to fine-tune sending schedules and volumes using AI. It can also create warm-up emails and replies, making the process even smoother. In just three weeks, Warmforge users can achieve 90% inbox placement. Plus, you have full control over the speed, volume, and types of engagement, ensuring your sender reputation stays strong and your emails avoid spam filters.
Running Free Placement Tests for Inbox Verification
Understanding where your emails land - whether it’s the inbox, spam folder, or promotions tab - is critical. Warmforge offers monthly free placement tests to help you track this. These tests provide insights into how your emails perform across major providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo.
Key metrics to watch include deliverability scores, open rates, bounce rates, spam complaints, and unsubscribe rates. For example, a solid deliverability score should exceed 90, while bounce rates should stay under 5% and spam complaints below 0.08%. With email marketing delivering up to $42 for every $1 spent, and high-performing campaigns generating 50% more sales-ready leads at a 33% lower cost, these tests are a no-brainer for maximizing returns.
Monitoring DNS and MX Record Health
Email deliverability isn’t just about inbox placement - it’s also about maintaining a strong sending infrastructure. That’s where Warmforge’s DNS and MX record monitoring comes in. The platform keeps a close eye on your domain’s health, flagging issues like missing DMARC records and helping you fix DNS settings, including SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX configurations.
Properly configured MX records are crucial for ensuring your emails reach their destination and protecting your sender reputation. Warmforge also monitors your spam score, so you can address potential issues before they escalate. For sales teams juggling multiple domains or high-volume campaigns, this automated monitoring is a game-changer. Instead of spending time manually checking DNS records and blacklist status, Warmforge does it for you.
With pricing starting at $12 per mailbox per month - and bulk discounts dropping rates as low as $3 per mailbox - Warmforge offers both efficiency and value. The time saved and the revenue gained from improved deliverability make it a smart investment for any email-focused team.
Conclusion: Maintaining Long-Term Email Deliverability Success
Email deliverability isn’t something you can set and forget - it’s an ongoing effort that demands regular attention and fine-tuning. As Tim Kauble, Senior Director of Deliverability & Compliance Operations at Salesforce, puts it:
"A conversion comes after a click, a click comes after an open, an open comes after delivery. If you focus on optimizing for delivery, you inherently maximize your opportunities for ROI."
At the heart of long-term success is a solid technical foundation. Tools like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC play a critical role in safeguarding your sender reputation. Rob Pellow, Digital Experience Director at Armadillo, emphasizes the importance of proactive measures:
"An IP reputation is hard to build, easy to lose, and hard to regain. Therefore, ensuring you are sending the best emails before they are sent will limit the damage caused, and monitoring, post-send, will allow fine-tuning - and it will allow you to know when further action needs to be taken to protect or improve your IP status."
But it’s not just about the tech. Managing your contact lists is equally crucial. A clean, well-maintained list ensures you’re not wasting effort or damaging your sender credibility with outdated or inactive addresses. Avoid shortcuts like buying email lists, and instead, focus on double opt-ins and periodic removal of inactive subscribers.
Content also plays a major role. Engaging, personalized emails that steer clear of spam-like language are essential. Make it easy for recipients to unsubscribe - clear options are not just good practice but also build trust.
Regular monitoring is what sets successful teams apart. Keeping a close eye on your domain, IP reputation, and authentication ensures your program stays healthy. Carin Slater, Manager of Lifecycle Email Marketing at Litmus, explains:
"Deliverability is a measure of the health of your email marketing program, so it's important to do regular check-ups on your domain, IP, and authentication in particular to make sure you're up-to-date, just like how we all go to the doctor each year."
Key metrics to monitor include bounce rates (keep them under 2%), spam complaints (below 0.05%), and deliverability scores (aim for 90% or higher). These numbers act as early warning signs, helping you catch and resolve issues quickly.
Tools like Warmforge simplify this process by automating warm-ups, DNS monitoring, and placement tests. At $12 per mailbox per month (with bulk discounts available), it’s a cost-effective way to ensure your emails consistently land in inboxes.
Ultimately, treating email deliverability as an ongoing process - not an occasional task - is the secret to success. Teams that stay vigilant, maintain clean lists, craft thoughtful content, and use tools like Warmforge are better positioned to build strong sender reputations and achieve lasting results. With every element working in harmony, your outreach efforts will remain effective and impactful over the long haul.
FAQs
Why should sales teams use dedicated subdomains for email outreach, and how does it protect the main domain's reputation?
Using dedicated subdomains for sales outreach is a smart way to protect your main domain's reputation. By isolating email activity, any deliverability issues with the subdomain won’t spill over and affect critical communications, like transactional emails or internal messages.
Another advantage is improved organization. Separating email streams - whether for marketing, transactional, or outreach purposes - makes it easier to manage and monitor sender reputation. If any deliverability problems arise, they can be identified and resolved more efficiently. Plus, using a dedicated subdomain allows you to customize email settings specifically for outreach campaigns, helping boost both deliverability and engagement rates.
What’s the best way for sales teams to use domain rotation to improve email deliverability without confusing recipients?
Sales teams can make domain rotation work to their advantage by setting up several sending domains and ensuring each one is authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols. These steps help protect your sender reputation and lower the risk of emails being flagged as spam.
To keep things clear for recipients and avoid confusion, stick to a rotation plan. For example, you could rotate domains based on a set schedule or cap the number of emails sent per domain. This approach prevents overusing any single domain while keeping your outreach efforts streamlined. Keep an eye on performance metrics like open rates and bounce rates to adjust your strategy as needed. This ensures your emails consistently reach inboxes without losing engagement.
What are the biggest mistakes sales teams make with email deliverability, and how can they be fixed?
Sales teams often face challenges with email deliverability, often due to a few avoidable missteps. One major issue is skipping over essential email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These tools play a key role in verifying your identity as a sender and help prevent your emails from being flagged as spam. Without them, your messages are far more likely to end up in junk folders.
Another frequent problem stems from neglecting email list hygiene. Sending emails to outdated, invalid, or inactive addresses can lead to high bounce rates, ultimately harming your sender reputation. On top of that, not keeping an eye on engagement metrics can make it harder to spot and resolve deliverability issues.
To ensure your emails land where they’re supposed to - your prospects' inboxes - focus on three key steps: regularly clean up your email lists, set up proper authentication protocols, and monitor critical metrics like open and bounce rates. These practices not only improve deliverability but also encourage better engagement with your audience.