Do email replies improve deliverability and sender reputation?
Summary
What email marketers say8Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that engagement metrics like replies are critical for deliverability. High engagement signals to mailbox providers that users want to receive your emails, improving your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that if you are a high volume sender and you do get a ton of replies, then your customer service department will be buried with extra work. on the other hand, if the replies are going to an unmonitored inbox then you should ask yourself if this is a positive experience for the customer knowing that nobody from your company will respond (or look) at the customer's reply.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that Interactions like replies are a positive signal to mailbox providers. These interactions indicate that subscribers find your content valuable and are actively engaging with your emails. This, in turn, can improve your sender reputation and boost deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that sender reputation is very important. Replies positively contribute to sender reputation by signaling that subscribers are actively interested in your content.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that high engagement, including replies, can positively impact deliverability. They emphasize that consistently engaging content shows mailbox providers that you're sending valuable emails to subscribers who want them.
Email marketer from Woodpecker recommends building engagement to boost your sender reputation and improve deliverability. More responses to emails will get you out of the spam filter. Personalizing emails, sending to engaged recipients, and providing value is important.
Email marketer from GMass answers that replies positively impact deliverability by showing email providers that people want your emails. GMass recommends to A/B test your email campaigns to determine what phrasing or content works best for you and your audience.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that while not the only factor, replies are seen as a positive engagement signal by mailbox providers. A higher reply rate can contribute to a better sender reputation, ultimately improving deliverability.
What the experts say7Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that managing replies at scale can be problematic. Sending millions of emails a day can result in a high volume of replies that need to be managed.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that engagement is very important. Replies can improve reputation with mailbox providers, especially if combined with other positive user actions.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that in the cold email industry, getting recipients to respond is a key focus due to the lack of prior engagement. This is sometimes taken to extremes, such as making it difficult to unsubscribe to force a reply.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that mail clients keep a list of addresses the user has sent mail to, which is often used in spam filtering. Apple Mail, for instance, has settings to not spam filter mail from addresses you’ve sent mail to.
Expert from Email Geeks states that the tactic of forcing people to reply to emails as a form of engagement is common in the B2B cold email space.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that email tools do track replies, using Apple Mail as an example, and this tracking can improve individual deliverability for senders that the user has replied to.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that positive interactions with messages, like replying, forwarding, or storing them in folders, impact reputation at mailbox providers like Google, Yahoo, and Microsoft. Research even shows user actions affect filtering at mailbox providers.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost explains that engagement metrics like replies, forwards, and saves indicate interest and value, which helps with inbox placement and deliverability. They highlight that ISPs monitor these signals.
Documentation from Microsoft emphasizes that sender reputation is crucial for deliverability to Outlook.com and Hotmail. While they don't explicitly mention replies, they highlight that engagement and avoiding spam complaints are key indicators of a good sender reputation.
Documentation from Google explains that user interaction, including replies, is a factor in Gmail's filtering decisions. Positive engagement signals that the user finds the email valuable and is less likely to mark it as spam, positively influencing deliverability.