How can I improve email deliverability for large emails with many images and links when experiencing high spam complaint rates?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Stack Overflow suggests using a dedicated IP address for sending emails if you're sending a high volume of emails to isolate your reputation from other senders, which could be influencing your deliverability rates.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that optimizing your email for different devices, including using a responsive design and optimizing images, will reduce load times and improve engagement. They also suggest A/B testing different versions of your email.
Email marketer from HubSpot recommends optimizing email content, including reducing image sizes and using concise language, to prevent triggering spam filters. They also recommend optimizing for mobile and using preheader text.
Email marketer from GlockApps emphasizes using a reputable email marketing service provider (ESP) and regularly checking your sender score. They also explain running inbox placement tests to identify and resolve deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that segmenting your email list based on engagement can significantly improve deliverability. They suggest targeting engaged subscribers with larger emails and using a sunset policy to remove inactive contacts, reducing spam complaints.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce shares that cleaning email lists with email validation tools will reduce bounce rates and improve sender reputation, leading to better deliverability.
Email marketer from Reddit mentions focusing on sender reputation by ensuring consistent sending volume, proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and actively removing unengaged subscribers.
Email marketer from Sendinblue advises focusing on improving sender reputation by authenticating your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. They also stress the importance of consistent sending volume and avoiding sudden spikes, and cleaning your list regularly.
Email marketer from Litmus responds that creating engaging content is key. They recommend testing rendering across different email clients and devices and providing clear value to subscribers.
What the experts say7Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests restricting the big blasts to engaged subscribers due to potentially unclear opt-in and/or hanging on to subscribers forever.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that size is not a deliverability issue in general and remote images are not going to affect anything.
Expert from Email Geeks recommends moving the unsubscribe to the top so folks can actually unsubscribe rather than report as spam, clarifying the source of the addresses and only sending mail to people who have affirmatively opted in.
Expert from Word to the Wise (Dennis Dayman) answers that properly implementing and maintaining email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) is essential. He shares these help ISPs verify the sender's identity and improves deliverability and also shares monitoring authentication via services like dmarcian or easyDMARC.
Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) explains that monitoring your sender reputation is crucial. She explains senders should identify and address issues affecting their reputation, such as high complaint rates or being listed on blocklists. They also recommends looking into Return Path reputation monitoring.
Expert from Spam Resource (John Levine) responds that signing up for feedback loops (FBLs) with major ISPs will provide valuable data about spam complaints, allowing you to identify and address issues causing those complaints.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that the number of links in an email isn't going to make your mail go to bulk if they are using only one domain.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Support explains that senders experiencing low engagement and high spam rates should review their sending practices against Google's bulk sender guidelines, focusing on authentication, list management, and content quality. Google also recommends using Postmaster Tools to monitor your sending reputation.
Documentation from RFC explains the technical specifications of Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records, including syntax, mechanisms, and qualifiers. This is crucial for understanding how to properly configure SPF for email authentication.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that to ensure deliverability to Outlook.com inboxes, senders should monitor complaint rates through the Junk Email Reporting Program (JMRP). Furthermore, they recommend authenticating email, maintaining clean lists by honoring unsubscribe requests, and providing valuable content.
Documentation from SparkPost explains the importance of email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to verify your sending identity and improve deliverability. They provide guides on implementing each protocol correctly.