How can I improve email deliverability in Gmail by sending plain text emails without links to establish sender reputation?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Reddit shares that warming up an IP address is essential when starting with a new IP or domain. Start with low sending volumes and gradually increase them over time to establish a good sender reputation with mailbox providers.
Marketer from Email Geeks responds that stripping things down to get delivery is good for determining what exact thing is causing the spam issue, but now there's a whole new problem of why mailbox providers don't like the links, content, template, etc.
Email marketer from Omnisend shares that proper segmentation helps improve deliverability by allowing you to send more relevant content to specific groups of subscribers. This increases engagement and reduces the likelihood of subscribers marking your emails as spam.
Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that using a dedicated IP address, cleaning your email list regularly, and warming up your IP address can significantly improve email deliverability. He also recommends authenticating your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares that sending plain text emails can help improve deliverability, especially when starting out or when facing deliverability issues. It reduces the complexity of the email and minimizes the risk of triggering spam filters.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that the high deliverability was achieved by only sending a plain text email without links. The plan is to establish sender reputation with this strategy for a few weeks and then reintroduce links and images.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that tools like Google Postmaster Tools (for Gmail) can help you track your domain reputation. A good reputation is essential for ensuring your emails reach the inbox.
Email marketer from HubSpot shares that improving email deliverability involves segmenting your email list to send targeted messages, personalizing your emails to increase engagement, and monitoring your email metrics to identify and address any deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Mailchimp shares that email marketing best practices involve regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers, using double opt-in to ensure recipients want to receive your emails, and providing valuable content that resonates with your audience.
Email marketer from SendPulse responds that building a good sender reputation involves sending valuable and relevant content, maintaining consistent sending volumes, and avoiding spam traps. They also suggest segmenting your email list and personalizing your messages.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that cleaning your email list regularly by removing inactive or unengaged subscribers is crucial for maintaining a healthy sender reputation. This helps improve deliverability by reducing bounce rates and spam complaints.
Marketer from Email Geeks responds that Conner's open rate with that click-through rate would raise alarm to a broken link or tracking issue. However, the open rate does suggest that the email is not landing in spam anymore. Unless they've started pre-fetching open pixels for spam, it is an improvement.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that list hygiene is essential to improving deliverability. Removing invalid email addresses, unengaged subscribers, and complainers reduces bounce rates and spam complaints, which can positively impact your sender reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that an email with no links is a bridge that stops halfway across. Plus, with prefetching, it's the first chance to validate people are truly engaging. Mailbox providers say they don't track engagement today, but who knows about tomorrow.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that avoiding spam trigger words and phrases in your content, while providing valuable information, helps you avoid being flagged as spam. Ensure that your content matches the expectations of the recipient.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that to keep your emails out of the junk folder, ensure your sender information is accurate, avoid using excessive formatting or large attachments, and obtain explicit consent from recipients to receive your emails.
Documentation from Mailjet explains that email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for improving deliverability. It verifies that the email is actually sent from the domain it claims to be from, which helps prevent spoofing and phishing. Properly configured authentication signals to mailbox providers that you're a legitimate sender.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that avoiding spam filters involves using a clean and up-to-date email list, avoiding spam trigger words in your subject lines and email body, and providing an easy way for recipients to unsubscribe.
Documentation from Gmail Help explains that Gmail requires senders to authenticate their emails using SPF or DKIM. It also recommends setting up DMARC and monitoring your sender reputation in Google Postmaster Tools. Sending unsolicited emails can negatively impact deliverability.