What are the best online training resources for email deliverability?

Summary

Learning email deliverability involves a multi-faceted approach, encompassing resources ranging from blogs and books to industry events and technical documentation. Practical experience, list hygiene, and authentication are core themes. Experts recommend resources like Deliverability Inferno, Word to the Wise, Spam Resource, spamresource.com, and emailkarma.com. They emphasize building and maintaining clean lists, segmenting campaigns, and providing clear unsubscribe options. Authentication with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is repeatedly highlighted. Understanding sender reputation, avoiding spam triggers, monitoring bounce rates, and setting up feedback loops are vital. Additional insights come from platforms like Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft's deliverability guidelines, RFCs, Spamhaus, and M3AAWG. Engaging with the email marketing community, testing email designs, and selecting the right email platform are also key.

Key findings

  • Diverse Resources: A combination of blogs, books, industry events, online communities, and technical documentation is essential for learning deliverability.
  • Authentication is Key: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication are repeatedly emphasized as critical for establishing sender trust and improving deliverability.
  • List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean and segmented email list is crucial for a positive sender reputation and improved deliverability.
  • Community Engagement: Actively participating in industry forums and networking with peers offers practical insights and keeps professionals updated.
  • Practical Experience: Hands-on experience, setting up test environments, and analyzing results are invaluable for mastering deliverability.
  • Monitoring Tools: Google Postmaster Tools and other feedback loops help monitor sender reputation and identify deliverability issues.

Key considerations

  • Comprehensive Approach: A holistic strategy encompassing authentication, list management, content optimization, and monitoring is necessary for optimal deliverability.
  • Constant Learning: Deliverability is an evolving field, requiring continuous learning and adaptation to new trends and technologies.
  • Platform Choice: Selecting an email marketing platform with robust deliverability features and support is important.
  • IP Warm-up: Gradually warming up new IP addresses before sending large volumes of email helps establish a positive sender reputation.
  • RFC Documentation: While technical, RFC documentation provides a deep understanding of email protocols and standards.

What email marketers say
13Marketer opinions

Various resources are recommended for learning email deliverability. These include reading blogs like Word to the Wise and Spam Resource, exploring websites such as spamresource.com and emailkarma.com, and networking with industry peers. Focusing on building and maintaining a clean email list, authenticating emails (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), understanding sender reputation, avoiding spam triggers, and managing subscriber lists are crucial. Warming up IP addresses, segmenting lists, providing unsubscribe options, setting up feedback loops with ISPs, maintaining consistent sending volume, testing email designs, and utilizing email testing tools are also highlighted. Joining email marketing communities and forums provides additional learning opportunities and keeps professionals updated on industry trends.

Key opinions

  • Blogs & Websites: Word to the Wise, Spam Resource, spamresource.com, and emailkarma.com are valuable resources for deliverability insights.
  • List Management: Building a clean email list, regularly cleaning it, and segmenting it for targeted campaigns improves deliverability.
  • Authentication: Authenticating emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential for establishing trust with ISPs.
  • Sender Reputation: Understanding and maintaining a positive sender reputation is crucial for email deliverability.
  • Spam Triggers: Avoiding spam triggers in email content helps prevent emails from being filtered.
  • Feedback Loops: Setting up feedback loops with ISPs allows monitoring spam complaints and improving email practices.
  • IP Warmup: Warming up IP addresses gradually when launching a new sending IP ensures deliverability.
  • Testing Tools: Using email testing tools helps check inbox placement and identify deliverability issues.
  • Community Learning: Joining email marketing communities, forums, and networking with peers helps with learning and development.

Key considerations

  • Practical Experience: Hands-on experience, experimenting with configurations, and analyzing bounce messages are essential for learning.
  • Email Design: Testing email designs across different clients and devices ensures optimal rendering and avoids spam filters.
  • Platform Choice: Choosing the right email marketing platform with built-in deliverability features is important.
  • Consistent Volume: Maintaining a consistent sending volume and frequency helps establish a positive sender reputation.
  • Unsubscribe Options: Providing clear unsubscribe options is important for maintaining a healthy sender reputation and CAN-SPAM compliance.
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that experience is the best teacher for deliverability, along with networking and learning from peers in the email industry.

February 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from SparkPost shares resources on IP warmup strategies and advice on gradually increasing email volume when launching a new sending IP.

August 2022 - SparkPost
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks sends new hires to Spamresource.com and emailkarma.com for deliverability training.

September 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares deliverability blogs Word to the Wise and Spam Resource. He also mentions his book on deliverability.

February 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog suggests focusing on building a clean email list and regularly cleaning it to improve deliverability. He also emphasizes the importance of authenticating your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

May 2021 - Neil Patel's Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet recommends understanding sender reputation, avoiding spam triggers in email content, and actively managing subscriber lists. They also highlight the importance of monitoring bounce rates and feedback loops.

May 2023 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow recommends setting up feedback loops with major ISPs to monitor spam complaints and improve email practices.

September 2021 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue emphasizes warming up IP addresses, segmenting email lists for targeted campaigns, and providing clear unsubscribe options to maintain a healthy sender reputation.

February 2025 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailToolTester compares different email marketing platforms and their built-in deliverability features, helping users choose the right tool for their needs.

April 2024 - EmailToolTester
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit suggests joining email marketing communities and forums to learn from experienced professionals and stay updated on industry trends.

April 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from GlockApps provides resources on using email testing tools to check inbox placement and identify potential deliverability issues before sending campaigns.

April 2022 - GlockApps
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora highlights the importance of consistent sending volume and frequency to establish a positive sender reputation.

July 2021 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus recommends testing email designs across different email clients and devices to ensure optimal rendering and avoid spam filters.

March 2023 - Litmus

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Experts recommend a mix of resources for mastering email deliverability. These include primers like 'Deliverability Inferno', participation in industry events (M3AAWG, EEC, DMA), engagement in deliverability-focused forums and communities, and understanding email authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Hands-on experience, setting up test environments, monitoring results, analyzing bounce messages, and reading standards documents (RFCs) are considered invaluable learning methods.

Key opinions

  • Primer Resource: 'Deliverability Inferno' is recommended as a quick introduction to email and deliverability.
  • Industry Events: Attending industry events (M3AAWG, EEC, DMA) provides opportunities to learn from peers and experts.
  • Community Engagement: Actively participating in industry forums and mailing lists offers practical insights.
  • Authentication Expertise: Understanding and implementing authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial.
  • Hands-on Learning: Setting up test environments and experimenting are invaluable for gaining practical experience.

Key considerations

  • M3AAWG Resource: Staying updated with best practices through resources like M3AAWG is essential.
  • RFC Documents: Reading standards documents (RFCs) provides a deeper understanding of email protocols.
  • Bounce Analysis: Analyzing bounce messages is critical for diagnosing and addressing deliverability issues.
  • Continuous Learning: Deliverability is an evolving field, requiring continuous learning and adaptation.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise suggests that aspiring deliverability professionals should actively participate in industry forums and mailing lists to gain practical insights. She recommends focusing on understanding authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, as well as staying updated on industry best practices through resources like the M3AAWG.

November 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that a core resource for deliverability professionals is participating in industry events like M3AAWG, EEC, and DMA, where they can learn from peers and experts. He also highlights the value of engaging in deliverability-focused forums and communities.

March 2025 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise recommends resources such as the M3AAWG (Messaging, Malware and Mobile Anti-Abuse Working Group) and Return Path (now Validity) for staying informed about deliverability best practices. He emphasizes the importance of understanding and implementing authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.

June 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource suggests that beyond formal training, hands-on experience is invaluable. Setting up test environments and experimenting with different configurations, monitoring results, and analyzing bounce messages are crucial learning methods. Also it is importnat to read standards documents such as RFCs.

March 2022 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks recommends Deliverability Inferno as a primer on email and deliverability basics.

January 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Email deliverability can be learned from resources such as Google Postmaster Tools, Microsoft's deliverability guidelines, RFC Editor's documentation on SPF, DKIM and DMARC, Spamhaus's guidelines on avoiding blocklists, and M3AAWG's best practices. Google Postmaster Tools aids in monitoring sender reputation and diagnosing issues. Microsoft emphasizes sender authentication and maintaining low complaint rates. The RFC Editor provides technical standards for email authentication. Spamhaus focuses on avoiding blocklists through security practices, and M3AAWG offers broad deliverability best practices.

Key findings

  • Google Postmaster Tools: Tool for monitoring sender reputation, spam rates, and feedback loops for Gmail users.
  • Microsoft Guidelines: Focuses on sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and maintaining low complaint rates for Outlook.com and Hotmail.
  • RFC Standards: Provides technical specifications for email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
  • Spamhaus Guidelines: Describes how to avoid being listed on blocklists through strong security practices.
  • M3AAWG Best Practices: Covers authentication, list management, and feedback loops for reducing spam and abuse.

Key considerations

  • Authentication Importance: Sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is consistently highlighted as a critical component of email deliverability.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Regularly monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools to identify and address issues.
  • Security Practices: Implement robust email security practices to avoid being blocklisted by services like Spamhaus.
  • Comprehensive Approach: Adopting a comprehensive approach that includes authentication, list management, and feedback loops, as recommended by M3AAWG, is crucial for optimal deliverability.
Technical article

Documentation from RFC Editor focuses on technical aspects of email authentication, specifically detailing the standards for SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance).

April 2024 - RFC-Editor
Technical article

Documentation from Google provides information about Google Postmaster Tools, which helps monitor sender reputation, spam rates, and feedback loops for Gmail users. It outlines how to use the tool to diagnose and address deliverability issues.

May 2021 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from M3AAWG provides best practices for email deliverability, covering topics such as authentication, list management, and feedback loops, aiming to reduce spam and abuse.

October 2023 - M3AAWG
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft outlines best practices for ensuring email deliverability to Outlook.com and Hotmail, focusing on sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and maintaining low complaint rates.

August 2024 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus describes how to avoid being listed on their blocklists by implementing strong email security practices, such as sender authentication and spam filtering.

July 2022 - Spamhaus