What is a good email delivery rate without double opt-in and how to improve it?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Woodpecker shares that a delivery rate between 90% and 99% is considered good. Woodpecker recommends focusing on sending relevant and personalized emails to boost engagement, cleaning email lists regularly to remove invalid or inactive addresses, and monitoring sender reputation through tools like Google Postmaster Tools. They note that a low bounce rate (under 2%) is also crucial.
Marketer from Email Geeks says that 98% is alright, 94% is not impressive and that if the list leans heavily to one provider that could signal problems. Also, suggests using an email validation API.
Marketer from Email Geeks says that a 94-98% accept rate is normal for someone with a relatively clean list, and advises to monitor engagement and spam-related bounces for a better indicator.
Marketer from Email Geeks corrects that the user is seeing delivery rates, AKA accept rates, not deliverability rates, which generally refer to inbox placement.
Email marketer from Gmass responds that without double opt-in, you should still aim for a delivery rate above 95%. To achieve this, Gmass recommends closely monitoring bounce rates, segmenting your lists based on engagement, and removing unengaged subscribers regularly. They also suggest using authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve sender reputation.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that without double opt-in, maintaining a high delivery rate is crucial. Sendinblue recommends list cleaning through regular removal of inactive subscribers, monitoring sender reputation to identify and resolve issues promptly, segmenting email lists to send targeted content, and warming up your IP address by gradually increasing sending volume to establish a positive reputation with ISPs.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign recommends that sending targeted and relevant content to segmented audiences improves engagement and deliverability. ActiveCampaign advises segmenting lists based on demographics, behavior, and engagement levels. By sending personalized content, you're more likely to avoid spam complaints and increase positive engagement, which helps improve your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor emphasizes that a good delivery rate is just one part of the equation. They suggest monitoring other metrics such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates to gain a holistic view of email performance. Campaign Monitor advises that improvements can be made through better content, audience segmentation, and ensuring a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that while double opt-in is best, a delivery rate of 90%+ is achievable without it. Reddit User u/EmailExpert recommends aggressive list cleaning (removing inactive subscribers), using a reputable ESP, and closely monitoring bounce rates and spam complaints. They also suggest segmenting lists and personalizing emails to increase engagement.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that several factors can affect deliverability, including sender reputation (affected by spam complaints, bounce rates, and engagement), email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and content quality (avoiding spam trigger words and ensuring proper formatting). Mailjet also notes the importance of list hygiene and segmentation to improve deliverability.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce emphasizes that maintaining a healthy email list is critical for good deliverability. ZeroBounce suggests regularly validating email addresses to remove invalid or inactive addresses, segmenting email lists based on engagement, and using double opt-in whenever possible. They also recommend monitoring spam complaints and bounce rates to identify and address issues proactively.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum responds that when cold emailing (without opt-in), a good strategy is to focus on highly targeted lists, personalize each email, and provide easy opt-out options. Forum User 'MailGuru' stresses the importance of using email verification tools to minimize bounce rates and monitoring sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
What the experts say10Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that feedback loops from Yahoo and Microsoft allow you to receive a message when someone marks your email as spam, so you can remove that recipient from future emails. Mentions that at Google, you can monitor your complaint rate in the postmaster interface.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that at Google, emails marked as spam may go to the bulk folder, affecting your reputation over time, or they may continue to appear in the inbox, leading to repeated spam reports, also impacting your reputation. Recommends removing unengaged users over time.
Expert from Email Geeks notes that Google's claim that emails marked as spam don't end up in inbox isn't always true, hence their recommendations should be taken with a grain of salt
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) acts as a form of sender verification. Correctly implementing these protocols is a foundational element of email deliverability and helps ISPs identify legitimate senders, decreasing the likelihood that your emails will be marked as spam.
Expert from Email Geeks says that for B2B streams, it's important to be careful about pulling addresses off the list because there isn't a FBL, so you don't know who has complained, and this may degrade your reputation over time.
Expert from Email Geeks says to not worry about the small number of bounces because it is statistical noise
Expert from Spam Resource, Steve Linford, responds that any email sent to someone who hasn't given permission is spam, regardless of delivery rate. He emphasizes that focusing on permission is more important than achieving a high delivery rate without consent.
Expert from Email Geeks says to worry more about complaints and bulk foldering than bounces
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, responds about strategies for warming up new IP addresses including starting with low volume, using very clean lists, and increasing slowly over time. She also emphasizes the necessity of authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to build a positive reputation, which will aid in improving deliverability to a range between 90-99%.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests getting the actual temporary error from the Braze interface to provide more information about what is suspected as spam, so advice can be provided on how to address it.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost highlights the importance of email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) for improving deliverability. SparkPost explains that these authentication methods help verify the sender's identity, reducing the likelihood of emails being marked as spam. They recommend setting up these records correctly and monitoring authentication results to ensure they are working as expected.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that to improve email deliverability in Office 365, it's important to avoid sending unsolicited bulk email and to ensure that your sending domain is properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Microsoft also recommends monitoring your sender reputation through the Microsoft SNDS (Smart Network Data Services) program and following their best practices for sending email.
Documentation from RFC 5321 details that adherence to SMTP standards is vital for deliverability. The RFC specifies proper email formatting, error handling, and communication protocols that email servers must follow to ensure messages are correctly routed and delivered. Consistent compliance with these standards helps maintain a positive sender reputation and reduces the risk of emails being marked as spam.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that maintaining a good sender reputation is essential for high deliverability. Google recommends authenticating your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify your identity. They also suggest monitoring your spam rate in Postmaster Tools and ensuring it remains low (below 0.1%). Google highlights the importance of sending wanted mail to engaged users.