Who are the best deliverability experts and tools for auditing email performance?

Summary

Improving email deliverability requires a comprehensive strategy encompassing technical setup, list management, content optimization, and ongoing monitoring. Utilizing your ESP's deliverability team is a crucial first step, supplemented by third-party tools for continuous monitoring. Essential technical measures include implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email authentication and gradually warming up new IPs to build a positive sender reputation. Maintaining list hygiene through regular cleaning and proper bounce handling is vital, as is segmenting your audience for more relevant content. Consistent monitoring of key metrics like spam rate, bounce rate, and complaint rate, along with active management of feedback loops, helps maintain a healthy sender reputation. Optimizing email design for mobile devices, using testing tools to identify potential issues, and focusing on engaging content further contribute to improved deliverability.

Key findings

  • ESP Support: Leveraging the expertise and resources of your ESP's deliverability team is highly beneficial.
  • Third-Party Monitoring: Third-party tools provide ongoing monitoring and alerting for deliverability issues.
  • Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC): Implementing email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) is essential for verifying sender identity and improving deliverability.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list and properly handling bounces are critical for maintaining deliverability.
  • Segmentation: Segmenting your audience and providing relevant content enhances engagement and deliverability.
  • IP Warmup: Gradually warming up new IP addresses is crucial for building a good sending reputation.
  • Spam Rate Monitoring: Keeping spam rates low, as monitored by tools like Google Postmaster Tools, is paramount for deliverability.
  • Feedback Loops: Monitoring and addressing feedback loops helps identify and resolve issues impacting sender reputation.
  • Email Testing: Using email testing tools can proactively identify and resolve potential deliverability problems.

Key considerations

  • Consult ESP: Begin by consulting with your ESP's deliverability team for specific guidance and support.
  • Invest in Monitoring Tools: Implement third-party monitoring tools to track deliverability metrics and receive alerts for potential issues.
  • Implement Authentication: Ensure proper implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for all sending domains.
  • List Management: Establish a process for regular list cleaning to remove inactive and problematic subscribers.
  • Audience Segmentation: Develop a segmentation strategy to deliver more relevant content and improve engagement.
  • Warm Up New IPs Carefully: Follow a gradual IP warm-up process when sending from new IP addresses.
  • Monitor Spam Complaints: Regularly monitor and address spam complaints to maintain a healthy sender reputation.
  • Test Before Sending: Thoroughly test emails before sending to identify and fix potential deliverability issues.
  • Mobile Optimization: Ensure emails are optimized for mobile devices to improve engagement and deliverability.

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

Improving email deliverability involves a multi-faceted approach, beginning with leveraging the deliverability resources offered by your Email Service Provider (ESP). Implementing email authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for verifying sender identity. Maintaining good list hygiene by removing inactive subscribers and managing bounces effectively is essential, as is segmenting your email list based on engagement metrics. Monitoring key metrics like bounce rates and complaint rates, along with actively managing feedback loops, helps maintain a positive sender reputation. Optimizing email design for mobile devices and using testing tools to identify and resolve issues before sending campaigns further enhances deliverability. Finally, gradually warming up new IPs and ensuring a good IP reputation are important for establishing trust with mailbox providers.

Key opinions

  • ESP Deliverability Team: Leveraging your ESP's deliverability team is a valuable first step due to their access to detailed information.
  • Third-Party Tools: Third-party tools can provide ongoing deliverability monitoring and alerting capabilities.
  • Email Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is critical for verifying sender identity and improving deliverability.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning your email list by removing inactive subscribers improves deliverability.
  • Key Metrics: Tracking bounce rates, complaint rates, and engagement helps monitor and improve email deliverability.
  • New IP Warmup: Gradually warming up new IPs is crucial for establishing a good sending reputation.
  • Email Testing: Email testing tools help identify and fix potential deliverability issues before sending campaigns.
  • Segmentation: Using segmentation to split your email list based on engagement metrics can improve deliverability.

Key considerations

  • ESP Resources: Start by contacting your ESP's deliverability team for insights and assistance.
  • Ongoing Monitoring: Implement a system for ongoing monitoring of key deliverability metrics using third-party tools.
  • Authentication Protocols: Ensure proper implementation of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for all sending domains.
  • List Maintenance: Establish a process for regular list cleaning to remove inactive and problematic subscribers.
  • Feedback Loops: Actively monitor and address feedback loops to identify and resolve complaints.
  • IP Reputation: Gradually warm up new IPs and monitor your IP reputation to avoid deliverability issues.
  • Mobile Optimization: Optimize email design for mobile devices to improve engagement.
  • Testing: Always test emails before sending campaigns to identify and fix potential issues.
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks recommends Mickey Chandler as a great deliverability expert and provides a link to book time with him.

July 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass states that using segmentation to split your email list based on engagement metrics can improve deliverability.

April 2022 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus explains that optimizing email design for mobile devices and using responsive templates can improve engagement and positively impact deliverability.

February 2025 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet emphasizes the importance of tracking key metrics like bounce rate, complaint rate, and engagement to monitor email deliverability effectively.

April 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit user u/EmailExpert123 shares that warming up new IPs gradually by sending small volumes of emails initially is crucial for establishing a good sending reputation.

February 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue highlights the necessity of implementing email authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify sender identity and improve deliverability.

January 2024 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests using a third-party tool for ongoing monitoring of deliverability, in addition to consulting with a deliverability expert.

October 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stack Overflow shares that ensuring the IP addresses used for sending email have a good reputation helps with getting emails delivered.

January 2024 - Stack Overflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that consistently cleaning your email list by removing inactive subscribers improves deliverability.

September 2021 - Neil Patel
Marketer view

Email marketer from Return Path (now Validity) shares that actively monitoring feedback loops and promptly addressing any complaints received is essential for maintaining a good sender reputation.

January 2022 - Return Path
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks recommends reaching out to your ESPs deliverability team as a first step, as they have access to more details than most third-party individuals.

November 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailToolTester shares that using email testing tools to check deliverability before sending campaigns helps identify and fix potential issues.

September 2024 - EmailToolTester

What the experts say
2Expert opinions

Maintaining a clean email list through regular hygiene practices such as removing inactive subscribers and properly handling bounces is crucial for improving email deliverability. Additionally, improving content relevancy through segmentation and ensuring the provision of engaging content significantly contribute to enhanced deliverability and a positive sender reputation.

Key opinions

  • List Hygiene: Regular list hygiene, including removing inactive subscribers and handling bounces, is essential for deliverability.
  • Content Relevancy: Segmentation and providing engaging content are key to improving email deliverability and sender reputation.

Key considerations

  • Hygiene Practices: Implement a consistent strategy for identifying and removing inactive subscribers from your mailing lists.
  • Segmentation Strategy: Develop a robust segmentation strategy to deliver more relevant and engaging content to your audience.
  • Engaging Content: Focus on creating content that resonates with your audience to foster engagement and improve sender reputation.
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource emphasizes the importance of regular list hygiene, including removing inactive subscribers and handling bounces properly, for improving deliverability.

April 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise recommends using segmentation to improve content relevancy as well as ensuring you are providing good content that people want to engage with, which helps improve email deliverability and overall sender reputation.

March 2022 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Maintaining a low spam rate, as monitored through tools like Google Postmaster Tools, is crucial for email deliverability. Implementing email authentication methods like SPF and DKIM helps prevent sender address forgery and verifies email origin and content, respectively. DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM by adding reporting and policy enforcement. When starting to send from new IP addresses, gradually increasing the sending volume helps build a positive reputation with mailbox providers.

Key findings

  • Spam Rate: Maintaining a low spam rate is critical for email deliverability, with Google Postmaster Tools as a key resource for monitoring.
  • SPF: SPF is an email authentication method that detects forging sender addresses.
  • DKIM: DKIM provides an email authentication mechanism by signing emails with a digital signature.
  • DMARC: DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM, adding reporting and policy enforcement for email authentication.
  • IP Warmup: Gradually increasing sending volume from new IPs is essential for building a positive sender reputation.

Key considerations

  • Monitor Spam Rate: Regularly monitor your spam rate using Google Postmaster Tools and keep it below recommended thresholds.
  • Implement SPF: Implement SPF to prevent sender address forgery.
  • Implement DKIM: Implement DKIM to verify the origin and content of your emails.
  • Implement DMARC: Implement DMARC to add reporting and policy enforcement for email authentication.
  • Warm Up New IPs: When starting to send from new IP addresses, gradually increase the sending volume to build a positive reputation.
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication method designed to detect forging sender addresses during the delivery of email.

November 2022 - RFC
Technical article

Documentation from DMARC.org shares that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) is an email authentication protocol that builds on SPF and DKIM to add reporting and policy.

September 2024 - DMARC.org
Technical article

Documentation from Gmail Help states that keeping your spam rate reported in Postmaster Tools below 0.10% and avoid ever reaching a rate of 0.30% or higher, especially over a sustained period. If you send a large volume of email, regularly monitor the Google Postmaster Tools.

January 2022 - Gmail Help
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) provides an email authentication mechanism by which email is signed with a digital signature, allowing verifying the email's origin and content.

March 2023 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost describes that progressively increasing sending volume is a means of gradually building a reputation with mailbox providers. Sending a very small amount of mail initially, then increasing over time, informs mailbox providers that the mail stream is legitimate.

January 2025 - SparkPost