What is Email Deliverability and how to Improve it

What Is Email Deliverability?

Email deliverability refers to the likelihood that your email reaches the recipient’s inbox - without being flagged as spam or blocked.

It is influenced by several technical and behavioural factors, such as:

• Your sender name and domain (free domains are often flagged)

• Ease of unsubscribing from your emails

• Subscriber engagement (opens, clicks, replies)

• List hygiene and email practices

If engagement is low, or users frequently ignore or delete your messages, your deliverability rate will suffer.

How to Improve Email Deliverability

To ensure your emails make it to the inbox, follow this checklist:

Why Engagement Matters

Low engagement not only reduces performance - it signals to inbox providers that your content is unwanted. This can push you into spam folders, damaging your sender reputation further. If your list quality is poor, consider a win-back flow.

Re-Engage Before You Remove

A win-back flow is a series of automated emails sent to inactive contacts. It aims to re-engage users before you remove them from your list. For example, you can trigger the flow after 6 months of inactivity.

Why bother? Because retaining a customer is up to five times cheaper than acquiring a new one. A well-timed win-back email can restore engagement and protect your deliverability in the process.

Avoiding the Spam Filter

Once your sender reputation drops and you are marked as spam by providers like Google or Apple, recovery is difficult and slow. That is why it is crucial to stay out of the spam folder from the start.

Here are key tips to help:

• Test emails before sending (e.g. Mail Tester)

• Avoid spam-trigger words like “no obligation” or “free”

• Focus on follow-up flows that keep engagement high

Inbox Success Starts with the Right Tactics

Deliverability is not just technical - it is strategic. It is about protecting your access to your audience. With smart segmentation, clear opt-out paths, and automation flows like win-back sequences, you can stay out of spam filters and keep your email channel effective.