Ever sent a hundred cold emails and received zero replies? It’s the pits.

 

 

One reason for the crickets you’re hearing is probably your low email deliverability rate—the measure of how many emails actually make it into the recipients’ inboxes, rather than the spam folder.

 

 

Email is an essential form of cold outreach for businesses. After all, email has a higher ROI than any other form of marketing communication, but deliverability has become more and more challenging in recent years. With email providers cracking down on spam and implementing strict filters, it’s harder than ever to get your messages seen by your intended recipients.

 

 

If you’re not careful, your email deliverability can suffer, and your messages will end up in the spam folder FOREVER. The good news is, there are tricks you can use to crank deliverability up—and fast. 

 

 

Here are our tips on how to improve your email deliverability and launch a cold email campaign that gets actual results.

 

 

6 Practices for Improving Email Deliverability

 

The success of your cold outreach campaign depends on your email deliverability rate. If your email doesn’t reach the primary inbox, it doesn’t matter how good your offer is, or how well-crafted your email copy is. It’s all for naught.

 

 

Here are 6 things you should do to increase your email deliverability rates (if you aren’t already):

 

 

1. Know Your Stuff & Don’t Be too Salesy

 

First things first, make sure you know what you’re talking about. When you’re reaching out to strangers, they can smell BS from a mile away. So do your research, learn everything there is to know about your product or service, and be prepared to answer any questions that come your way.

 

 

Then, when crafting your content, avoid being too sales-heavy. No recipient wants to be bombarded with a hard sell, especially when they don’t even know who you are. Instead, take it easy and focus on building a relationship first.

 

 

Remember that 81% of consumers say they have to trust a brand before buying from them—and chances are, businesses feel the same. So ensure your customers are total supporters of your business first.

 

 

2. Polish Your Email List Regularly

 

You want to polish your email list so you’re not sending to accounts that don’t exist anymore or are obviously not interested in your offer. Say someone hasn’t opened even one of your emails in 6 months or longer, there’s a good chance they never will. Continuing to send emails to them is a waste of resources.

 

 

Also, you’d want to clean up so everything is accurate. For example, you shouldn’t send emails to those who’ve never opted-in or have opted-out already. On that note, ensure that you do give people the option to opt-out. Depending on where you live, these things might be required—like how Europe’s GDPR mandates senders to only email those who’ve given their informed consent.

 

 

Aside from those reasons, polishing your email list also helps with your email deliverability, since spam filters tend to flag lists with high numbers of inactive recipients. Tidying up improves the quality of leads you get from your cold email campaigns. Simply ask yourself: Would you rather have 100 engaged recipients or 1,000 unengaged ones? The answer is obvious.

 

 

So polish up effectively by regularly monitoring your engagement rates and bounce rates, including soft bounce—when an email is read by the recipient’s server but doesn’t reach their inbox. 

 

 

3. Make It Personal

 

A generic “Dear Sir or Madam” just won’t cut it here. Instead, take the time to find out who you’re emailing and address them by name. 

 

 

Email personalization means sending out emails targeted to specific subscribers with special offers, high-quality, relevant content, and important information. When done well, personalized emails allow subscribers to feel like you specifically wrote the email for them.

 

 

Why is this important? Because you want to be in the primary inbox—not the spam folder.

 

 

The inbox is a private, personal place. So when your prospective client receives your email, they should feel like they’re receiving a message from a trusted pal. The last thing you want them to think is that you’re just another advertisement—which you’re not. You’ve put intentionality into this business.

 

 

A little personalization goes a long way toward building rapport and showing that you’re not just mass-spamming everyone in your contact list.

 

 

4. Keep It Short & Sweet

 

Make your emails a treat (not a chore) for your subscriber by keeping them short and straightforward.

 

 

As tempting as it may be to build up the suspense, don’t make your recipient wait until the end of the email to find out what you want from them. Get right to it and be clear about what action you’d like them to take, whether that’s scheduling a meeting or signing up for your newsletter.

 

 

The goal is to get your email read, so make it easy for your recipients by keeping the email message concise and focused—but don’t skimp on the details that make your message valuable. And, of course, stray away from sending emails with common spam filter triggers, like poor grammar and spelling.

 

 

5. Prove Your Value

 

What do you want to see in an email from a stranger? Most likely something that sparks your interest and has value to you, right? So hand it to them. The more helpful and relevant your email is, the more likely your client is to open it, read it, and react to it.

 

 

Nobody wants to feel like they’re being sold to, so offer value up front. Whether that’s helpful advice, insider tips, or exclusive deals, your email should be packed with good reasons to open it.

 

 

And bonus points if you can offer something specific to the recipient. For example, if you’re emailing a new customer, you could include a discount code for their first purchase (try sticking the offer in the subject line—you’ll see what we mean).

 

 

6. Use a Professional Email Address

 

If you’re sending cold emails from your personal account (like Gmail or Yahoo!), your message will likely end up in the spam folder. That’s because personal email addresses are often associated with spam, so email providers quickly flag them.

 

 

To avoid the trash and score high deliverability, use a professional email address that uses your company domain name—for example, [email protected] Not only will this help improve your deliverability, but it will also make your email look more credible and trustworthy.

 

 

Higher Email Deliverability = More Leads

 

There’s no denying that cold emailing is anything but easy. But when done correctly, it can be an extremely effective way to generate leads for your business because you’re connecting with potential clients who are already interested in your products or services. 

 

 

Master how to improve and protect your email deliverability rate, you’re already one foot through the door.

 

 

Use the steps we’ve outlined to improve deliverability and ensure that more of your emails reach their intended destinations. By prioritizing delivery rate, you can launch a successful cold email campaign that generates real results for your business—without sacrificing quality or quantity in the process.

 

 

Do you need help in launching a cold outreach campaign that yields positive ROI? StartUpSales can be your partner in achieving success. Contact us today!