What is Email Deliverability?

Email deliverability is the probability that a marketing email will reach the inbox of your recipient. To be honest though, in regard to  the technical aspect, there is no exact science to getting your marketing emails to the inbox (algorithms, don’t we just love them? 😍). 

Actually, no one knows exactly what to do, apart from the developers at Google, per say. It’s one of the internet’s best-kept secrets. At Social Fox, we do whatever we can to equip you with everything you will need on the technical side of things and we are constantly pivoting our strategies to keep up with the latest algorithm changes that we notice. All-in-all, don’t worry! We got you covered!

That all being said, there is one thing you can control in your marketing emails, and that is your behavior. There are many factors that influence the deliverability of a marketing email, and some of these factors are user-specific (yes, we’re talking to you! 😉). In this article, we will look at behavioral activity to manage email deliverability.

Email Deliverability Tip #1: The Power of the Emoji 🤪✨

First and foremost, the “From” name. It is often the most overlooked part of an email because it is simply a name, right? Well, not exactly! Here is a little secret for you, use emojis! 🙌 Email marketing is all about standing out, so this is a step in the right direction as not many people  are really using emojis [so this will set you apart.] Be different, catch attention, and stand out 💯 Imagine seeing this in your inbox:

✨ Roxanne Ray ✨

🦊 Roxanne @ Social Fox

They’re pretty eye-catching, don’t you think? When we started implementing this practice, our open rates SOARED! We started getting 100% open rates which is unheard of in the Email Deliverability world!

Email Deliverability Tip #2: Optimize Your Email Marketing Subject Line

Email subject lines are the first thing that your potential customers will see. DID YOU KNOW: You only have less than 3 seconds to catch your readers’ attention? Therefore, your email subject lines have to be catchy and relevant enough to entice them to open the email! . A good subject line will not only entice people to open it but also facilitate interest in what you have to say. Here are some ways to improve your email marketing subject line to increase your email deliverability…

1. Put the Recipient’s Name 

A personal touch makes everything 100x better! Personalize your email subject lines by addressing the recipient by name. This can be accomplished with just the click of a button by using your email service provider's (like Social Fox!) custom values or variables. In doing so, the person will feel like you actually care to share something with them. 

2. Use Emojis

Yes, emojis (again!). As the saying goes, the more, the merrier. However, do not overdo it. One emoji will suffice, and we suggest putting it in the beginning of your subject line to avoid it getting cut off.

3. Keep it Short

It is important to keep your subject lines short so that readers will not have trouble understanding what your marketing email is about, and because people tend to skim their emails before opening them. You want to make sure they have enough captivating information in the subject line for them to decide to actually OPEN your email!

4. Pique Their Interest

Stand out in a sea of emails with a hook - a word or phrase that grabs the reader's attention and compels them to read your email. In fact, it is used in every aspect of marketing: in landing pages, website, ad copy, and social media. A hook should be personalized, relevant, and concise. It should also be engaging and persuasive as  the goal of a hook is to get the reader to open the email thus increasing your overall email deliverability. Here are some hooks you can use:

• This is Your Sign {{custom_value.first.name}} 🔥

• FIRST NAME, your future self will thank you for this! 🙌

• Don’t open this in front of them

Be creative with the words and phrases you think would catch your audience’s attention! We also compiled a list of words you should NOT use in your emails. Find the list of spam words here.

Email Deliverability Tip #3: Don’t Forget the First Line of Your Marketing Email’s Body

The first line of the body your email should also follow the same principles mentioned in tip #2. Often seen as the “preview text,” the first line of the body should contain a hook that will pique the reader’s interest. This is another opportunity to grab attention, so don’t waste it! With Social Fox, we have the ability to have the “Preview Text” differ from the first lines in the email copy to incentivize opening with a catchy phrase or question! LEARN MORE ABOUT HOW SOCIAL FOX CAN HELP YOU UPLEVEL YOUR EMAIL DELIVERABILITY GAME HERE!

Email Deliverability Tip #4: The Body of Your Email

Take everything you learned in school, and throw it out the window! (not literally 😉) The tips we are about to give might upset your past teachers, but we have to go against the grain to hit that sweet spot in formatting our marketing emails for optimal deliverability.

In each of your emails, it is best to talk about ONE topic and have a SINGLE call to action. The clearer and more concise everything is the higher your email deliverability rates will be! The optimal number of sentences in each paragraph is 2-3, and you can break up paragraphs by using emojis!

Something else to keep in mind is the text vs images & links. Rules of Thumb for Text vs links & images:

• Short emails: 1 image and 1 link location 

• Longer emails: Maximum 2 images and 2 link locations

Anything beyond this might trigger spam filters (which we definitely don’t want!). Speaking of spam, here is a list of words to AVOID in your emails. 

In general, make sure that your emails are easy to read and skim, as well as easy for your readers to find keywords. It is a good practice to bold certain words, use the indent feature, and make bullet points.

Conclusion

It is evident how a change in behavior goes a long way in helping your emails reach the inbox! Although there is no way to hack into the technical side of things, our behavior can still greatly influence email deliverability.

From using emojis in the “from” name to optimizing the email marketing subject line and preview text as well as formatting the body to make it easy for the reader to skim your emails, you will start seeing some noticeable improvements in your open rates after implementing these tactics & strategies.

Crush Email Deliverability with Social Fox

In email marketing, open rates are what determine success. Yes, your emails were sent and delivered to the contact, but were they opened? At Social Fox we help our members uplevel their email deliverability game  through the use of a seamless-tech setup AND monthly masterclasses on the strategy and behavior necessary to not only hit the inbox every time, but to get your emails read, and your call-to-actions inside CLICKED! (yes, we’re that confident!) . Our members are consistently getting 70-90%  open rates week after week. Want to take the world by storm and uplevel your email deliverability? Schedule a demo call with us at here.