When it comes to email marketing, deliverability is the gateway to success.

You can have the most beautiful email packed with irresistible offers, but if it doesn’t reach the recipient’s inbox, it’s all for nothing.

Deliverability is both a science and an art, but at its core, it rests on two unshakable foundations I call the Two Pillars of Email Deliverability:

1. The Technical Pillar

This is the bedrock of your email deliverability. Without a solid technical foundation, even the best engagement strategies won’t save you from the spam folder.

The technical pillar focuses on building a robust email architecture tailored to your specific business needs and use cases.

Here are the essential components of this pillar:

  • Domain Authentication: Properly setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC ensures ISPs can verify that you are who you claim to be. This builds trust and protects your domain from spoofing attacks.
  • Infrastructure Setup: Deciding between shared vs. dedicated IPs, managing your sending reputation, and implementing SSL certification for tracking links are vital steps for creating a solid foundation.
  • Architecture Planning: Develop isolated sending pipelines to separate high- and low-risk email types, explicitly tailored to your business and use cases of email as a channel.
  • Compliance: Staying aligned with email regulations like CAN-SPAM and GDPR helps you avoid legal risks and ensures your emails meet ISP standards.
  • Monitoring: Setting up tools like Google Postmaster, Microsoft SNDS, and 3rd-party monitoring platforms are indispensable for staying on top of your reputation and diagnosing issues before they escalate.

Mastering the technical pillar is akin to constructing a sturdy bridge—it ensures your emails can make it across to their destination.

2. The Engagement Pillar

While the technical pillar gets you through the front door, the engagement pillar determines whether ISPs let you stay.

Email deliverability isn’t static—it’s a dynamic relationship between you, your audience, and ISPs, and this relationship evolves with every send.

This is called “Audience Management” and ensuring “Message-Audience Fit“.

ISPs closely monitor how you manage your email list and measure engagement.

Here’s how to ace the engagement pillar:

  • Segmentation: Divide your audience into meaningful segments based on activity, preferences, and lifecycle stages. Sending highly targeted and relevant emails ensures better open rates, clicks, and conversions.
  • Pruning (or Re-Engaging) Dormant Contacts: Regularly clean your list to remove unengaged subscribers. Sending to inactive users signals ISPs that your emails are unwanted, dragging down your reputation.
  • Content and Timing: Delivering the right message at the right time matters. Personalized, engaging content builds trust and keeps subscribers active.
  • Feedback Loops: Monitor spam complaints and unsubscribe requests and take immediate action. Ensuring users can easily opt out (instead of marking you as spam) is vital.

Think of engagement as the ongoing maintenance of your deliverability engine. Neglect it, and even the best technical setup won’t keep you out of the spam folder.

The Synergy of Both Pillars

Here’s the truth: you can’t focus on one pillar and ignore the other.

Even with flawless domain authentication and infrastructure, poor audience engagement will sink your sender reputation.

Similarly, the most engaged audience won’t matter if your technical setup is flawed and emails are cross-contaminating and never reach the inbox.

When you master both pillars, you create a system that not only delivers emails to inboxes but also drives meaningful results for your business.

This synergy builds trust with ISPs and nurtures long-term subscriber relationships.

Key Takeaways

  • Technical Pillar: Build a strong foundation with proper authentication, compliance, and infrastructure.
  • Engagement Pillar: Actively manage your audience and deliver relevant, high-quality content.
  • Balance is Key: Both pillars are essential for achieving sustainable email deliverability success.

By understanding and optimizing these two pillars, you can elevate your email marketing strategy to new heights.

Ready to transform your email deliverability?

Start by auditing your current setup and engagement strategies—your inbox placement (and bottom line) will thank you.

Let’s connect: If you’re looking to master email deliverability or need help building your email strategy, reach out to me.

Together, we’ll ensure your emails not only reach inboxes but deliver results.

About Alec Beglarian

Founder of Engage Guru and Email Mastery, I’ve spent over 20 years perfecting the science of email marketing and deliverability. Having helped manage billions of emails annually, my mission is to help businesses drive measurable ROI with the right email strategies.