Ask Our Experts: What Metrics Should Senders Focus On?

Many people find their inboxes overflowing with generic emails and promotional content, all vying to grab their attention. But what separates an email that gets deleted from one that gets opened, sparks engagement, and drives results? Ultimately, effective emails prioritize value over promotion. It's finding and understanding your target subscribers and delivering value that addresses their needs. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa talk about the steps and strategies for creating effective emails. They provide practical tips on identifying the target audience, creating a value proposition, and reaching potential subscribers through lead magnets and social media strategies.Join us as we discuss:[01:32] - One of Alyssa's favorite content creators.[02:07] - The steps to writing an effective email.[09:33] - Popular strategies for Instagram and Pinterest.[12:59] - An effective Instagram strategy.[18:23] - Using lead magnets to grow an email list.[24:50] - The importance of clarity in writing emails.[26:52] - Why the size of your email list does not guarantee success.Key TakeawaysUnderstanding your target subscriber and their needs is crucial for creating valuable content.Ues lead magnets and strategic social media tactics to grow your email list.Creating a clear persona of the target subscriber, including their job, age, interests, and challenges, will help you deliver more value.Developing a value proposition that communicates the unique benefits offered to your ideal subscribers strengthens their understanding of your product or service.When writing emails, focus on providing value and addressing your subscriber's specific needs. This will increase engagement. Quotes"A lot of people think about their email as a bunch of random email addresses, and they are thinking about their goals. It's a much better strategy to reverse this thinking and get laser-focused on how to serve your audience. Then, you'll find way more success because you'll be serving people and giving them what they need." ~ Alyssa Dulin "If you have a lot of engagement on TikTok and Instagram because of the reels you do, but you don't have a newsletter or a website, you are missing out." ~ Melissa Lambert"Having this lens [a lead magnet and target subscriber] makes your life much easier. Because now, with every single email you send, instead of coming from your goals, you have a human you're writing to in your head when you sit down to write an email." ~ Alyssa Dulin"We know people at ConvertKit who have smaller lists and are successful. It's not about the list size. It's because they figured out what their audience needed and put that into place ahead of time." ~ Melissa LambertLinksJames ClearAtomic HabitsPinterestInstagramConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Connect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Domain reputation has been a theme this season. And for good reason. In the world of email, IP addresses and domains have reputations that can make or break an email’s journey. While it might seem a little technical, understanding these nuances can have a big impact on your email deliverability.In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the differences between shared and dedicated reputation regarding IP addresses and domains. They talk about the importance of IP and domain reputation, the factors that affect them, and their impact on email deliverability. They also highlight ConvertKit's approach to maintaining a high reputation.Join us as we discuss:[02:47] - The difference between shared IP and dedicated IP.[06:12] - Who is most likely to benefit from dedicated IP?[07:01] - The benefits and risks of using a dedicated IP.[08:30] - Shared IP and Google Postmaster Tools.[11:42] - The risk of shared IP pool and the importance of having good email managers.[15:44] - The team behind ConvertKit's deliverability and compliance.[16:52] - How ConvertKit monitors block lists.[20:51] - How IP reputation and domain reputation work together.[23:50] - The impact of domain reputation on mail providers.[30:09] - ConvertKit's new domain features.Key TakeawaysMost email service providers commonly use shared IP addresses which are a good option for the majority of users.Dedicated IP addresses are recommended for high-volume senders or those who want complete control over their reputation.Domain reputation is crucial in email deliverability and can impact whether emails land in the inbox or the spam folder.Senders need to take responsibility for maintaining a healthy domain reputation by following best practices and avoiding spammy behavior.ConvertKit’s new feature allows users to purchase and validate a domain within the platform, making it easier for senders to own their email identity.Quotes[07:19] - "If you care about completely owning the reputation of your email, you want to be low risk, and you don't want any other factor to influence your email's deliverability, you might want a dedicated IP. Your deliverability is all on you 100 percent." ~ Alyssa Dulin [22:56] - "Your domain reputation is extremely important and can be the cause of emails going to spam. There is nothing your ESP can do about it if you don't clean up your side of the street." - Melissa Lambert[27:59] - "Helping our customers and senders buy their own domains and figure out their own mailboxes so that they can really own their identity and their mail is helpful to the entire ecosystem." ~ Alyssa Dulin[31:58] - "We want to be good stewards of email and are also trying to get tooling in place to support that. We've tried to align our tooling with our belief that this is the best way for senders to have autonomy over their domain reputation, and we're going to give you a tool to make it even easier." ~ Melissa LambertLinksAlison GooteeBrazeSubstackMailchimpConvertKitGoogle Postmaster ToolsNathan BarryConvertKit's Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Connect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

If you’ve ever found yourself in a tangle of numbers, wondering which email metrics actually matter, this episode is for you. This week, Alyssa and Melissa unravel the tangled web of open rates, bounce rates, click rates, and complaint rates, guiding email senders toward clarity. They discuss why maintaining low bounce and complaint rates is essential, and explore the impact of metrics on email deliverability. They also explore the value of subscriber engagement and the reality of cold subscribers. Understanding these metrics (which ones deserve your attention and how to interpret them) is vital for your email deliverability. In this episode, we discuss:04:42 - Understanding open rates and their impact on deliverability09:59 - Exploring bounce rates and new ConvertKit features13:34 - The importance of monitoring complaint rates17:58 - The nuances of click rates21:05 - Cold subscribers and list cleaning strategies24:01 - Every sender’s deliverability puzzle is unique25:35 - Know your metrics and look for abnormalitiesKey TakeawaysOpen rates are more than just percentages; they're indicators of your emails landing in the inbox, especially important post-Apple's Mail Privacy Protection.Maintaining a bounce rate below 2% is critical, and a sudden spike can signal deeper deliverability troubles that merit further investigation.Complaint rates are a vital health check for your domain reputation, and staying below 0.1% is essential, especially with stricter Gmail rules in place.The enigma of click rates can be demystified by examining content strategy and understanding the role of bot clicks, not just deliverability factors.Regularly engaging with and cleaning your cold subscribers can significantly boost the overall health and deliverability of your email list.Quotes“If I were to give any advice to someone who is experiencing a drop in open rates, it would be to not panic and just start slowly digging into different aspects of why your open rates might be changing.” ~ Melissa Lambert“Get really familiar with your metrics. What's normal for you? What's a normal open rate for you? What's a normal click rate for you? And spot anything that is abnormal.” ~ Alyssa DulinLinksConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsGmailYahooSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Facebook MarketplacePilates ReformerConnect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa explore some creative ways to boost email replies and enhance deliverability. From leveraging engagement signals and building community to using incentive-driven tactics, they share valuable strategies to amp up replies and strengthen relationships with subscribers.The discussion also touches on the impact of replies on domain reputation and suggests practical methods for handling and organizing replies. As email deliverability continues to evolve, nurturing meaningful interactions through replies is a powerful tool for ensuring your messages thrive in the inbox.In this episode, we discuss:00:59 - Love is Blind season finale02:00 - Email replies as a deliverability superpower05:08 - Creative strategies to boost email replies09:23 - Engaging your audience with questions and trivia12:49 - Putting a new spin on popular strategies to increase engagement18:12 - How to turn clicks into replies19:32 - Managing repliesKey TakeawaysLeveraging email replies is a potent strategy for fortifying domain reputation and fostering meaningful interactions with subscribers.Crowdsourcing content ideas and feedback through replies can invigorate engagement and provide valuable insights for content creation.Setting up filters or folders to organize replies can streamline the management of incoming engagement signals and nurture subscriber interactions.Quotes“I think if you can come up with a creative way to ask different questions, people will answer. They will want to answer. People love to talk and they love being able to share their opinions.” ~ Melissa Lambert“So instead of making people click a button to confirm their opt-in and receive that lead magnet, whatever it may be, you're asking them to reply to your email to get the lead magnet.” ~ Alyssa DulinLinksLove is BlindThe guide to getting more repliesThe Sound of MusicConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Connect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa dive into the topic of using recommendation tools to grow your email list while maintaining healthy deliverability. They explore the potential impact of using ConvertKit’s Creator Network recommendation tool, and provide insights on how to effectively manage new subscribers.Balancing list growth with subscriber engagement is critical for email senders. Making a strong first impression with new subscribers through a clear and compelling creator profile, setting up a robust welcome sequence, and implementing automated list cleaning will help keep engagement high and maintain deliverability. In this episode, we discuss:00:19 - Nicolas Cage’s Dream Scenario04:50 - Email deliverability and recommendations tools05:40 - Understanding subscriber dynamics with recommendation tools12:23 - Crafting the perfect creator profile15:15 - The importance of a welcome email sequence21:02 - Optimizing subscriber engagement and list healthKey TakeawaysBalancing list growth with subscriber engagement is crucial for maintaining healthy deliverability.Making a strong first impression through a clear and compelling creator profile enhances subscriber understanding and interest in your content.Utilizing welcome sequences and automated list cleaning helps in demonstrating value, ensuring engagement, and maintaining deliverability standards.Quotes“We often see people who have other methods of subscriber collection, that are not illegal and they're not bad necessarily, but they don't always convert to the best subscribers.” ~ Melissa Lambert“If you have friends who are newsletter people or they have an email list and they know how to grow their list, that's a great fit. Reach out to your friends, be like, hey, let's form a pod, let's recommend each other. Then every time one of you grows your list, you're all benefiting, which is awesome.” ~ Alyssa DulinLinksDream ScenarioConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Connect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Ever feel like you're decoding an ancient script when trying to comprehend email authentication? DMARC may seem like just another complex acronym in the world of email, but it's a guardian against the spoofers and spammers. Setting up DMARC is like locking your digital doors—it's not just necessary; it's your first line of defense. And since missed emails mean missed opportunities, understanding DMARC is a critical piece of the email deliverability puzzle. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa unpack the mysteries of DMARC records and how they protect your domain from email spoofers. They explore why big players like Gmail and Yahoo demand DMARC for mass senders and provide simple steps to set it up without the tech headache.In this episode, we discuss:01:50 - The basics of DMARC.06:44 - The importance of DMARC and its impact on email security.11:45 - Exploring the technicalities of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.16:13 - Navigating the complexities of email authentication and deliverability.20:43 - Setting up DMARC: the right way to protect your domain.25:24 - Tips for getting the most out of DMARC reporting.Key TakeawaysDMARC isn’t just a fancy acronym; it's your armor against domain spoofing and should be part of your security strategy.Begin with a DMARC policy of “none” to collect data without impacting deliverability, and level up to” quarantine” or “reject” as you become more confident in your setup.Your domain's reputation is as valuable as a treasure chest in the world of email deliverability — protect it with proper DMARC implementation.Don’t let the technical jargon intimidate you. Use the right tools to demystify DMARC and help streamline the management of email authentication.Quotes“DMARC is a level of security for your emails. It helps authenticate your emails and protect your domain from being used by bad people. At a very basic level, it's a protection mechanism.” ~ Melissa Lambert“If you are a good email sender, you have an asset that's really valuable to spammers. So, if you're wondering, ‘Am I actually affected by this? Why would someone do this?’ They want that healthy domain that you have. And if it's not protected by DMARC, then you are a target for it.” ~ Alyssa DulinLinksConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooMicrosoftGmailDemarsianCloudflareConnect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

If managing your domain reputation sounds complicated, you’re not alone. Recent changes to Yahoo’s and Google’s authentication rules have forced all email senders to take a more active role in the path to the inbox. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa untangle some of the mysteries around domain reputation and why it’s so important. They highlight how trends in open rates, complaint rates, and bounce rates are not just metrics but invaluable insights that contribute to a healthy email list. They also discuss some highly practical best practices for ensuring your emails reach the inbox. In this episode, we discuss:01:37 - How domain reputation is like a credit score.08:30 - The importance of domain reputation in email deliverability.14:35 - Monitoring domain reputation and how it’s calculated.21:27 - The technical side of email deliverability and domain reputation.24:55 - Navigating complaint rates and subscriber behavior.27:02 - Maintaining a healthy email list.31:55 - Why segmented audiences lead to higher engagement rates.35:35 - What to do if you have a low sender reputation.Key TakeawaysDomain reputation is like your credit score — it's pivotal for the health of your email marketing and can impact your success when moving between email service providers.Monitor your metrics — stay ahead of the curve by keeping an eye on open rates, complaint rates, and bounce rates. And remember, a dip in open rates by ten points is a definite red flag!Subscriber engagement is paramount — keep your email list clean, segment your audience for targeted content, and employ double opt-ins to shield against list bombing.Quotes“One of the biggest influences of sender reputation is your audience and subscribers and subscriber behavior. Opening, clicking through your emails, spending time on the email, reading through it, all of these things have a really positive impact on your domain reputation.” ~ Melissa Lambert“Your subscribers have the power over your reputation. For the most part, they're voting with their actions on whether your domain reputation goes up or down.” ~ Alyssa DulinLinksDeliverability Defined S05E03: A Guide to Google Postmaster ToolsGoogle Postmaster ToolsConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooMicrosoftGmailConnect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

If you’ve ever wondered how to improve your domain reputation, Google Postmaster Tools is here to help. In the wake of Google’s and Yahoo’s changes and authentication requirements, Google Postmaster Tools has become a crucial resource for email senders. In this episode of Deliverability Definied, Alyssa and Melissa take a deep dive into Google Postmaster Tools—what it is, how to get the most out of it, and why it’s so important for monitoring domain reputation and ensuring optimal email deliverability. While Google Postmaster Tools can provide a lot of great insight, the best deliverability strategies are still basic best practices. Things like maintaining a low spam complaint rate, prioritizing engagement, list hygiene, and ethical list-building practices. By following these guidelines senders can enhance their domain reputation, increase inbox placement, and ultimately, improve the effectiveness of their overall email marketing efforts.In this episode, we discuss:01:16 - Google Postmaster Tools overview08:11 - Domain reputation explained11:11 - Spam complaint rates19:24 - Why it's more important than ever to clean your list21:48 - Using automations for list health23:18 - Understanding IP reputationKey TakeawaysGoogle Postmaster Tools can give you insights into your domain reputation, which plays a crucial role in your email deliverability. Aim for a high domain reputation to secure solid inbox placement. Managing spam complaint rates is key to maintaining a positive sender reputation. Keep your complaint rate below 0.1% to avoid negative impacts on your domain reputation and email deliverability.Pay attention to your list health by cleaning your list, avoiding excessive emails to new subscribers, and ensuring engagement with your content.Implementing strategies like double opt-ins for new subscribers and automations to manage inactive subscribers can help improve your list health and reduce spam complaints.Quotes“It's important to keep your spam rate below 0.1%. This is the threshold where Gmail will start sending some messages to spam and potentially from there decrease your domain reputation. At 0.3% and above, spam filtering will start to happen, and the domain damage will also start to happen and be more impactful and harder to recover from.” ~ Melissa Lambert“I encourage all people to have their eyes on the Google Post Master tools dashboard every day. Go analyze people who are complaining. What do they have in common? Are you sending them way too many emails?” ~ Alyssa DulinLinksGoogle Postmaster ToolsConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooMicrosoftGmailConnect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Welcome back to Season Five of Deliverability Defined! Do you ever feel like you're navigating the Bermuda Triangle when it comes to understanding the latest email marketing requirements? You're not alone. Staying ahead of these changes and requirements is crucial in maintaining email deliverability.In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the recent changes from Yahoo and Google and how they impact email senders. They dive into the new authentication requirements, the one-click unsubscribe rule, and what it means for your domain reputation. Plus, they introduce a game-changing feature from ConvertKit to help you easily navigate these changes. As the email landscape continues to evolve, it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve to ensure your messages reach the inbox.In this episode, we discuss:02:15 - Yahoo’s and Google’s new sender requirements.04:55 - The importance of domain reputation and authentication.09:39 - Gmail’s delivery delays.13:14 - Convertkit’s verified sending domain setup.16:17 - Customer compliance with email requirements.18:54 - Google Postmaster and best practices for domain reputation.Key TakeawaysEmail senders are now required to authenticate messages using their own domain instead of their email provider's domain. This is a critical step in maintaining domain reputation and a key factor for deliverability.Using tools like Google Postmaster Tools to monitor your domain reputation in Gmail is essential in optimizing your email deliverability.Domain reputation management is key for keeping spam complaints low and ensuring high deliverability rates for your email campaigns.Quotes“The best thing you can do is go back to basics. Like cleaning your list and making sure you're sending to engaged subscribers. Those things were important before, but they're going to be even more important now that you are relying more heavily on your own domain reputation.” ~ Melissa Lambert“Even if you have a great sender reputation after these changes, everyone needs to pay way more attention to their own domain reputation than you probably have in the past and make sure that spam complaints stay low and reputation stays high." ~ Alyssa DulinLinksConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooSquarespaceGoDaddyGoogle Postmaster ToolsConnect with our hostsAlyssa DulinMelissa LambertStay in touchApple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined WebsiteTry ConvertKit's deliverability in actionIt's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Gmail and Yahoo have announced new sender requirements taking affect in February of 2024. You can read more here: https://help.convertkit.com/en/articles/8538056-gmail-and-yahoo-s-new-requirements-for-2024-and-what-to-expectThe 3 main steps to take:- Set up a verified sending domain in your email provider- Set up a DMARC record if you haven't already- Start monitoring your spam complaint rates within Google Postmaster Tools