The Deliverability Crisis
In 2026, Gmail and Outlook reject or spam-folder 20-40% of marketing emails. Google's 2024 sender requirements made authentication mandatory.
Technical Setup (Non-Negotiable)
SPF (Sender Policy Framework)
Tells email servers which IP addresses can send for your domain.
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)
Cryptographically signs your emails to prove they haven't been altered.
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)
Policy that tells receivers what to do with unauthenticated emails.
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification)
Displays your verified logo in the inbox. Requires DMARC enforcement.
Sending Best Practices
- Warm up new domains — start with 50 emails/day, increase 20% daily
- Clean your list — remove bounced, unengaged, and invalid addresses
- Maintain engagement — remove contacts who haven't opened in 90 days
- Personalize — personalized emails see 2-3x higher open rates
- Segment — send relevant content to relevant audiences
- Easy unsubscribe — prominent one-click unsubscribe (Google requires this)
- Consistent sending — regular schedule, no sudden volume spikes
Content That Gets Delivered
- Subject lines — avoid ALL CAPS, excessive punctuation, spam trigger words
- Text-to-image ratio — keep it balanced, don't send image-only emails
- Links — use your own domain, avoid URL shorteners
- HTML — clean code, responsive design, plain-text alternative
Monitoring Deliverability
Track these metrics:
- Delivery rate — should be 98%+
- Open rate — industry average 21%, aim for 25%+
- Bounce rate — keep under 2%
- Spam complaint rate — keep under 0.1% (Google's threshold)
- Domain reputation — track it free in Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS
How Automo Helps
Automo's marketing module handles deliverability automatically:
- SPF, DKIM, DMARC configured during setup
- AI monitors engagement and suggests list hygiene actions
- Automatic suppression of bounced and unsubscribed contacts
- Sending speed optimized per recipient domain
