Ensuring strong email deliverability is critical to the success of any email marketing campaign in Salesforce Marketing Cloud (SFMC). Deliverability isn’t just about sending emails—it’s about making sure they land in your subscribers’ inboxes, not their spam folders. But there’s more to deliverability than meets the eye. It requires a mix of technical expertise, a keen understanding of subscriber behavior, and a commitment to maintaining trust with mailbox providers.
In this guide, I’ll cover the core areas of email deliverability in SFMC, including foundational technical practices, strategies for crafting engaging content, maintaining clean lists, and monitoring performance. Each section is supported by examples from real-world scenarios, ensuring actionable insights every step of the way.
My Journey with Deliverability
When I first started working with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, email deliverability felt like a puzzle — one where the stakes were high. Early on, I learned the hard way that even a single misstep, like neglecting list hygiene or rushing through IP warming, could have a ripple effect on an entire campaign. But with time, trial, and the support of a fantastic community, I began to see deliverability not just as a technical hurdle, but as an opportunity to build trust with both mailbox providers and subscribers.
What I love most about mastering deliverability is that it’s both an art and a science. It’s about finding that sweet spot where technical precision meets a deep understanding of your audience. My hope is that the lessons I’ve learned — some from mistakes, others from success — help you navigate this journey more confidently. Deliverability might seem daunting, but with the right approach, it’s a skill that can transform your campaigns and relationships with customers.
1. Building a Solid Foundation: Authentication and Sender Reputation
Email deliverability starts with establishing trust. When mailbox providers receive your emails, their primary concern is whether or not you’re a legitimate sender. This determination is based on a combination of technical factors and your overall sender reputation.
Authentication protocols such as SPF, DKIM, and DMARC play a critical role in proving your emails come from where they claim to originate. Meanwhile, your sender reputation—a measure of how mailbox providers perceive your sending behavior—can make or break your email marketing efforts. Poor reputation leads to emails being flagged as spam or rejected altogether.
For businesses using SFMC, understanding and implementing these foundational elements is the first step toward achieving consistent inbox placement.
Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
Authentication is non-negotiable in email marketing. Think of it as the digital equivalent of showing ID to prove your identity. Without SPF, DKIM, and DMARC in place, mailbox providers can’t verify that you’re an authorized sender, which often results in emails being marked as suspicious or outright blocked.
Q: How do I verify if my DKIM setup is working correctly in SFMC?
A: Once you’ve set up DKIM, you can use tools like MXToolbox to validate your configuration. In SFMC, send a test email to your address and check the headers. Look for the “DKIM-Signature” field and confirm that it matches your configured domain.
The Importance of IP Warming
When you use a new IP address to send emails, mailbox providers have no historical data to evaluate its trustworthiness. This is where IP warming comes in—a process of gradually increasing your sending volume to build a positive sender reputation.
Q: How should I segment my audience for an IP warming plan?
A: Start with your most engaged subscribers—those who have opened or clicked an email in the last 30 or 60 days. In SFMC, use data filters or queries to create these segments. Gradually increase your send volume by adding more segments over time while monitoring engagement metrics like opens and clicks.
2. Creating Subscriber-Centric Content: Crafting Emails That Engage
Mailbox providers have one overriding goal: protecting their users. If your emails are seen as irrelevant, overly promotional, or potentially harmful, they’ll never make it to the inbox. Instead, mailbox providers prioritize emails that demonstrate strong engagement—opens, clicks, and replies.
For marketers, this means shifting the focus from what you want to say to what your subscribers want to hear. SFMC offers powerful tools to help you personalize content and optimize engagement, but it’s crucial to understand how to use them effectively.
Personalization Using Data and AMPscript
Personalization is one of the most effective ways to drive engagement. In SFMC, this goes beyond including a subscriber’s first name in the subject line. By leveraging AMPscript and data-driven content blocks, you can create dynamic emails that adjust to each recipient’s preferences, past behaviors, or location.
Q: How can I use AMPscript to dynamically display personalized content?
A: Use AMPscript functions like Lookup() and If() to customize your emails. For instance:
%%[ SET @firstName = [FirstName] SET @location = [City] ]%% Hello %%=v(@firstName)=%%, We noticed you're located in %%=v(@location)=%%. Here's a special offer for your area!
This simple script personalizes the greeting and adds location-specific details, making the email feel more relevant.
Avoiding Spam Triggers in Subject Lines and Content
Spam filters analyze every element of your email, from subject lines to body content. Even small missteps—like using all caps or excessive punctuation—can send your email to the spam folder. Crafting content that aligns with subscriber expectations and avoids common spam triggers is essential.
Q: How do I balance promotional content without triggering spam filters?
A: Avoid words like “FREE,” excessive exclamation marks, or all caps in your subject lines. Instead, focus on clarity and value. For example, instead of “LIMITED TIME OFFER!!! FREE SHIPPING!!!” try “Enjoy Free Shipping for the Next 48 Hours.”
3. Prioritizing List Hygiene and Subscriber Preferences
Your subscriber list is the backbone of your email marketing efforts. However, over time, lists naturally degrade as email addresses become inactive, invalid, or disengaged. Sending to unclean lists hurts your sender reputation and reduces engagement rates, ultimately damaging deliverability.
Maintaining a clean list isn’t just about removing bad addresses—it’s also about focusing on active, engaged subscribers who actually want to hear from you. SFMC provides tools to automate list hygiene and manage subscriber preferences, ensuring your emails reach the right people.
Regularly Cleaning Your Subscriber List
Inactive subscribers and invalid email addresses are liabilities. They increase bounce rates, lower engagement metrics, and risk your sender reputation. Use SFMC’s automation capabilities to manage them.
Q: How can I automate list cleaning in SFMC?
A: Create an automation that identifies subscribers with no opens or clicks in the last 6 months. Use SQL queries in Automation Studio to add these subscribers to a suppression list. For example:
SELECT SubscriberKey FROM _Subscribers WHERE LastOpenDate < DATEADD(MONTH, -6, GETDATE())
Using Confirmed Opt-In for Consent
Confirmed opt-in ensures that only subscribers who genuinely want your emails are added to your list. This not only reduces spam complaints but also improves engagement rates.
Q: How can I implement a double opt-in process in SFMC?
A: Use Cloud Pages to create a confirmation landing page. After a subscriber signs up, send an email with a confirmation link. Only add the subscriber to your active list once they click the link.
4. Monitoring and Optimizing Deliverability Metrics
Deliverability isn’t a one-time effort—it’s an ongoing process. Regularly monitoring key metrics helps you identify and address potential issues before they impact your campaigns. With SFMC’s tracking tools and reporting capabilities, you can gain deep insights into your performance.
Tracking Engagement Metrics in SFMC
SFMC’s tracking tools provide detailed data on open rates, clicks, bounces, and spam complaints. These metrics are your early warning system for deliverability issues.
Q: What are the key metrics to monitor in SFMC?
A: Focus on open rates (especially domain specific), click-through rates, bounce rates, and spam complaint rates. For example, if your open rates drop below industry benchmarks (e.g., 20%), it’s a sign to revisit your content or audience targeting. Use methods from this article to monitor domain specific open rates – a key indicator of deliverability issues.
Using Inbox Monitoring and Third-Party Tools
Inbox Monitoring in SFMC previews how your emails render across different clients.
Q: How can I use inbox monitoring to improve deliverability?
A: Test every campaign before sending. For example, if a test shows your email rendering poorly in Outlook, use SFMC’s pre-send tools to adjust your HTML. Pair this with Litmus or Email on Acid for additional testing.
Deliverability as a Strategic Advantage
Email deliverability in Salesforce Marketing Cloud isn’t just a technical challenge—it’s a strategic opportunity. By focusing on foundational practices, crafting engaging content, maintaining a clean list, and continuously monitoring your performance, you can ensure that your emails consistently reach and engage your audience.
Deliverability is a journey, not a destination. With SFMC’s powerful tools and your commitment to best practices, you can turn deliverability into a competitive advantage that drives long-term success.