Strattegys Blog

Winning at the Email Deliverability Game

Written by Govind Davis | Mar 11, 2025 10:04:06 PM

For New B2B Business, Startups and Growth Initiatives: Mastering Email Deliverability May Be a Must Do in 2025

As someone who’s sent more than 4 million B2B Outbound Emails and generated huge volumes of Leads, I want to lose my mind when an entrepreneur or Business Owners tells me they don’t like Email Marketing because they don’t personally read what’s in their Inbox and assume no one else does as well.

It’s sheer insanity.

Email marketing continues to be one of the most effective digital marketing channels, hands down.

Ignoring email is a channel, means you are likely missing out on one of the lowest cost and most productive ways to get new business. That being said, the rules of the game coming into 2025 require a proper understanding of the Email Marketing environment.

The rewards can be huge, and so are the risks, and one factor will separate the winners from the losers: Email Deliverability.

Outbound Email, Then and Now

Back in the good old days of Outbound Email, I sent about 1 million emails a year. That’s roughly 5,000 message per day, for a handful of clients at a time. I didn’t worry a lot about things like IP Rotation or Domain Reputation. Sure, from time to time a Google Workspace account might get suspended, but that was usually the worst of it.

Starting in about 2021, the rules of the game changed. Because, Outbound Email worked so well, tons of B2B businesses jumped on the bandwagon, and predictably, that ruined things for everyone. ISP’s and especially major email providers like Google Workspace and Office Mail started cracking down.

Over the next few years, a new approach to Outbound Email developed, which focused on sending smaller volumes per account, backed by critical setup activities Account Warmup and Reputation Management.

In some ways, things have actually improved. Before these changes, a 30% Open Rate was considered good, because it was a volume game. Now, getting Open Rates in the 70% or higher can be regularly achieved, though mismanagement can quickly lead to major setbacks.

Why Email Marketing Remains a Top Channel in 2025

Despite the rise of social media and messaging apps, email marketing remains unmatched in terms of ROI, engagement, and personalization. Consider that to reach about 1,000 impressions per week of LinkedIn posts, you need to create and post Unique Content just about every day.

On the other hand, a single, well-crafted and well executed email sequence can reach about 2,500 views per week, and it’s likely your exact Target Audience.

High ROI

According to recent studies, email marketing generates a return of $42 for every $1 spent, making it one of the most cost-effective channels.

Direct and Personalized Communication

Email provides direct access to your audience’s inbox, allowing for personalized messaging tailored to customer behavior and preferences. Personalization can increase engagement rates by up to 50%.

Widespread Adoption

Let’s face it. No matter what anyone says about email, just about everyone in businesses uses it, every day. The same can’t be said of any other digital channel.

Thinking about Growing with Outbound Email?

Get a Complimentary Technical & Strategic Review to analyze your current domain reputation, sending results, growth ideas and market opportunities related to Email Marketing.

You will also get a copy of my Single Most Effective Sequence from sending 4 million Cold Emails, which happens to be the same one used by Salesforce to reach their first $100M in ARR.

Book an Intro Call to see if you Qualify.

Understanding Email Deliverability

Email Deliverability measures the success of your emails reaching the intended Inbox. The Reputation of your Domain, and the Quality of your Content will determine whether your Email hits the Inbox and also whether anyone looks at it.

Why Deliverability Matters

  • Improved Campaign Performance: High Deliverability leads to better open and click-through rates. It’s basic math. More emails in the Inbox = more eyes on your Message.
  • Brand Reputation: Poor Deliverability affects your Domain, Account and sometimes IP Reputation. If Deliverability slides, it can compound quickly until most of your emails hit Spam and you’re dead in the water.

Key Tactics for Maximizing Email Deliverability in 2025

Manage Your Domain Reputation

Your sender domain reputation is like a credit score for your email campaigns. Internet Service Providers (ISPs) evaluate this score to determine where your emails land.

Best Practices:

  • Authenticate Your Domain: Use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols to prevent spoofing and phishing attacks.
  • Monitor Blacklists: Regularly check blacklists and take corrective action if your domain is flagged.
  • Send Relevant Content: Consistently send valuable and relevant content to minimize spam complaints. For Outbound Sales Emails, it’s best to avoid including images and reduce or eliminate links where possible.

IP Address Management & Rotation

Email service providers monitor IP addresses for spam-like behavior. Sending large volumes from a single IP can trigger spam filters.

Tactics:

  • Dedicated vs. Shared IPs: Consider a dedicated IP for consistent volume. Use shared IPs only when sending minimal volumes.
  • IP Warmup: Gradually increase email volume when using a new IP to establish a positive sending history.
  • IP Rotation: Distribute emails across multiple IPs to balance volume and reduce delivery bottlenecks.

Choose the Right Email Delivery Tools

Tools that manage email sequences and help you write emails aren’t necessarily Delivering the emails. Your emails are usually being sent via a Google Workspace, an Office Email account, an SMTP provider like Sendgrid or Mailgun, or a bulk sending service like Mailchimp.

What to Consider:

  • Delivery Services: It’s essential to know how your emails are sending and understand the rules of the tools. You can’ send bulk email from Google Workspace or your will get in big trouble. You can also get in trouble sending Bulk Email from Mailchimp if people aren’t expecting it. Be careful.
  • Deliverability Tools: There are lots of tools to check email quality, check your domain, account and IP reputation. If you are sending often, make sure you are checking your reputation often.

Implement Email Authentication Protocols

Authentication proves that your emails come from a legitimate source. This builds trust with ISPs and increases inbox placement.

  • SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Authorizes specific servers to send emails on your behalf.
  • DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to validate email content.
  • DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Defines how emails failing SPF or DKIM should be handled.

Craft High-Quality, Relevant Content

Even technically optimized emails can fail if the content isn’t engaging. Spam filters also analyze content quality.

Content Tips:

  • Engaging Subject Lines: Keep them clear, compelling, and free from spam triggers like “Free” or “Act Now!”
  • Personalized Messaging: Use segmentation and dynamic content to tailor messages.
  • Mobile-Friendly Design: Ensure your emails are responsive on all devices.
  • Clear CTAs: Include one primary call-to-action to avoid overwhelming readers.

Monitor Campaign Performance

Regularly track key email metrics to avoid issues that ISP’s watch for.

  • Open Rates: Measure how many recipients open your emails. Open Rates are mainly connected to Subject Lines, so test them as a first priority.
  • Click-Through Rates (CTR): Track engagement with links in your emails.
  • Bounce Rates: Monitor hard and soft bounces to clean your list regularly. If you see Bounce Rates going up, stop sending right away and get help.
  • Spam Complaints: Watch out for excessive spam reports to address potential issues quickly.

Maintain a Healthy Email List

A clean email list ensures better engagement and deliverability.

Best Practices:

  • Use Double Opt-In: Confirm subscriptions with a verification email when possible.
  • Regular List Hygiene: Remove inactive or invalid email addresses. Avoid sending to people who haven’t opened any of your last 3 messages
  • Preference Management: Allow subscribers to choose the type and frequency of emails they receive and, in most cases, make sure to include an easy Unsubscribe option.

Stay Compliant with Data Privacy Regulations

Adhering to privacy laws is non-negotiable. This builds trust and keeps you compliant with global standards.

Compliance Essentials:

  • GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): Follow EU privacy laws for data protection. Only send to people in the EU if they explicitly said it’s OK. Otherwise use a different way to engage them.
  • CAN-SPAM Act: Follow U.S. regulations on commercial email practices. It’s less restrictive here and you will likely get blocked by an ISP long before you run into legal issues, but you should still know the laws.
  • Privacy Policies: Clearly outline how customer data is used and stored on any websites or landing pages people visit.

Looking Ahead to 2025: The Future of Email Deliverability & Productivity

Whether it’s with AI or with more traditional methods, personalization, intent based targeting and data driven sending patterns will all have a big impact in increasing results in 2025 and beyond.

A few other effective innovations I’ve seen are AI based timing, to send email when people are checking them most, AI based target list creation and of course AI email writing.

I’ve seen a pretty large amount of debate on LinkedIn about whether AI can write effective Cold Outbound Emails. It seems the jury may still be out on that one.

That being said, it’s important to also understand what to expect form Outbound B2B Emailing.

Very few B2B campaigns generate results from a single channel. The best results come from using Email as a warmup, and being ready to follow-up Open, Click and Reply engagement with messages and activities in LinkedIn, by phone and whatever other means you have at your disposal.

Thinking about Growing with Outbound Email?

Get a Complimentary Technical & Strategic Review to analyze your current domain reputation, sending results, growth ideas and market opportunities related to Email Marketing.

You will also get a copy of my Single Most Effective Sequence from sending 4 million Cold Emails, which happens to be the same one used by Salesforce to reach their first $100M in ARR.

Book an Intro Call to see if you Qualify.