Domain reputation is a critical factor in getting more emails to your subscriber’s inbox.
To build or rehabilitate your domain reputation, you need to maximize positive email signals tied to your domain.
When thinking about mailbox provider algorithms, some actions are considered positive.
And some actions are considered negative.
Certain positive signals also carry more “weight” than others.
After spending hours combing through Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook email documentation, this blog lists many positive (and negative) signals each algorithm uses to maximize email deliverability.
They are in no particular order.
But when in doubt, optimize for replies. They generally carry the most positive weight.
It’s reported that the Gmail algorithm takes into account over 200+ factors, so this isn’t an exhaustive list, but the actions listed here are enough to radically improve your inbox placement.
Table of contents
Positive signals
- Sender Domain;
- Sender Email;
- Replied;
- Clicked;
- Forwarded;
- Previous Engagement Date;
- Time of User;
- Opened;
- Delivered;
- Starred;
- Moved;
- Dwell Time Read (8+ Seconds);
- Dwell Time Glance (<3 Seconds);
- Dwell Time Skim (Between 3-8 Seconds).
Yahoo has published a short list of placement and performance metrics they look at as part of their algorithm.
To build a strong domain reputation, your domain needs to build up as many positive signals as you can, as often as possible.
Lists segments
Who you send an email to on your list will make a world of difference in the amount and type of signals you receive.
Send to a highly responsive list and you can overwhelm the algorithm with positive signals. This tells mailbox providers you’re a VIP sender.
Send to an unengaged list, and you’ll passively accumulate negative signals. You also run the risk of training the algorithm to send your emails to the promotions tab or straight to spam.
Yes, you can passively accumulate negative signals. Send 20 emails to a set of subscribers and those subscribers continue to ignore each one?
Negative signals.
The worst part is the subscriber didn’t have to do anything other than ignore you.
The goal is to use strategic list segments to front-load as many positive signals as possible.
This gets the mailbox provider algorithms to work for you.
So the two questions to ask before sending an email to rehabilitate a domain are:
- What segment(s) of the list will be highly responsive?
- Which segment(s) will give me the most positive signals and the least negative?
To help you out, here is a list of the segment categories and subcategories used for optimal results.
NOTE: This isn’t an exhaustive list of segments you can create. In the context of getting your emails to the inbox, these are the most responsive ones.
Segment 1: Engagement history
- 0-8 Days;
- 9-30 Days;
- 31-60 Days;
- 61-90 Days;
- 91-180 Days;
- 181+ Days;
- Bounces (Detailed below);
- Unsubscribes.
Segment 2: Email domain
- Gmail;
- Outlook/Microsoft;
- Yahoo;
- iCloud/Apple;
- Other.
Segment 3: Purchase history
- Purchased Anything;
- No Purchase.
Generally use mixes of these segments to speed everything up.
Examples:
- Segment 1: Any purchases in the last eight days AND who has opened an email or clicked a link in the last eight days.
- Segment 2: Any purchases in the last 9-30 days AND who has opened an email or clicked a link in the last 9-30 days.
- Segment 3: Anyone who has purchased more than twice AND who has opened an email or clicked a link in the last 0-30 days.
- Segment 4: Any purchases in the last 90 days AND who has opened an email in the last 30 days.
- Segment 5: Any email clicks in the last 30 days.
You’ll want to segment by email domain because each email provider has its own algorithm.
Just because your emails get to the inbox with a Yahoo email address doesn’t mean you’re getting to the inbox in Gmail.
So run an email placement test using Glockapps and send rehabilitation emails to the domains where you know you are getting to the inbox.
Remember, the key is to maximize positive signals.
You would rather send an email to a subscriber who has purchased anything AND has opened an email in the last seven days AND has a Gmail account because you know it’ll land in the inbox.
Chances of getting a positive signal from that subscriber are far above someone who has never purchased anything AND hasn’t opened an email in 90+ days AND has an Outlook account where emails are going to spam.
The number of subscribers in each segment doesn’t necessarily matter. You’ll want enough subscribers to generate at least two weeks of history collecting positive signals.
Rehabilitate Your Domain
The Hypermedia Marketing rehab process
The primary driver of inbox placement is your domain reputation.
And now that you know how to leverage mailbox providers’ algorithms.
It’s time to build (or rebuild) your domain reputation.
If you’re attempting to rehabilitate a domain, this process will allow you to continue using your same domain.
Because we’re looking to front-load positive engagement signals and we’re optimizing for replies—you’ll see three out of the four rehab emails are trying to generate a reply.
Your strategy? Send four emails about three days apart from each other.
The three days are important.
As you’ll see later, you’ll create very small sub-segments of the larger segments.
You’ll also trigger a new sub-segment through the rehabilitation process each day.
The three days give enough time before the first group gets the second email to build up additional positive signals from the groups sent on day two, day three, and day four.
That way, when the first group gets their second email, you’ve got a three-day history of positive signals built up.
Now onto the emails.
Email #1 – Reply
Template:
[Name], many [Audience Description] have [Tried To Do Thing] before but [Failed for X reason].
If you’ve [Tried To Do Thing] before, can you reply and let me know what the reason for the [Failure] was?
I may have a few [Connections/Resources] that can help you out.
[Email Signature]
Example:
[Name], many small businesses have tried email marketing before, but get overwhelmed with list segments, deliverability, and copywriting.
If you’ve tried email marketing before, can you reply and let me know what the reason was that led you to stop investing in it?
I may have a few resources that can help you out.
Tyler
Email #2 – Fake Reply
Template:
[Name] – email bump since I didn’t hear back from you…
On [Email#1 Send Date/Time], [Sender Name] <[Sender Email]> wrote:
[Name], many [Audience Description] have [Tried To Do Thing] before but [Failed for X reason].
If you’ve [Tried To Do Thing] before, can you reply and let me know what the reason for the [Failure] was?
I may have a few [Connections/Resources] that can help you out.
[Email Signature]
Example:
[Name] – email bump since I didn’t hear back from you…
On 01/13/2023 at 7:15 AM, Tyler Cook <[email protected]> wrote:
[Name], many small businesses have tried email marketing before, but get overwhelmed with list segments, deliverability, and copywriting.
If you’ve tried email marketing before, can you reply and let me know what the reason was that led you to stop investing in it?
I may have a few resources that can help you out.
Tyler
Email #3 – Click
Template:
[Name], most [Audience Description] really struggle with [Topic].
And a lot of the information out there isn’t really that helpful.
So I recorded a video that will actually answer the question.
Watch it here.
Example:
[Name], most small businesses really struggle with segmenting their list correctly.
And a lot of the information out there isn’t really that helpful.
So I recorded a video that will actually answer the question for you.
Watch it here
Email #4 – Reply with No-oriented question
Template:
Hey [Name],
It looks like at one point in time you were interested in [Goal], but doesn’t seem like a priority anymore. Which is fine, but wanted to check…
Have you given up on [Achieving Goal] in the near future?
[Email Signature]
Example:
Hey [Name],
It looks like at one point in time you were interested in making email a core part of your marketing strategy, but it doesn’t seem like a priority anymore. Which is fine, but wanted to check…
Have you given up on making email a profit center for your business in the near future?
Tyler
Try to keep these emails short, eight sentences max. They’re supposed to feel personal and simple.
Not only will these emails feel more personal; but the smaller the email, the less “weight” it carries.
In this context, the smaller the email, the more likely it is to land in the inbox.
List Sub-Segments
Now is where you’ll want to further segment the list into really small groups.
My outline goes like this:
- Six groups of 50 subscribers;
- Six groups of 100 subscribers;
- Four groups of 200 subscribers;
- Four groups of 400 subscribers;
- Four groups of 600 subscribers;
- Four groups of 800 subscribers;
- The rest are in groups of 1,000 subscribers.
Keep in mind these are random sub-segments of the lists you created earlier.
If you have a large list, setting up these groups can take a while and be a pain.
But these groups allow you to slowly ramp up your sending volume while maximizing deliverability and positive signals.
Also, trigger a new group once a day. So eventually you are sending thousands of emails a day, but build up to it slowly.
You want to send to 50 subscribers and get a massive open rate and reply rate on day one.
Then when you send the next group through, you’ve already primed the algorithm with positive signals from the day before.
If your sending volume changes quickly, mailbox providers can flag your domain and penalize you for it.
It’s better to take it slow and steady. The first week will feel like everything is moving so slowly. But you’ll ramp up faster than you think.
PRO TIP:
Bounce management
Email bounces can be the silent killer of deliverability for many brands. Most brands don’t have an effective strategy in place to manage bounces.
Soft bounces
Soft bounces are a massive opportunity that most miss. Most email service providers will stop emailing a subscriber after an email has bounced 2-3 times.
After that they become unmarketable.
It’s important to remove these subscribers from active marketing campaigns as quickly as possible.
This way they don’t become unmarketable before you can recover them.
Export these subscribers and reach out to them on a secondary channel.
Something like Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn.
The important thing here is you choose a channel they are active on.
If your audience is active on Instagram but doesn’t use LinkedIn, any message you send them via LinkedIn won’t be seen. And vice versa.
You’ll be trying to confirm their email or get a new email to replace a bad one.
Generally use a message like “Hey [[NAME]], I just tried to send you an email, but it looks like you didn’t get it. Is [[EMAIL]] still the best email for you?”
The reply rate to this message is insane. You’ll typically get 3 categories of replies.
- No reply;
- Email confirmation or update;
- A question about the email.
If the subscriber doesn’t reply, suppress the email in your CRM.
You don’t lose their information, but they don’t harm our deliverability or inbox placement.
Either of the other two types of replies are great. You’ve either confirmed a real email in your CRM, updated an email to a real one, or entered into a conversation with a potential customer.
All good outcomes.
Hard bounces
Hard bounces are a different story. They mean the email doesn’t exist or there’s another issue and this email will never be delivered.
You can try to find these subscribers on a secondary channel.
But it’s a hit or miss on the time and effort for these subscribers.
So comfortably remove them from your database.
Because the data is inaccurate or invalid, there’s not much value in the data itself either. So remarketing strategies aren’t effective.
Bounce codes
When an email bounces, the sender receives a bounce code from the mailbox provider indicating the reason for the bounce.
If your email service provides access to these codes, they can be useful to have a deeper understanding of why your emails are bouncing.
If your email service doesn’t provide access to these codes, use a tool like Zapier or Make to create these reports yourself.
Gmass has a simple guide with a few of the most common bounce reasons with their codes, which you can find here.
If you can track this information, set up reports for codes like 4.7.0.
Which is the bounce code that your IP address has been flagged for sending large amounts of unsolicited emails, i.e. spam.
Over time these reports provide valuable information informing future strategies.
They also help maintain and increase inbox placement.
These reports become even more critical when you’re gearing up for an event or product launch.
You can mitigate and avoid many spam issues in advance.
Spam management
Using both Google Postmaster Spam reports in addition to the bounce codes mailbox providers return, you can get a good sense of problems with spam before they arise.
But spam management is a crucial part of managing inbox placement and performance.
It’s important to immediately remove those subscribers from active marketing campaigns.
In some instances, they can continue to receive your emails and mark multiple emails as spam.
This damages your domain reputation because mailbox providers count each of those reports.
And hold each of them against your reputation.
The welcome flow
Since individual actions affect inbox placement, it’s important to prime the algorithm as soon as a new subscriber is created.
You can solve deliverability issues, improve inbox placement, and increase revenue by creating an engaging welcome flow.
The welcome flow is the best place and time to capitalize on the responsiveness of your new leads and prime for future engagement.
Because replies are one of the best positive signals you can get, this welcome flow optimizes for replies:
- Email #1: Reply (Assistant/VA Outreach);
- Email #2: Company or CEO History & Mission;
- Email #3: Connect on Secondary Channel;
- Email #4: Survey (Collect First Party Data – Demographics, Content Topics, and Buying Stage);
- Email #5: Reply (Additional Information);
- Email #6: Testimonials + Soft CTA;
- Email #7: Objections/FAQs + Soft CTA;
- Email #8: Reply (No-Oriented Question).
This welcome flow has been carefully calculated with a specific goal in mind for each email.
Email #1 is designed to elicit a response from a new subscriber. Leverage a pattern interruption by sending from a virtual or executive assistant so you immediately stand out in a crowded inbox.
Email #2 is designed to set expectations with your audience. How often they can expect emails, what kind of emails they’ll get, what your main call to action will be, etc.
Email #3 is designed to keep you on top of mind and develop an omnipresence with your audience. You can use this secondary channel to minimize list attrition.
Email #4 is designed to give you critical insights into your ready-to-act-now buyers, send relevant emails to enhance engagement, and create advertising efficiency.
Email #5 is designed to keep your subscribers engaged by replying.
Email #6 is designed to shift the conversation and point your subscribers to a product or service to purchase.
Email #7 is designed to build credibility and social proof and drive more conversions.
Email #8 is designed to get a response so you can find out exactly where new subscribers are at in their buying journey.
Conclusion
Email placement is more important now than ever.
Advertising networks aren’t on your side.
Social media algorithms change with zero notice.
Search engine optimization is battling with AI-generated results.
Email solves a lot of those issues.
Email is an “owned channel” and a direct line of communication to your audience.
Email becomes the connective tissue between all your growth channels. Thus making it a critical part of your business.
Rand Fishkin recently published an article on the SparkToro blog showing that email is the most reliable and consistent channel.
Everything online generally ends with an email being collected.
And if you’re not showing up in the inbox, your emails aren’t working hard enough for you.
