Definition of Deliverability
Deliverability is your email's ability to successfully land in subscribers' inboxes rather than getting trapped in spam folders or rejected outright. It's the difference between your carefully crafted newsletter being seen or getting lost in the digital void.
Your deliverability rate is the percentage of emails that make it to the inbox.
Why you should care
Strong deliverability directly impacts every metric that matters in your newsletter business. When emails consistently reach inboxes, you'll see higher engagement, better click-through rates, and ultimately more revenue opportunities.
Quick win:
- Run your sending domain through a tool like MXToolbox
- Send an email from the address to check to
ping@tools.mxtoolbox.com - They'll reply with a link, follow the instructions in their reply
Deliverability is the foundation of newsletter success. More emails in inboxes means more readers, more clicks, more conversions, and more revenue. Even the most brilliant content falls flat if it never gets seen.
Email deliverability shutting you out?
We'll kick that door down. We help creators and startups nail their newsletter ops. Better inboxing starts here. Book a Cal with us.
Some resources we rely on
Ask Claude for help with Deliverability
Copy and paste this prompt into Claude or the AI of your choice. Be sure to tweak the context for your situation.
<goal>
Help me properly configure email authentication (DKIM, SPF, DMARC) to maximize deliverability and inbox placement.
</goal>
<context>
* I send my newsletter from the domain [DOMAIN]
* Using [ESP/PLATFORM] as my sending platform
* Current authentication status: [NONE/PARTIAL/UNKNOWN]
* Technical comfort level: [BEGINNER/INTERMEDIATE/ADVANCED]
* Need to improve deliverability within 2 weeks
</context>
<output>
Please provide:
* Step-by-step instructions for implementing all three authentication protocols for my specific ESP
* Exact record formats with placeholders for my domain values
* Verification methods to confirm correct implementation
* Monitoring approach to catch future authentication failures
* Troubleshooting guide for common authentication errors
</output>
<example>
SPF Record Example:
```
v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:_spf.mysendingplatform.com ~all
```
DKIM verification command:
```
dig txt selector._domainkey.yourdomain.com
```
Expected successful result:
```
v=DKIM1; k=rsa; p=MIGfMA0GCSqGSIb3DQEBAQUAA4GNADCBiQKBgQCrLHiExVd55zd/IQ/J...
```
</example>
<guardrails>
* Start with testing in a subdomain if possible
* Begin with permissive DMARC policy (p=none) to monitor without rejecting
* Ensure ESP settings align with authentication records
* Consider the impact on third-party senders using your domain
* Authentication alone won't fix poor content or list practices
</guardrails>