Destination Inbox: Navigating the Modern Landscape of Email Deliverability

Email remains one of the most impactful channels for customer engagement, especially when used as part of a cross-channel strategy. Yet the effectiveness of email marketing hinges on a critical factor: Deliverability. No matter how compelling or personalized your content is, the effort is wasted if the message doesn't reach the intended recipient’s inbox.

Email deliverability has only become more complex over time, with stricter regulations, advanced filtering algorithms, and changing user behaviors to grapple with. At Forge 2024, I sat down with Courtney Tierney, Director, CRM & Customer Engagement at Papa Johns, to dive into the latest trends and best practices for overcoming the growing challenges in this field.

The shifting landscape of email deliverability

As mailbox providers (like Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft) become more adept at filtering spam and protecting users from phishing attacks, legitimate marketers face growing barriers. Yahoo and Gmail's recently updated requirements formalized many long-held best practices into strict must-haves. As email volumes continue to grow, achieving that prime inbox placement now requires both technical know-how and a strategic approach. Here are our five insights to help you improve your approach.

1. Always authenticate your emails

Authentication is essential for deliverability. Gmail, Yahoo, and other mailbox providers now require full authentication of emails, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC protocols. Without these, emails risk being filtered directly into the spam folder or blocked outright.

Authentication doesn’t guarantee inbox placement, but without it, you’ll definitely end up in spam. Braze handles SPF and DKIM, but marketers need to ensure they’ve got DMARC covered as well. A simple check of email headers can confirm whether an email is passing or failing authentication protocols.

2. Permission-based marketing is key

While consent isn’t legally required in all regions, it's essential to help ensure successful email deliverability around the globe. Providers base inbox placement primarily on engagement, not legality, and without permission, emails are more likely to be marked as spam or ignored altogether, damaging sender reputation and engagement metrics.

Email programs need to cater to users who absolutely do not want your email. Make it easy to opt in or out of emails, offer a preference center, and use confirmed opt-in to help ensure you’re reaching only engaged users.

At Papa Johns, Courtney and her team took these practices to heart when they engaged Braze to overhaul their deliverability program. “We knew deliverability was critical, especially after hearing that even our CTO’s emails were landing in his spam folder,” she said. “By partnering with Braze Deliverability Services and warming up IP addresses in record time, we restored inbox placement and customer engagement.”

3. Engage your audience—or lose them

Ongoing inbox placement is largely determined by how recipients interact with your emails. Engaged users who open, click, or otherwise interact with your messages send positive signals to mailbox providers, boosting your reputation and increasing the chances that future emails will land in the recipient’s inbox.

Courtney shared how Papa Johns integrates email engagement into their overall customer experience. “From the moment customers join the Papa Rewards loyalty program, they receive a 4-week educational series via email, in addition to push notifications when they earn or redeem points,” she said. “These communications are essential for keeping customers engaged and our brand top of mind.”

But what happens when customers disengage? Papa Johns is strategically re-engaging 12 million inactive customers, those who haven't interacted with the brand’s emails in over a year, with the goal of revitalizing customer engagement and strengthening long-term customer relationships.

4. Monitor and adjust regularly

Deliverability isn’t a one-time fix. Successful email marketers continuously monitor email performance and adjust strategies as needed. This means keeping an eye on campaign metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and unsubscribes, and proactively managing unengaged contacts.

Regular monitoring is key. If your opens, clicks, or deliveries are declining, or if spam complaints are increasing, the problem is unlikely to fix itself. You need to be prepared to pivot quickly.

5. Sunset your unengaged audience

Not all subscribers will stay engaged with email forever, and that’s okay. But continuing to send to unengaged users can damage your sender reputation, making it harder for your emails to reach the inbox. That’s why it’s crucial to “sunset” users who haven’t engaged with your emails over a certain period.

Courtney’s strategy at Papa Johns involves suppressing disengaged users and focusing on those who actively engage. This reduces the risk of triggering spam filters and helps maintain their deliverability.

Final thoughts: Prioritize deliverability to unlock email’s full potential

Email remains a highly effective channel for customer engagement, but the evolving landscape of deliverability demands a strategic, proactive approach. Just like Courtney’s experience at Papa Johns demonstrates, the key to success lies in managing each of those core components of deliverability—authentication, permission, relevant content, list hygiene, and ongoing monitoring.

Without proper attention to these elements, even the most compelling email campaigns risk landing in the spam folder. By focusing on engagement, relevance, and trust instead, marketers can build a sustainable foundation for long-term success with their email programs. As Courtney wisely noted, "No one cares about deliverability until it’s an issue—but being proactive can save you months of recovery down the road."

To learn more about how today’s brands are driving success with their customer engagement strategies, be sure to check out Forge on demand.

Interested in learning more about our deliverability services? Reach out to us today.