6delivDeliverability is a broad term that encompasses everything that has to do with the process of e-mail notification to the subscriber. Problems with deliverability increase, for instance, when an e-mail address no longer exists or the destination network is just not available due to maintenance issues.

Those who manage incoming mails, such as Yahoo! Mail or the IT department of a company, usually decide whether an email is spam and finds its way into the inbox of the reader. However, this automated process is by far not perfect, as legitimate marketing emails can end up in the spam box or just get deleted, posing a big problem to the deliverability.

While getting deeper into email marketing, you will encounter some technical terms regarding deliverability that are important to know, which we will explain briefly in the following for a better understanding:

1. Spam filters

Anti-spam technologies are based on numerous automated processes that are used to examine incoming e-mails for spam or "unwanted" messages. Spam filters retrace an email and see how often the checkbox "this is spam" has been clicked. If there have been too many, the e-mail is filtered automatically out of the e-mail delivery process and gets either directly deleted or placed in the spam folder the next time.

2. Mark as spam or send a complaint

Mailing software and web mail providers almost always offer their users the option to mark emails as spam or junk e-mail - usually by clicking on a button or putting a checkmark. These buttons are used to refine their own spam filters. Thus, if e.g. a provider such as Windows Live Hotmail sees that a sender receives a high number of spam complaints, then all future email delivery from this specific sender will be stopped.

3. Blacklist

A so-called "blacklist" is a list of "bad" senders – usually those who are known as spammers or who have a long list of complaints. Some blacklists are created by companies for their own purposes; others are public and can be used by any company that is actively involved in e-mail marketing.

If an email is sent from a "blacklisted sender", it lands automatically in the spam folder.

4. Whitelist

It is not difficult to assume that "whitelists" are the opposite of "blacklists", which means lists of good senders, who are considered trustworthy and legitimate. An e-mail that comes from a "whitelisted sender" will survive all spam filters and other types of tests. Again, a company can have its own whitelist or use those of public providers.

5. Email certification

Email accreditation organizations check your e-mail delivery practices to see if these hold up to the quality standards. If you resist this process, you will be certified accordingly.

E-mail clients such as Yahoo! Mail and provider of anti-spam technologies usually have agreements with certification agencies that provide certified mail preference for the delivery.

6. Email authentication

Email authentication is when outgoing e-mails are marked so that receiving systems identify the origin of the e-mail accurately and reliably.

7. Email sender reputation

So far, most anti-spam technologies have decided on the basis of e-mail content, whether an email is spam or not. Today, more emphasis is placed on the origin of the e-mail and the sender reputation.

By MediaBUZZ