Email Deliverability Archives - Act-On Marketing Automation Software, B2B, B2C, Email Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:40:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 https://act-on.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/cropped-AO-logo_Color_Site-Image-32x32.png Email Deliverability Archives - Act-On 32 32 Planning Successful Deliverability for 2025 Holiday Email Marketing Campaigns https://act-on.com/learn/blog/holiday-email-deliverability-2025/ Thu, 20 Nov 2025 00:02:32 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=502450

The holiday season remains the most critical time of year for email marketers. It’s when volume and frequency surge to meet ambitious year-end goals. However, email deliverability news in November 2025 are changing the game. In 2025, deliverability is not just about best practice, it’s about mandatory compliance.

With Google and Yahoo implementing strict new sender requirements, any email program that is not fully compliant will face delivery disruptions. This updated guide integrates time-tested holiday strategies with the new technical mandates necessary to survive the season and ensure your emails land in the inbox, not the junk folder.


The New Mandate—Technical Compliance is Non-Negotiable

If you send 5,000 or more emails per day to Gmail or Yahoo addresses (a threshold easily crossed during the holidays), you are considered a “bulk sender” and must comply with new, enforced standards.

The November 2025 Deadline and the Crackdown

Google has announced a major ramp-up in enforcement on non-compliant traffic beginning in November 2025. Messages that fail to meet the requirements will experience temporary and permanent rejections. This means that if you are not prepared before the holiday rush begins, your entire campaign could be blocked.

Mandatory Authentication: The Three Pillars

To be compliant and earn the trust of Mailbox Providers (MBPs), your sending domain must be fully authenticated using all three security protocols:

  1. SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Verifies that the sending server is authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.
  2. DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Provides a digital signature to ensure the message was not tampered with in transit.
  3. DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance): This is now mandatory for bulk senders. It tells MBPs what to do if SPF or DKIM fails (e.g., quarantine or reject the message), providing accountability and protection against spoofing.


The Critical Spam Complaint Threshold

Under the new rules, your user-reported spam rate is the single most important metric. Compliance means consistently seeing under 0.1% spam complaint rates.

  • Best Practice Goal: Strive to keep your spam complaint rate below 0.1% (1 complaint per 1,000 emails).
  • Hard Limit: Your rate must never exceed 0.3%. If you hit this ceiling, you will face severe delivery penalties, including message rejection and having your domain deemed ineligible for delivery mitigation support.


Holiday Strategy for the Compliant Sender

Once the technical foundation is set, you can focus on optimizing your strategy to maintain a low complaint rate and maximize engagement during the high-volume season.

A. Benchmark and Ramp Up Responsibly

ISPs are on high alert during the holidays. Sudden, massive volume spikes are a red flag, even for a clean sender.

  • Establish a Baseline: Review your delivery, open, and click rates during the non-holiday season to set accurate, achievable goals.
  • Ramp Up Slowly: If you plan to significantly increase your daily volume, ramp up your emails gradually. As a general rule of thumb, do not increase your email volume by more than 50% of your previous day’s or week’s highest point. This warm-up period is essential to condition ISPs for your higher send rate and maintain your positive sender reputation.


B. Relevancy is the Ultimate Spam Filter

Engagement is king, and irrelevant emails are the fastest way to drive spam complaints. In a compliant world, every single complaint pushes you closer to that hard 0.3% rejection threshold.

  • Segmentation is Key: Segment your audience based on purchase history, recent engagement, and expressed interests. Target small groups with relevant offers rather than mass-blasting your entire list.
  • Frequency Control (Opt-Down): A subscriber who signed up for a weekly newsletter may be overwhelmed by daily holiday emails. To prevent them from hitting the “This is Spam” button, implement a clear, easily accessible preference center that allows users to adjust their communication preferences (topics, frequency) or “opt-down” instead of completely opting out.


C. Data Hygiene is Deliverability Insurance

A clean list protects your sender reputation by avoiding spam traps and un-mailable addresses, which are especially risky when increasing volume.

  • Bounce Rules: Ensure your bounce rules are rigorously enforced.
  • Verification: Before mailing inactive or high-risk segments for the first holiday send, consider using a third-party list verification service to scrub out any potential threats like spam traps or inactive emails.


Holiday Monitoring with Built-in Tools

Monitoring your performance during the holidays is essential. You must check your metrics daily and have instant access to complaint data. You must leverage the direct reporting tools provided by the mailbox providers:

Monitoring ToolPurposeKey Metric to Watch
Google Postmaster Tools v2The primary dashboard for monitoring Gmail deliverability. You must register your sending domain here using a TXT recordSpam Rate: Must be monitored daily to stay below 0.1% and prevent exceeding the 0.3% hard limit.
Yahoo Sender HubProvides visibility into your Yahoo Mail performance, reputation, and complaint data. You must register your sending domain here using a TXT recordSpam Complaints/Delivery Errors: Monitor for spikes and immediately remove any users who file a complaint.



Immediate Action is Required: If you see any increase in your spam complaint rate or delivery errors in either of these tools, you should pause, identify where the issue is, and regroup.

By establishing full authentication and rigorously monitoring your complaint rates, you can safely navigate the high-volume holiday season and deliver the gift of joyful, successful email campaigns. Email deliverability news in November 2025 are a game changer. Need a little extra support?


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]]> New Yahoo Deliverability Dashboard and What it Means for Email Marketing https://act-on.com/learn/blog/new-yahoo-deliverability-dashboard-and-email-marketing/ Tue, 18 Nov 2025 18:33:51 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=502462

There’s a lot happening in the world of Yahoo email deliverability news. Yahoo Mail continues to represent a large share of today’s email addresses, and if you are sending marketing emails to Yahoo users, their new “Insights” dashboard is big news.  Yahoo manages email delivered to Yahoo, AOL, Comcast, Verizon, and AT&T, so it has a very large impact on anyone emailing consumer addresses.

Now part of the Yahoo Sender Hub, Insights offers visibility into how Yahoo users receive and react to your emails. It’s a major step forward in deliverability transparency, helping you move from guessing about inbox placement to managing it with real data.


New Yahoo Email Deliverability Dashboard Surfaces Key Metrics

For the first time, Yahoo is providing verified insights into:

  • First-time visibility to a “true complaint rate,” the percentage of inboxed messages that received spam complaints (Previously, only sent and accepted complaints were visible). 
  • More exact Spam Complaint Rate and sum of Delivered messages.
  • Daily delivered mail volume to Yahoo domains.
  • Displayed aggregated delivery statistics for the DKIM.

Yahoo also gave clear complaint thresholds to guide marketers:

  • Aim for below 0.1% to maintain a strong reputation.
  • Rates above 0.3% risk filtering or throttling.

The main takeaway is that you can see early signs of deliverability issues, such as throttling or rejections, before they impact engagement or conversions.

If you send through multiple subdomains under one DKIM signature, Insights aggregates that traffic, showing how each stream contributes to your overall sender reputation. You can then identify what content or campaigns drive complaints and adjust your frequency, segmentation, and list hygiene accordingly.


Getting Started in Yahoo Sender Hub

The best way to learn about these new metrics and features is to log in to Yahoo Sender Hub and explore them for yourself. Our team can help assist

  1. Log in to your Yahoo Sender Hub
  2. Go to Dashboard in the main navigation.
  3. Select a verified DKIM domain from the drop-down (or add and verify one by adding a unique TXT record).
  4. Click Activate to enable Insights.


Once verified and active, data will begin populating within 24–48 hours after you’ve reached the minimum sending threshold for that DKIM domain. Finally, make sure your deliverability and marketing ops teams have access for ongoing monitoring.

Yahoo’s Insights gives marketers what’s long been missing, direct deliverability data from the source. Use it to monitor complaint rates, track sending volumes, and refine your campaigns to achieve better inbox placement. Marketers who adopt Insights early will gain a measurable edge in reaching (and staying) in the Yahoo inbox.

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]]> Gmail Begins Crackdown on Non-Compliant Mail https://act-on.com/learn/blog/gmail-cracks-down-on-non-compliant-email/ Thu, 13 Nov 2025 00:00:41 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=502393

Gmail deliverability update for November 2025 is here and already making waves. Gmail officially begun ramping up enforcement against non-compliant mail. This shift isn’t a warning—it’s active, ongoing enforcement. Gmail is now taking stronger action against senders who fail to follow authentication standards or who generate consistently high complaint rates.

For years, Gmail has encouraged proper authentication and responsible sending behavior. But the quiet period is over. If you’ve been skating by without full authentication or ignoring rising spam complaints, that leniency window has now closed. Enforcement is rolling out in real time, and many brands will start to feel the impact immediately.


What Gmail is Enforcing—and Why it Matters

Gmail’s new enforcement policies target both technical compliance and sender reputation, focusing on:

1. Unauthenticated Mail

Messages that lack proper DKIM, SPF, or DMARC authentication will be at higher risk for delays, deferrals, and outright rejections. Gmail has been explicit:

Unauthenticated mail is now a direct indicator of spam or potential abuse.

2. High Complaint Rates

Gmail has tightened its complaint-rate threshold. Senders with consistently high user complaints—even slightly above Gmail’s acceptable limit—will face increased spam placement or rejection of messages at the server level.

  • Gmail’s soft threshold has long been 0.1% complaint rate
  • Crossing it, even marginally, may trigger reputation damage

This means even small spikes can have big consequences.


What Senders Can Expect Going Forward

Non-Compliant Mail Will Be Blocked or Deferred

Expect more visible delivery issues such as:

  • Temp-fail (4xx) errors
  • Longer processing times
  • Total rejection (5xx) errors

If Gmail can’t authenticate you—or doesn’t trust your reputation—your email simply won’t make it through.

Higher Spam Placement

Even if messages aren’t fully rejected, you may notice:

  • Lower inbox placement
  • Higher spam folder rates
  • Reduced engagement across Gmail accounts

This creates a feedback loop: high spam placement → lower engagement → even worse reputation.

Reputation Damage Across Your Entire Domain

This crackdown affects:

  • Marketing mail
  • Automated operational emails
  • Newsletters and product updates
  • Even some transactional emails if they are improperly authenticated

No segment is immune.


What You Need to Do to Avoid Issues

Gmail’s requirements are not optional. These are your minimum mandatory steps:

1. Make Sure You Are Fully Authenticated

Confirm you have all three layers in place—correctly configured:

  • SPF: Must include all sending hosts and avoid overly broad mechanisms

  • DKIM: Use a 1024-bit (preferably 2048-bit) key and align with your From domain

  • DMARC: At minimum: p=none and alignment requirements met
    Ideally: move toward p=quarantine or p=reject over time

If any of the three are misconfigured, Gmail will treat you as unauthenticated.

2. Reduce Your Complaint Rate Immediately

A complaint rate above 0.1% is enough to damage your sending reputation.
Key steps:

Even minor improvements can restore trust.

3. Validate All Sending Services

If you use multiple systems—marketing automation, CRM, support platforms—each one must send authenticated mail that aligns with your domain.

Many deliverability issues come from smaller platforms slipping through the cracks.


Signs You’re Already Being Impacted

You may already be experiencing enforcement if you see:

  • A sudden drop in Gmail open rates
  • Increased “rate limit exceeded” or “message temporarily rejected” errors
  • A spike in spam folder placement
  • Delays in sending or receiving test messages
  • Feedback loop data showing rising complaints

Addressing these quickly will prevent long-term domain reputation damage.


Prepare for Stricter Standards in 2026

Gmail has made it clear this is only the beginning.
Looking ahead, expect:

  • Increased pressure to move DMARC policies to quarantine or reject
  • Stricter enforcement of aligned From domains
  • Rising expectations around email list hygiene and transparency
  • Heavier penalties for sudden volume spikes or irregular send patterns

Brands that modernize their email infrastructure now will be in a strong position as enforcement ramps up.


Ready to Make Sure You’re Compliant?

If you’re unsure where you stand—or need a checklist to review your current setup—be sure to explore our full guide on email compliance and sender requirements. It walks through the technical setup, reputation management, and email deliverability best practices to ensure your mail stays in the inbox.

Check out our article on email compliance to make sure you’re fully ready for Gmail’s increased enforcement.

Check out our article on email compliance to make sure you are ready for this increase in enforcement.

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]]> Google Postmaster Tools V2: Deliverability Post-V1 Deprecation https://act-on.com/learn/blog/google-postmaster-tools-v2/ Fri, 17 Oct 2025 23:13:31 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=502088

The End of Google Postmaster Tools V1

Google has officially announced the deprecation of Google Postmaster Tools V1, the dashboard many marketers have depended on for critical reputation insights.

Starting September 30, 2025, all users will be redirected to Google Postmaster Tools V2, and by the end of the year, the legacy V1 dashboard will be fully retired.

For years, V1 provided domain and IP reputation scores — key signals for diagnosing deliverability issues. Those metrics are now gone. In their place, Google is shifting focus toward real-time behavioral and authentication-based signals.

What’s New in Google Postmaster Tools V2

In Google Postmaster Tools V2, Gmail no longer provides static “reputation scores.” Instead, senders are encouraged to track the live signals that actually influence inbox placement.

The Google Postmaster Tools V2 platform prioritizes:

  • Spam Complaint Rates – how often users report your messages as spam.
  • Authentication Status – SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment checks.
  • Delivery Errors – bounce reasons and deferred messages.
  • Policy Compliance – signals tied to Gmail’s bulk sender requirements.
  • Engagement Trends – how recipients interact with your mail in real time.

Gmail’s message is clear: reputation is now earned dynamically through engagement and compliance, not assigned by a static score.

Why This Matters for Email Marketers

The loss of reputation dashboards may feel like a major setback — but it’s really a signal that Google wants senders to evolve.

Static scores often masked underlying issues or created false confidence. V2’s new model demands that senders actively monitor, analyze, and adapt based on live performance metrics.

If you’ve built your reporting or alerting infrastructure around V1 data, it’s time to pivot.


This change follows Gmail’s Manage Subscriptions feature implementation — another step in Google’s effort to give users more control, reward transparent senders, and elevate engagement-driven reputation over legacy scoring.

Action Plan: How to Prepare for V2

  1. Audit Your Existing Integrations
    Review any dashboards, alerts, or automation that rely on V1 metrics like domain or IP reputation. Identify what breaks when V1 is deprecated.

  2. Export Historical Data Before It’s Gone
    If you still need reputation trends for benchmarking, export all historical data from V1 before the end of 2025. Once the dashboard is shut down, those records won’t be retrievable.

  3. Rebuild Around V2 Metrics
    Start tracking Gmail’s new live signals — spam complaint rates, delivery errors, and authentication health. These are now the indicators that matter most.

  4. Update API Integrations
    V2 introduces a new schema and endpoint structure. Make sure any API calls or integrations your system uses are updated before September 30.

  5. Align With Gmail’s Bulk Sender Guidelines
    If you haven’t implemented full SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication — now’s the time. Gmail’s deliverability weighting heavily favors authenticated and policy-aligned mail.

Turning Change Into Opportunity

Yes, this update removes some of the visibility marketers have relied on. But it’s also a chance to create a more resilient deliverability strategy built on engagement, trust, and technical alignment.

Senders who embrace V2 will gain:

  • Stronger authentication posture (fewer delivery errors, higher trust).
  • Real-time visibility into sender health and compliance.
  • Smarter segmentation and cleaner data through active monitoring.

In short: Gmail isn’t taking away control — it’s pushing the industry toward more dynamic, data-driven deliverability practices.

Act-On Is Here to Help

Staying compliant and maintaining inbox placement in a changing ecosystem takes the right tools and expertise. Act-On’s deliverability team helps marketers monitor engagement signals, implement DMARC and authentication, and adapt to Gmail’s evolving requirements.

Need help adjusting to Google Postmaster Tools V2?
Book a demo with one of our deliverability experts or explore our interactive product tour to see how Act-On can strengthen your email performance.ture, signal-rich monitoring. If you get ahead of it, you’ll end up with a smarter, more actionable deliverability practice.

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]]> Deliverability Update: Texas Just Redefined SMS as Telemarketing https://act-on.com/learn/blog/sb140-texas-telemarketing/ Fri, 10 Oct 2025 20:23:51 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=501999

Texas has just made a major move that reshapes how marketers can use SMS. With the passage of Senate Bill 140 (SB 140), the state is tightening the rules around text-based marketing and raising the compliance stakes for businesses that message consumers.

This update signals a broader trend: states are expanding telemarketing laws to cover new communication channels, forcing marketers to rethink how they manage consent, registration, and outreach practices. For brands using SMS as part of their customer engagement strategy, understanding these changes—and acting fast—will be key to staying compliant and protecting deliverability.

What is SB 140?

Effective September 1, 2025 Texas will start enforcing SB 140, a bill that expands the state’s definition of “telephone solicitation” to include text messages. Under this update, any promotional SMS, MMS, or image-based message now qualifies as telemarketing. Under prior law, those making “telephone solicitations” in Texas had to register as telemarketers in some cases, file statements, and meet certain disclosure obligations.

This update means that businesses engaging in SMS marketing—or any form of promotional texting—must now comply with the same registration, disclosure, and operational requirements that apply to telemarketers.

Private Right of Action Under the DTPA

That change alone would be enough to raise eyebrows. But SB 140 also gives Texas residents the right to sue under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA), without needing to go through a state agency.

That means consumers, or their attorneys, can go straight to court if they believe they’ve received a noncompliant message. Potential penalties include:

  • Triple (treble) damages for willful violations
  • Attorney’s fees and court costs
  • Claims of mental anguish

In practice, this opens the door for class actions and serial lawsuits, especially if a company’s SMS campaigns aren’t properly segmented or consent-based.

Worse, there’s no cap on claims for repeated violations. That could turn into multiple expensive lawsuits, fast.

What This Means for Marketers

For marketers, this means SMS is no longer a low-risk channel in Texas. If you’re sending messages to Texas numbers (even if you’re based elsewhere) you’ll need to treat those texts like regulated calls:

  • Businesses sending SMS to Texas residents are responsible for registering with the Texas Secretary of State
  • Confirm opt-in consent is explicit and documented (sending to customers-only)
  • Honor opt-outs immediately and reliably
  • Review your automated workflows
  • Decide to build a segmentation to suppress Texas residents
  • Make sure your legal and compliance teams are briefed

Marketers who rely on SMS for promotions, marketing, or automated flows for SMS should take this seriously. Failure to register, send during approved call hours, message non-customers, or ignore opt-out requests can lead to fines and litigation exposure. Once the door opens for private litigation, it rarely closes. Businesses should act quickly to audit their SMS programs, consult counsel, register if needed, honor opt-outs, and adjust timing windows.

Act-On customers wondering how this impacts their business, and what steps to take, can contact customer support for help.

How Businesses Should Prepare

Now is the time to act. Businesses using SMS or MMS for marketing, sales, or customer communication should:

  1. Audit existing SMS programs for compliance gaps.
  2. Consult legal counsel to confirm obligations under SB 140.
  3. Register as a telemarketer if your campaigns meet the threshold.
  4. Update consent language and opt-out mechanisms.
  5. Adjust sending windows to meet call-hour restrictions.

Proactive steps taken now can prevent expensive litigation and reputational harm later.

Act-On Customers: What to Do Next

If you’re an Act-On customer, our team can help ensure your SMS marketing aligns with Texas law.
Contact Act-On customer support to:

  • Review your SMS settings and workflows
  • Confirm compliance with SB 140
  • Discuss segmentation options for Texas residents
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]]> Hierarchy of Engagement and Email Sunset Policy Explained https://act-on.com/learn/blog/hierarchy-of-engagement-and-email-sunset-policy-explained/ Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:52:00 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=501944

Introduction

When it comes to email deliverability, not all contacts are created equal. Your email marketing strategy should reflect this. Segmenting your audience based on their engagement levels allows you to tailor your email cadence and content, maximizing deliverability and giving your contacts the best experience. It all starts with a hierarchy of engagement.

TL;DR: Segment your email list by engagement levels to improve deliverability and subscriber experience. Highly engaged contacts get frequent, personalized content, while low-engagement and dormant subscribers receive fewer emails or re-engagement campaigns. Use an email sunset policy to gradually suppress unengaged contacts, protecting your sender reputation and avoiding spam penalties.

Establishing a Hierarchy of Engagement

Use this common framework to segment your list based on their engagement levels.

Tier 1: Highly Engaged (Champions/Power Users)

  • Definition: Open most emails, click frequently, visit your website, potentially make purchases or actively use your product/service.
  • Cadence: Your most frequent send schedule. These contacts want to hear from you and are least likely to be marked as spam.
  • Content: Exclusive offers, new product announcements, in-depth content, beta programs, personalized recommendations.

Tier 2: Moderately Engaged (Regular Readers)

  • Definition: Open a good portion of emails, click occasionally, show consistent interest.
  • Cadence: Regular send schedule, perhaps slightly less frequent than Tier 1.
  • Content: General newsletters, valuable blog posts, product updates, standard promotions.

Tier 3: Low Engagement (Passive Subscribers)

  • Definition: Open emails infrequently, rarely click, may have signed up for a one-off resource.
  • Cadence: Reduced frequency. You’re trying to keep them on the list without risking deliverability. Maybe once a month or bi-monthly.
  • Content: High-value content, “best of” summaries, special invitations to exclusive events that might pique their interest.

Tier 4: Unengaged (Dormant)

  • Definition: Have not opened or clicked on any emails in a significant period (e.g., 6 months to a year), but haven’t actively opted out.
  • Cadence: Subject to re-engagement campaigns (as described in “Suppressions & Sunsetting”). If no re-engagement, then move to suppression.
  • Content: Re-engagement campaigns.

Implementing an Email Sunset Policy

An email sunset policy is a strategy and process of gradually reducing the frequency of emails to unengaged subscribers and eventually removing them from your active mailing list. This protects your sender reputation by demonstrating that you are only sending to an engaged audience.

Sending emails to unengaged contacts is detrimental to your sender reputation. ISPs track engagement metrics (opens, clicks) to determine whether your emails are valued by recipients. Continuing to send to those who consistently ignore your messages signals that your content isn’t relevant, and your emails are more likely to be sent to spam.

Recommendations for Suppressions and Sunsetting:

  • Define “Unengaged”: Establish clear criteria for lack of engagement is a key element of an effective email sunset policy. A common definition is a contact who has not opened or clicked on any email in a significant period (e.g., 6 months to 1 year), despite receiving a reasonable number of emails from you.

  • Last-Ditch Re-engagement Campaign: Before fully sunsetting, consider a targeted re-engagement campaign for your unengaged segment.

    • Subject Lines: Use compelling subject lines that explicitly ask for engagement (“Do you still want to hear from us?”, “Don’t miss out!”).
    • Content: Offer exclusive content, a special discount, or simply ask for their preferences.
    • Call to Action: Make it very clear what action they need to take to remain on your list.
    • Frequency: Send 1-3 emails over a short period (e.g., 1-2 weeks).

  • Automated Suppression: If a contact doesn’t respond to the re-engagement campaign, automatically move them to a suppression list. These contacts should no longer receive regular marketing emails.

  • Hard Suppression After 1 Year of Inactivity (or sooner): For contacts who have received a significant number of opportunities (e.g., 20+ emails) but have not opened anything in a year, it’s highly recommended to permanently suppress them from all future marketing communications. They are actively hurting your deliverability.

Summary

Effective email deliverability relies on understanding and acting on subscriber engagement. By creating a hierarchy of engagement—from highly engaged “champions” to completely dormant contacts—you can tailor email frequency and content to match interest levels. Implementing an email sunset policy ensures unengaged subscribers are gradually removed after targeted re-engagement attempts, safeguarding your sender reputation. This approach maximizes engagement, keeps your list healthy, and prevents emails from being flagged as spam.

To learn more about our Deliverability Services, contact us. Current customers, reach out to your customer success manager or account manager directly!

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]]> Welcome Email Series: Strategy, Examples & Best Practices https://act-on.com/learn/blog/welcome-email-series/ Fri, 19 Sep 2025 13:00:00 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=501943

TL;DR: A welcome email series introduces new subscribers to your brand, builds trust, and boosts engagement from the start. It’s typically a 4–5 email sequence that thanks subscribers, shares your story, highlights benefits, shows social proof, and encourages the first conversion. Keep emails short, personal, mobile-friendly, and optimized through testing to strengthen relationships and improve deliverability.


Introduction

A well-crafted welcome email series helps you make a great first impression, build trust, and guide new subscribers toward engagement right from the start. The goal is to introduce new subscribers to your brand, set expectations, and encourage early interaction. It also helps establish sending reputation by generating positive engagement (opens, clicks, replies) early on.

What is a Welcome Email Series?

A welcome email series is a sequence of emails sent to new subscribers, customers, or users after they join your email list, sign up for a service, or make their first purchase. Its main goal is to introduce your brand, build trust, and guide the recipient toward engagement or conversion.

Why You Need an Email Welcome Series

An email welcome series is essential because it helps businesses make a strong first impression and build trust with new subscribers. When someone signs up for your email list, they are most attentive and curious about your brand, making this the perfect opportunity to engage them.

An effective welcome series introduces your products, services, and values, educates subscribers about what you offer, and sets expectations for future emails. Beyond education, it also drives early conversions by encouraging actions like purchases, downloads, or bookings.

Additionally, the series allows you to gather insights about subscriber preferences, enabling better segmentation and personalized communication in the future. By providing immediate value and clear guidance, a welcome series can improve engagement, reduce unsubscribes, and enhance long-term email deliverability. In short, it transforms a one-time signup into an engaged subscriber, laying the foundation for stronger relationships and increased revenue over time.

Welcome Email Series Examples

Email 1: The Warm Hello

  • When to send: Immediately after sign-up
  • Tone: Friendly, personal, and clear.
  • Content: Thank them for subscribing, remind them what they signed up for, and deliver any promised content (e.g., a guide, discount, or checklist).
  • CTA: Something low-commitment like “Explore our blog” or “Follow us on social.”

Email 2: Set the Stage

  • When to send: 1-2 days after sign-up
  • Content: Share more about your brand—your story, values, and what makes you different.
  • CTA: Invite them to customize preferences or explore popular products/content.

Email 3: What’s in it for Them

  • When to send: 3-5 days after Email 2
  • Content: Highlight key benefits, features, or offerings they can expect from your emails.
  • CTA: Try a feature, download something useful, or read a customer story.

Email 4: Social Proof & Success Stories

  • When to send: 5-7 days after email 3
  • Content: Show testimonials, case studies, or reviews to build trust and credibility.
  • CTA: “See how it works” or “Read a full success story.”

Email 5: Soft Sell or Next Step

  • When to send: 7-10 days after email 4
  • Content: Encourage a first meaningful conversion—like signing up for a webinar, booking a demo, or making a purchase.
  • CTA: Clear and focused, like “Schedule your demo” or “Get started now.”

Email Welcome Series Best Practices

  • Keep it concise: Respect your subscribers’ time. Get to your main message or CTA without too much delay.
  • Use personalization: Include their name and tailor the content based on other elements, such as where you sourced their contact, or their interests within your product offering.
  • Make it mobile-friendly: Most opens happen on mobile—design accordingly for mobile experiences.
  • Test and optimize: Monitor open/click rates and adjust timing of sends or the content you include in them accordingly.
  • Include an unsubscribe link: It’s legally required for marketing emails. Bonus: it helps keep your list clean, building for deliverability in the long run.

With new subscribers on board and getting to know your brand, the next step is to make sure your email strategy stays relevant over time. Not everyone will engage with your emails in the same way, so treating them all the same is a recipe for deliverability trouble. To keep your sender reputation healthy, you need to create an hierarchy of engagement that tailors your emails to each person’s unique behavior.

Summary

A welcome email series is a strategic set of emails sent after someone joins your list or makes a purchase. It helps you make a strong first impression, educate new subscribers about your brand, and encourage early engagement or conversions.

Best practices include keeping messages concise, personalizing content, optimizing for mobile, A/B testing performance, and including unsubscribe links for compliance. A well-structured welcome series not only engages new subscribers but also improves long-term deliverability and builds lasting customer relationships.

To learn more about our Deliverability Services, contact us. Current customers, reach out to your customer success manager or account manager directly!

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]]> Email List Hygiene & Spam Traps https://act-on.com/learn/blog/email-list-hygiene-and-spam-traps/ Wed, 17 Sep 2025 13:50:00 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=501942

Introduction

A clean email list is a healthy list. Regularly maintaining your email list is crucial for email deliverability. Sending to invalid or unengaged addresses signals to Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that your sending practices are poor, leading to lower inbox placement. Success requires good email list hygiene and understanding spam traps.

TL;DR: Good email list hygiene is the foundation of strong deliverability. Regularly clean your list by removing invalid, inactive, or unengaged contacts, verifying addresses, and avoiding purchased lists. Understanding and preventing spam traps—especially pristine, typo, and recycled traps—protects your sender reputation and ensures your emails consistently reach the inbox.

What is Email List Hygiene?

Email list hygiene refers to the ongoing process of keeping your email contact list clean, accurate, and engaged. In other words, it’s about regularly reviewing and removing invalid, inactive, or unengaged email addresses to maintain a healthy list that improves deliverability and performance.

Email List Hygiene Best Practices

Follow these key best practices to develop and maintain good email list hygiene:

  • Email verification services: Utilize a reputable email verification service such as Webbula before sending your first email to new contacts, and periodically for your existing list. These services check for invalid email formats, disposable email addresses, and non-existent domains, ensuring your addresses are legitimate and deliverable.

  • Remove hard bounces immediately: Hard bounces indicate a permanent delivery failure (e.g., an invalid email address, a non-existent domain). Your email service provider (ESP) should automatically suppress these, but it’s important to monitor and ensure they are permanently removed from your active sending list to prevent repeated attempts that signal poor list health.

  • Monitor engagement metrics: Track key engagement metrics such as open rates, click rates, bounce rates, and spam complaints. When engagement begins to drop, run re-engagement campaigns to confirm continued interest before removing inactive subscribers from your list.

  • Segment and personalize: Group subscribers based on behavior, demographics, location, or purchase history. Personalized and relevant messaging increases engagement, strengthens relationships, and reduces unsubscribe rates.

  • Comply with privacy regulations: Follow all major email compliance laws such as GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and CASL. Include a clear unsubscribe link in every email, identify your business and sender name transparently, and honor opt-out requests promptly to maintain trust and compliance.

  • Reconfirm old contacts: If your list contains older or inactive contacts, send a reconfirmation campaign asking them to confirm their interest in staying subscribed. This process removes uninterested or outdated contacts, ensuring your list remains active and compliant.

  • Maintain consistent sending frequency: Establish a predictable and consistent email schedule—such as weekly or bi-weekly—so subscribers know when to expect your emails. Avoid long gaps or sudden bursts of activity, which can harm engagement and trigger spam filters.

What Are Spam Traps?

Spam traps are email addresses used by ISPs and anti-spam organizations to identify senders with poor list hygiene. Sending to a spam trap can severely damage your sender reputation, leading to blocklisting and drastically reduced deliverability. Keep these types of spam traps in mind:

  1. Pristine spam traps: These are the most dangerous. They are email addresses that have never been valid or used by a real person. They are created solely for the purpose of catching senders who are scraping websites, purchasing lists, or engaging in other illicit list-building practices. If you hit a pristine spam trap, it’s a strong indicator to ISPs that your acquisition methods are questionable, and your sender reputation will take a significant hit.

  2. Typo spam trap – A typo spam trap is an email address with a common misspelling of a legitimate domain, used to identify senders with poor list hygiene. These traps are designed to catch emails sent to addresses like “gmial.com” or “hotnail.com” instead of the correct “gmail.com” or “hotmail.com”. Hitting these traps can negatively impact sender reputation and email deliverability. 

  3. Recycled spam trap – A recycled spam trap is an email address that was once a legitimate, active address used by a real person, but has since been abandoned and repurposed by an email provider as a trap to identify senders who are not properly managing their email lists. These traps are particularly problematic because they indicate a lack of email list hygiene and can significantly harm a sender’s reputation. 

How to Remove Spam Traps

After verifying your contacts, it’s crucial to run that list through a specialized cleansing service designed to identify and remove spam traps. Because spam traps can’t be directly identified (they look like normal emails), the goal is to prevent and gradually eliminate them through careful list hygiene.

To remove spam traps effectively:

  1. Stop sending to unengaged subscribers: Remove contacts who haven’t opened or clicked on your emails in the past 6–12 months. Spam traps never engage, so this step helps filter them out naturally.

  2. Avoid purchased or scraped lists: Spam traps are often hidden in third-party or scraped databases. Only use permission-based, opt-in email lists.

  3. Use email verification tools: Services like Webbula can detect high-risk or inactive addresses that may include spam traps.

  4. Segment and test carefully: Send campaigns to your most engaged segments first. If deliverability improves, expand gradually to identify which segments might contain traps.

  5. Reconfirm inactive contacts: Run a re-permission campaign asking older subscribers to confirm they still want your emails. Anyone who doesn’t respond should be removed.

  6. Monitor deliverability and status: Use tools like Postmaster Tools (for Gmail) or MXToolbox to monitor spam complaints, bounce patterns, and alerts. If you find evidence of spam traps, pause sending to that segment and review acquisition sources.

How to Avoid Spam Traps

  • Never purchase or rent email lists. These are primary sources of spam traps.

  • Always use a double opt-in process for new subscribers, ensuring genuine consent.

  • Rigorously maintain list hygiene by regularly removing unengaged subscribers.

  • Utilize a reputable email cleansing service specifically for spam trap detection after initial verification and as part of your ongoing list maintenance.

Summary

Ultimately, great email list hygiene is a continuous process. It starts with how you get contacts and continues through every stage of their journey with you. By building a high-quality email list from the get-go, keeping it clean, welcoming new subscribers with a great email series, and then sending emails based on how engaged they are, you can build a strong reputation as a reliable sender. Remember, a clean and engaged list is your most valuable asset—and consistent, smart list management is the key to always landing in the inbox.

Spam traps—used by ISPs to identify senders with poor list management—fall into three categories: pristine, typo, and recycled. While they can’t be directly identified, you can minimize risk by avoiding purchased lists, removing unengaged subscribers, running re-engagement campaigns, and monitoring deliverability performance.

Consistent, proactive list management ensures your campaigns reach real people—not traps—and helps maintain a strong reputation as a trusted sender.

To learn more about our Deliverability Services, contact us. Current customers, reach out to your customer success manager or account manager directly!

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]]> Email Acquisition Techniques & Strategies for Marketers https://act-on.com/learn/blog/email-acquisition-techniques/ Mon, 15 Sep 2025 17:20:38 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=501935

Introduction

The journey to excellent email deliverability begins long before an email is sent. It starts with how contacts enter your system, known as email acquisition. High-quality leads are the foundation of a good email list hygiene. Follow our guidance on how to acquire contacts the right way, and what to avoid. Next, let’s explore key email acquisition techniques and strategies every marketer should know.

TL;DR: Strong email deliverability starts with how you acquire your contacts. Focus on quality, permission-based sign-ups through gated content, opt-in forms, and verified registrations. Always use double opt-in, be transparent about your value and privacy, and never buy lists. A clean, well-segmented email list sets the foundation for consistent inbox placement and engaged subscribers.

Email Acquisition Techniques

  1. Gated content: Offering valuable resources like e-books, whitepapers, or webinars in exchange for an email address. This demonstrates genuine interest.

  2. Opt-in forms on high-traffic pages: Strategically placed, clear, and concise opt-in forms on relevant pages of your website.

  3. Event registrations: Collecting email addresses from attendees of webinars, conferences, or workshops.

  4. Direct sales interactions: Sales teams collecting email addresses from qualified prospects during calls or meetings.

  5. Partnerships and co-marketing: Collaborating with reputable partners to cross-promote content and gather leads from a relevant audience.

Recommendations for Email Acquisition

  1. Double opt-in: Always, always use double opt-in. This means that after a user submits their email, they receive a confirmation email with a link they must click to verify their subscription. This significantly reduces the chances of spam traps, typos, and unwilling recipients, leading to a much cleaner list and better engagement.

  2. Clear value proposition: Clearly communicate what subscribers will receive and how often. Manage expectations upfront.

  3. Transparent privacy policy: Link to your privacy policy near every sign-up form to build trust.

  4. Segment at Acquisition: If possible, include optional fields on your forms to gather preference data (e.g., interests, frequency) to enable early segmentation.

  5. Avoid purchased lists: Never buy email lists. These lists are notorious for containing spam traps, invalid addresses, and disengaged users, which will severely damage your sender reputation.

Maintaining a High Quality Email List

Ultimately, a great email deliverability strategy is a continuous process. It starts with how you get contacts and continues through every stage of their journey with you. By building a high-quality list from the get-go, keeping it clean, welcoming new subscribers with a great email series, and then sending emails based on how engaged they are, you can build a strong reputation as a reliable sender. Remember, a clean and engaged list is your most valuable asset—and consistent, smart list management is the key to always landing in the inbox.

To learn more about our Deliverability Services, contact us. Current customers, reach out to your customer success manager or account manager directly!

Summary

The foundation of email marketing is built with ethical and strategic email acquisition, ensuring every contact is genuinely interested and properly verified. Email acquisition techniques like gated content, opt-in forms, event sign-ups, and partnerships help marketers grow high-quality lists.

To maintain list hygiene, follow best practices such as using double opt-in, providing a clear value proposition, and linking to a transparent privacy policy. Avoid shortcuts like purchasing lists, which can harm sender reputation and deliverability.

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]]> New Gmail “Manage Subscriptions” Page: What Marketers Need to Know https://act-on.com/learn/blog/new-gmail-manage-subscriptions-page-what-marketers-need-to-know/ Fri, 18 Jul 2025 21:56:12 +0000 https://act-on.com/?p=501637

Introduction

For email marketers, Gmail has long been one of the most important inbox providers to keep an eye on. Whether your marketing audience is primarily B2B or B2C, Gmail addresses undoubtedly make up a significant portion of your list. This week, Google announced a new feature. Gmail Manage Subscriptions could significantly impact how your recipients interact with your messages.

This new tool is designed to make it easier than ever for Gmail users to quickly review, manage, and unsubscribe from marketing emails. With just a few clicks, recipients can now see all the brands emailing them, ranked by frequency, and decide which subscriptions to keep or cut. For marketers, this signals a clear shift: Gmail is making it simpler for users to opt out of unwanted emails, meaning engagement, relevance, and subscriber trust have never been more critical.

TL;DR: Gmail’s new “Manage Subscriptions” feature gives users a simple dashboard to view and unsubscribe from marketing emails — ranked by how often brands send. This means high-frequency senders are now more exposed to opt-outs. For marketers, it’s a wake-up call: prioritize valuable, relevant content and subscriber trust over sheer volume. With the unsubscribe process now frictionless, only the most engaging emails will earn their place in the inbox.

What is Gmail’s “Manage Subscriptions” Feature?

The “Manage Subscriptions” feature is essentially a centralized control panel inside Gmail inboxes. Instead of scrolling through a cluttered inbox to find the tiny “unsubscribe” links buried at the bottom of emails, users can now:

  • View all their email subscriptions in one place. Gmail consolidates active marketing senders into a single interface, making it easy for users to see who’s emailing them most frequently.
  • Sort by sender frequency. Brands sending the highest volume of messages appear at the top of the list — prime real estate that could also make them prime targets for unsubscribes.
  • Unsubscribe with one click. No forms, no confirmation emails, no friction. Users can remove themselves from lists instantly.

Gmail Manage Subscriptions functionality is currently in rollout, and as of now, it’s only available to standard Gmail inboxes — not Google Workspace (business) accounts. There’s no timeline yet for a Workspace release.

How to Manage Email Subscriptions on Gmail

Managing email subscriptions in Gmail is now easier than ever thanks to the new “Manage Subscriptions” feature. Watch a video on how users take control of their inbox or follow the steps below:

  1. Open Gmail on Desktop or Mobile App: Make sure you’re signed into your personal Gmail account (this feature currently isn’t available for Google Workspace accounts).
  2. Access the “Manage Subscriptions” Page: Navigate to the Promotions tab or scroll to the bottom of a marketing email. Gmail may display a link or prompt labeled “Manage Subscriptions” — click it to view a list of all active senders.
  3. Review Your Subscriptions: Gmail will show a consolidated list of brands and senders, sorted by how frequently they email you. This makes it easy to identify which senders dominate your inbox.
  4. Unsubscribe with One Click: Next to each sender, you’ll see an “Unsubscribe” button. Click it to instantly remove yourself from that mailing list—no need to fill out forms or confirm through another email.
  5. Repeat as Needed: Use this dashboard to regularly clean up your inbox and maintain control over the types of marketing messages you receive.

This streamlined process empowers users to quickly reduce inbox clutter—making it even more important for marketers to deliver emails that are relevant, timely, and welcome.

Why Does This Matter for Email Marketers?

This feature is more than just a convenience for Gmail users — it’s a wake-up call for brands. With such a low barrier to unsubscribe, every email you send must justify its place in the inbox. High-volume, low-value campaigns are more vulnerable than ever, as Gmail is effectively putting brands that “send the most” at the top of the chopping block.

Marketers can’t rely solely on list size anymore. Instead, success will come from building and nurturing quality relationships, focusing on content that genuinely resonates, and ensuring your communications align with subscriber preferences.

Key Takeaways:

  • Currently Limited to Individual Gmail Users: At launch, Gmail Manage Subscriptions only applies to personal Gmail.com accounts, not Google Workspace or corporate email addresses. If your audience is primarily B2B and uses company domains, the impact may be limited for now. However, given Gmail’s dominance, most lists will see at least some effect — and Workspace support could come later.
  • Simplified Unsubscribing for Recipients: By giving users a one-stop dashboard to review all subscriptions and unsubscribe instantly, Google is empowering its users to declutter their inboxes with minimal effort. This is a major convenience shift compared to searching for unsubscribe links, and it puts the control firmly in the recipient’s hands and outside of marketers’.
  • High-Volume Senders Face Greater Scrutiny: Brands that send frequent campaigns will likely appear at the top of the subscription list. While visibility can be beneficial for recognition, it also paints a target for users looking to trim their email load. If your engagement rates aren’t strong, your volume could quickly work against you.

With Gmail Manage Subscriptions lowering the barrier to unsubscribe, marketers must focus on quality contacts and wanted messaging, not quantity. It is increasingly important to ensure every message is worth your audience’s attention. Act-On helps you meet Gmail’s bulk sender requirements. Gmail is leaning on marketers to meet subscribers’ needs.

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