Deliverability Defined

Many creators understand the importance of email marketing but need help to transform it into a sustainable growth engine. An email course offers a solution that's both powerful and efficient. This strategic approach provides a structured learning experience, establishes credibility, and supercharges audience growth. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa are joined by Sean Stewart to discuss how to build an email course flywheel and the benefits of email courses for creators. Sean also explains the four types of email courses: crash course, step-by-step, biggest mistakes, and resources and templates, and provides valuable tips for creating them. In this episode: Key Takeaways Quotes "Email courses are a great way to create doorways into your world. It's an opportunity that a lot more creators can and should take advantage of." ~ Sean Stewart "Solving problems for people and building relationships with them is how you create lifelong fans who are going to create that referral flywheel for you. Not only is it the most effective way to grow a business, but it also feels genuine and good." ~ Sean Stewart "The beauty of email courses is that they let you do that at scale. It's like having this little copy of you who is an expert, who will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and welcome everyone into your world with this amazing course where you're teaching and solving a problem for them and building a relationship. And you can do this for dozens of people a day." ~ Sean Stewart Links Sean Stewart EmailAmy PorterfieldThe Art and Business of Online WritingNicolas ColeJohnny MillerNervous System MasteryGardenaryConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Many people find their inboxes overflowing with generic emails and promotional content, all vying to grab their attention. But what separates an email that gets deleted from one that gets opened, sparks engagement, and drives results? Ultimately, effective emails prioritize value over promotion. It's finding and understanding your target subscribers and delivering value that addresses their needs. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa talk about the steps and strategies for creating effective emails. They provide practical tips on identifying the target audience, creating a value proposition, and reaching potential subscribers through lead magnets and social media strategies. Join us as we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes "A lot of people think about their email as a bunch of random email addresses, and they are thinking about their goals. It's a much better strategy to reverse this thinking and get laser-focused on how to serve your audience. Then, you'll find way more success because you'll be serving people and giving them what they need." ~ Alyssa Dulin "If you have a lot of engagement on TikTok and Instagram because of the reels you do, but you don't have a newsletter or a website, you are missing out." ~ Melissa Lambert "Having this lens [a lead magnet and target subscriber] makes your life much easier. Because now, with every single email you send, instead of coming from your goals, you have a human you're writing to in your head when you sit down to write an email." ~ Alyssa Dulin "We know people at ConvertKit who have smaller lists and are successful. It's not about the list size. It's because they figured out what their audience needed and put that into place ahead of time." ~ Melissa Lambert Links James ClearAtomic HabitsPinterestInstagramConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Domain reputation has been a theme this season. And for good reason. In the world of email, IP addresses and domains have reputations that can make or break an email’s journey. While it might seem a little technical, understanding these nuances can have a big impact on your email deliverability. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the differences between shared and dedicated reputation regarding IP addresses and domains. They talk about the importance of IP and domain reputation, the factors that affect them, and their impact on email deliverability. They also highlight ConvertKit's approach to maintaining a high reputation. Join us as we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes [07:19] - "If you care about completely owning the reputation of your email, you want to be low risk, and you don't want any other factor to influence your email's deliverability, you might want a dedicated IP. Your deliverability is all on you 100 percent." ~ Alyssa Dulin [22:56] - "Your domain reputation is extremely important and can be the cause of emails going to spam. There is nothing your ESP can do about it if you don't clean up your side of the street." - Melissa Lambert [27:59] - "Helping our customers and senders buy their own domains and figure out their own mailboxes so that they can really own their identity and their mail is helpful to the entire ecosystem." ~ Alyssa Dulin [31:58] - "We want to be good stewards of email and are also trying to get tooling in place to support that. We've tried to align our tooling with our belief that this is the best way for senders to have autonomy over their domain reputation, and we're going to give you a tool to make it even easier." ~ Melissa Lambert Links Alison GooteeBrazeSubstackMailchimpConvertKitGoogle Postmaster ToolsNathan BarryConvertKit's Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

If you’ve ever found yourself in a tangle of numbers, wondering which email metrics actually matter, this episode is for you. This week, Alyssa and Melissa unravel the tangled web of open rates, bounce rates, click rates, and complaint rates, guiding email senders toward clarity. They discuss why maintaining low bounce and complaint rates is essential, and explore the impact of metrics on email deliverability. They also explore the value of subscriber engagement and the reality of cold subscribers. Understanding these metrics (which ones deserve your attention and how to interpret them) is vital for your email deliverability. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “If I were to give any advice to someone who is experiencing a drop in open rates, it would be to not panic and just start slowly digging into different aspects of why your open rates might be changing.” ~ Melissa Lambert “Get really familiar with your metrics. What's normal for you? What's a normal open rate for you? What's a normal click rate for you? And spot anything that is abnormal.” ~ Alyssa Dulin Links ConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsGmailYahooSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Facebook MarketplacePilates Reformer Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa explore some creative ways to boost email replies and enhance deliverability. From leveraging engagement signals and building community to using incentive-driven tactics, they share valuable strategies to amp up replies and strengthen relationships with subscribers. The discussion also touches on the impact of replies on domain reputation and suggests practical methods for handling and organizing replies. As email deliverability continues to evolve, nurturing meaningful interactions through replies is a powerful tool for ensuring your messages thrive in the inbox. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “I think if you can come up with a creative way to ask different questions, people will answer. They will want to answer. People love to talk and they love being able to share their opinions.” ~ Melissa Lambert “So instead of making people click a button to confirm their opt-in and receive that lead magnet, whatever it may be, you're asking them to reply to your email to get the lead magnet.” ~ Alyssa Dulin Links Love is BlindThe guide to getting more repliesThe Sound of MusicConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa dive into the topic of using recommendation tools to grow your email list while maintaining healthy deliverability. They explore the potential impact of using ConvertKit’s Creator Network recommendation tool, and provide insights on how to effectively manage new subscribers. Balancing list growth with subscriber engagement is critical for email senders. Making a strong first impression with new subscribers through a clear and compelling creator profile, setting up a robust welcome sequence, and implementing automated list cleaning will help keep engagement high and maintain deliverability. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “We often see people who have other methods of subscriber collection, that are not illegal and they're not bad necessarily, but they don't always convert to the best subscribers.” ~ Melissa Lambert “If you have friends who are newsletter people or they have an email list and they know how to grow their list, that's a great fit. Reach out to your friends, be like, hey, let's form a pod, let's recommend each other. Then every time one of you grows your list, you're all benefiting, which is awesome.” ~ Alyssa Dulin Links Dream ScenarioConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Ever feel like you're decoding an ancient script when trying to comprehend email authentication? DMARC may seem like just another complex acronym in the world of email, but it's a guardian against the spoofers and spammers. Setting up DMARC is like locking your digital doors—it's not just necessary; it's your first line of defense. And since missed emails mean missed opportunities, understanding DMARC is a critical piece of the email deliverability puzzle. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa unpack the mysteries of DMARC records and how they protect your domain from email spoofers. They explore why big players like Gmail and Yahoo demand DMARC for mass senders and provide simple steps to set it up without the tech headache. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “DMARC is a level of security for your emails. It helps authenticate your emails and protect your domain from being used by bad people. At a very basic level, it's a protection mechanism.” ~ Melissa Lambert “If you are a good email sender, you have an asset that's really valuable to spammers. So, if you're wondering, ‘Am I actually affected by this? Why would someone do this?’ They want that healthy domain that you have. And if it's not protected by DMARC, then you are a target for it.” ~ Alyssa Dulin Links ConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooMicrosoftGmailDemarsianCloudflare Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

If managing your domain reputation sounds complicated, you’re not alone. Recent changes to Yahoo’s and Google’s authentication rules have forced all email senders to take a more active role in the path to the inbox. In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa untangle some of the mysteries around domain reputation and why it’s so important. They highlight how trends in open rates, complaint rates, and bounce rates are not just metrics but invaluable insights that contribute to a healthy email list. They also discuss some highly practical best practices for ensuring your emails reach the inbox. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “One of the biggest influences of sender reputation is your audience and subscribers and subscriber behavior. Opening, clicking through your emails, spending time on the email, reading through it, all of these things have a really positive impact on your domain reputation.” ~ Melissa Lambert “Your subscribers have the power over your reputation. For the most part, they're voting with their actions on whether your domain reputation goes up or down.” ~ Alyssa Dulin Links Deliverability Defined S05E03: A Guide to Google Postmaster ToolsGoogle Postmaster ToolsConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooMicrosoftGmail Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

If you’ve ever wondered how to improve your domain reputation, Google Postmaster Tools is here to help. In the wake of Google’s and Yahoo’s changes and authentication requirements, Google Postmaster Tools has become a crucial resource for email senders. In this episode of Deliverability Definied, Alyssa and Melissa take a deep dive into Google Postmaster Tools—what it is, how to get the most out of it, and why it’s so important for monitoring domain reputation and ensuring optimal email deliverability. While Google Postmaster Tools can provide a lot of great insight, the best deliverability strategies are still basic best practices. Things like maintaining a low spam complaint rate, prioritizing engagement, list hygiene, and ethical list-building practices. By following these guidelines senders can enhance their domain reputation, increase inbox placement, and ultimately, improve the effectiveness of their overall email marketing efforts. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “It's important to keep your spam rate below 0.1%. This is the threshold where Gmail will start sending some messages to spam and potentially from there decrease your domain reputation. At 0.3% and above, spam filtering will start to happen, and the domain damage will also start to happen and be more impactful and harder to recover from.” ~ Melissa Lambert “I encourage all people to have their eyes on the Google Post Master tools dashboard every day. Go analyze people who are complaining. What do they have in common? Are you sending them way too many emails?” ~ Alyssa Dulin Links Google Postmaster ToolsConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooMicrosoftGmail Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Welcome back to Season Five of Deliverability Defined! Do you ever feel like you're navigating the Bermuda Triangle when it comes to understanding the latest email marketing requirements? You're not alone. Staying ahead of these changes and requirements is crucial in maintaining email deliverability. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the recent changes from Yahoo and Google and how they impact email senders. They dive into the new authentication requirements, the one-click unsubscribe rule, and what it means for your domain reputation. Plus, they introduce a game-changing feature from ConvertKit to help you easily navigate these changes. As the email landscape continues to evolve, it's crucial to stay ahead of the curve to ensure your messages reach the inbox. In this episode, we discuss: Key Takeaways Quotes “The best thing you can do is go back to basics. Like cleaning your list and making sure you're sending to engaged subscribers. Those things were important before, but they're going to be even more important now that you are relying more heavily on your own domain reputation.” ~ Melissa Lambert “Even if you have a great sender reputation after these changes, everyone needs to pay way more attention to their own domain reputation than you probably have in the past and make sure that spam complaints stay low and reputation stays high." ~ Alyssa Dulin Links ConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!GoogleYahooSquarespaceGoDaddyGoogle Postmaster Tools Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Gmail and Yahoo have announced new sender requirements taking affect in February of 2024. You can read more here: https://help.convertkit.com/en/articles/8538056-gmail-and-yahoo-s-new-requirements-for-2024-and-what-to-expect The 3 main steps to take: - Set up a verified sending domain in your email provider - Set up a DMARC record if you haven't already - Start monitoring your spam complaint rates within Google Postmaster Tools

Email remains one of the oldest and most popular digital communication channels, yet content creators struggle to stand out in their audience’s email inboxes. The explosion of ChatGPT has prompted questions about AI’s role in the deliverability space. Should AI be integrated into email marketing strategies, and if so, in what capacity? In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa talk with email marketing expert Naomi West about her relationship with AI. Naomi is a seasoned SaaS Lifecycle Marketer and creator of Email Characters, a Google Chrome extension designed to optimize email content. Naomi is not only an email enthusiast, but also an email expert, having earned the “Email Whiz Award” in 2021 at EiQ’s email marketing conference. Together, Alyssa, Melissa, and Naomi delve into the pros and cons of using ChatGPT for content creation, the future of AI, and Naomi’s advice for creators running their own businesses. Key Takeaways Quotes [08:18] - “I tried to get into marketing in university for three years straight. And the business school of my university rejected me for three years straight. And I was like, ‘Well, I guess I'll do an arts degree and I will write a lot of papers. And then I graduated and I immediately did marketing. And here I am.” ~ @emailfromnaomi [39:41] - “[Email] is this completely interconnected space. When you are sending email you have to be cognizant of what’s going on on your other channels as well as recognizing that email is not just you. The inbox is so overwhelmed these days with senders, everyone's doing email. So just be aware that you're not the only individual in the space, but you can still provide unique value.” ~ @emailfromnaomi Links Naomi West | Twitter | @emailfromnaomiNaomi West | WebsiteNaomi West | LinkedInParcel.ioSlow emails volume 8Email CharactersChatGPTGrammarlyNotionLoomSpreadsheet Girl (@spreadsheetgirl) | TikTokKlaviyoAmnesty InternationalSubscribe to the Marketing Design DispatchSubscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

As a creator, you are never going to feel “ready” to build something. The hardest part is getting started and accepting that creation is an iterative process, and the mistakes you make along the way will lead to stronger content over time. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa talk with Dylan Redekop, Growth Currency Newsletter Strategist and Product Marketer at SparkLoop, about his journey building his newsletter from scratch. What started as a multitopic newsletter niched down into a newsletter that helps creators and solopreneurs start, grow, and monetize their own newsletters. Dylan delves into the best ways to keep lists clean and audiences engaged, even if your newsletter is still in its nascent stage. There’s no need to wait until your audience reaches a certain threshold to seek monetization opportunities. Together, they discuss Dylan’s process in choosing his niche, tips for growing and monetizing newsletter content, and the power of referral networks in gaining high-quality subscribers. Key Takeaways Quotes [12:35] - “The subscribes and the unsubscribes, it's all vanity metrics. What matters is that the people that are reading your newsletter and are subscribed to it are interested in it, and you don't just want people to hang on because the numbers look good.” ~ @growthcurrency [20:13] - “You only need to have one person on your email list to sell them something, right? People get caught up in, ‘I need to have a certain amount of subscribers to make a sponsorship deal or to sell my ebook or my course or my service.’ But I don’t think you have to wait. Why wait until you have a certain threshold to start trying?” ~ @growthcurrency [26:00] - “The reason why I love [partner programs] is because it's cost-controlled and it's quality-controlled. When you create a Facebook ad or an Instagram, as soon as somebody clicks, you're paying, regardless of if they unsubscribe or never open an email. You don't have that quality control filter.” ~ @growthcurrency Links Dylan Redekop on LinkedInDylan Redekop (@growthcurrency) on TwitterDylan Redekop (@growthcurrency) on InstagramGrowth CurrencySparkLoopThe SparkLoop Partner ProgramThe SparkLoop Partner NetworkConvertKit Sponsor NetworkSubstackCraft + Commerce ConferenceCreator WizardTinderSubscribe to the Marketing Design DispatchSubscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Many people strive to become creators but often forget the discipline, hard work, and consistency required to build an audience. But while the task can seem daunting, it’s not impossible. The best way to learn how to grow a subscriber base is by learning from creators who have successfully done so. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa talk with Charli Prangley, Creative Director at ConvertKit, about her experience as a YouTuber with more than 220K subscribers, and the author of the Marketing Design Dispatch newsletter with more than 15K subscribers. Charli discusses what led her to ConvertKit, why creators should take advantage of email when building their brand, and why simple designs often land best with audiences. They also discuss Charli’s digital product offerings, her different sources of income, and her advice for aspiring creators. Key Takeaways Quotes [14:29] - “Email is powerful for directly reaching your audience.” ~ @charliprangley [25:53] - “The main thing I suggest is to keep it simple. The more simple you make it, the more refined your design is going to feel.” ~ @charliprangley [43:10] - “Don't make all of the decisions just based on business reasons, but include your own enjoyment in there as a factor too.” ~ @charliprangley Links Charli Prangley on TwitterCharli Prangley - Creative Director - ConvertKit | LinkedInCharli MarieCharliMarieTV - YouTubeSubscribe to the Marketing Design DispatchSubscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Email is a universal method of communication that brings together people of all different ages and backgrounds. While some people may check their emails more than others, it remains true that everyone needs an email address to survive in the digital world. Whether you use your email to stay up-to-date on current events, manage your reservations, or collect discount codes, email is a versatile tool to stay informed and connected. Email is a more reliable form of communicating with your audience because its popularity is not as volatile as social media. As we’ve observed with apps like Vine or MySpace, no social media platform is invincible or irreplaceable. Email content is also more customizable than social media, which allows creators to connect with different audiences and curate content specific to their needs and interests. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss why email is crucial for your business. They cover how to customize content for your audience, how monetization for emails differs from social media, and how a good ESP can help you grow your list and find advertisers. Key Takeaways Quotes [07:25] - ​​“Your subscribers have the control to interact with your email when it’s best for them.” ~ @mel_lambert_ [10:34] - “We don’t always know which direction [social media platforms] are going to go in, not just the success of a platform, but also how their algorithms work.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [15:36] - “A lot of brands have become very successful because of targeted ads on Instagram. You could be making that money instead of Instagram.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [16:36] - “You want to make sure that you’re treating people’s inboxes with as much care as possible.” ~ @mel_lambert_ Links ConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Postmaster Tools – GoogleBitly Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

The way our email inboxes operate has changed dramatically with the evolution of the internet and increased awareness and caution around email scams. Email security and privacy have become a top priority for users, resulting in enhanced protection measures and more stringent regulations. With so many changes happening in the email deliverability world, several factors could be affecting your success metrics as an email marketer or a content creator. Email strategies need to be adapted according to the sender’s needs and their intended audience. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa cover how various factors impact deliverability, including email privacy protection, automatic clicks, link shorteners, VSDs, and DMARCs. Key Takeaways Quotes [11:32] - “Here are a few recommendations we give to reduce automatic clicks. 1) Always use HTTPS links, not HTTP links. 2) Keep your sender reputation healthy. Make sure you're cleaning your list and listening to engaged subscribers. 3) Encourage replies to your emails. 4) Pay attention to the content of your message — make sure that it doesn't look spammy, and that the links in your emails are not suspicious.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [13:19] - ​​“As far as trying to reduce automatic clicks, using something like Bitly is not going to help you do that. In fact, it’s probably just going to increase your chance of having automatic clicks in your email because it’s not a trusted domain.” ~ @mel_lambert_ [29:45] - “These small pieces individually might not be overwhelming, but how they all work together in order to help people be the best sender possible gets tricky. So if you feel like deliverability is overwhelming or you just don't know where to start, know you're not alone. It's very understandable.” ~ @mel_lambert_ Links ConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Postmaster Tools – GoogleBitly Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Email service providers are committed to providing their users with the best possible experience, increased security and safety measures may come at the expense of content creators’ success. A content creator’s biggest fear may be their emails landing in the spam folder, but emails landing in the promotions tab is also a major worry. The promotions tab is determined by Gmail’s ever-changing and unpredictable algorithm. While these messages are not technically labeled as spam, they imply to your audience that there is promotional or advertising content inside. While the promotions tab is meant to organize users’ inboxes, creators fear that it might tarnish their engagement and the audience relationships they’ve worked so hard to build. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss what the promotions tab is and how to avoid it, why you shouldn’t try to beat the algorithm, and what you should focus on instead to improve your deliverability metrics. Key Takeaways Quotes [14:55] - ​​“Senders can underestimate the effectiveness of just being honest with your subscribers.” ~ @mel_lambert_ [19:43] - “The primary promotions tab placement algorithm isn't a human.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [27:19] - “Focus on what you can control and do not lose sleep over where your email is placed.” ~ @alyssa_dulin Links ConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Whether you’re a consumer, business owner, or content creator, Instagram's potential to expand your reach is undeniable. With more than one billion active users, Instagram can help you connect with new audiences and engage existing ones. Although growing your Instagram following is important, it's only half of the battle. While Instagram remains a popular social media platform, its future is unpredictable. Algorithms can change and platforms can go out of business or be replaced by competitors. Therefore, it's crucial to convert your Instagram following into email subscribers to ensure that you have a more stable and direct relationship with them, one that is not subject to the platform's uncertainty. In this episode, Alyssa delves into how and why you should convert your Instagram followers to email subscribers, what to avoid when building your Instagram presence, and which best practices you should follow to maximize your audience growth. Key Takeaways Quotes [16:15] - “Your Instagram is building up your proof that you know what you're doing, you know what you're talking about, you are someone that can be trusted, and you have valuable insights to share.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [17:28] - “The ideal situation is that it's a symbiotic relationship. You're not asking people for a favor. You are helping them as well, and they're excited to give you their email address, and you all can build a connection and relationship, and it's a win-win for everyone.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [26:34] - When it comes to Instagram, authenticity is key. It’s not Twitter or LinkedIn. We don't really want to see that perfectionism.” ~ @alyssa_dulin Links McGee & Co.Melody McMunnConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

While creators hope their audience will open and read their emails, the first step is to ensure emails actually make it into the intended audience’s inbox. The goals of B2C audiences (business to consumer) are not the same as B2B audiences (business to business). By understanding the unique challenges of B2B and B2C subscribers and tailoring the message accordingly, creators can achieve better results in their deliverability strategy. While we have control over our personal email inboxes, B2B audiences often rely on increased security measures that can block unknown senders or direct emails straight to spam. What is an ESP’s role in deliverability for different audiences, and what kind of control does the sender have in getting these messages successfully delivered? In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss how the goals of B2B and B2C audiences differ, how to optimize deliverability to B2B email addresses and tailor your message to their needs, and why transparency with your audience matters. Key Takeaways Quotes [06:31] - “For B2B addresses, the main goal of those usually are for communicating with coworkers and clients and more task-oriented, business-focused. So marketing emails that land in B2B inboxes are typically treated more like spam, even if the person signed up for it.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [13:25] - “The ESP you use can help with B2B delivery, but it cannot guarantee it. There are some things that are going to be tough no matter which ESP you're using because you might be sending to a mailbox where the person who controls the mailbox does not want any promotional, newsletter, or other type of email to get through. However, using an ESP with really strict compliance will help make sure your sending IP isn't on any major block list and that you're sending from an IP and domain that have a healthy reputation. That's always extremely helpful for any deliverability, but especially B2B deliverability.” ~ @alyssa_dulin [16:20] - “Be honest with your audience. Have transparency, ask for their help.” ~ @mel_lambert_ Links ConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.

Creators hope to grow a following, but communicating with an audience at scale is challenging. Technology can help facilitate communication with your subscribers, especially if you’re seeking analytics on email performance and engagement. Email service providers, or ESPs, are services that allow you to send campaigns to subscriber lists. Different ESPs have different features, such as automation, audience segmentation, template builders, A/B testing, and customer support. Not all ESPs are created equally, and the type of ESP that is right for you can vary depending on your goals. In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss what the decision-making process looks like when moving to a new ESP (email service provider). Together they discuss how to choose the right ESP depending on your goals, how ESPs impact email deliverability, and what actually happens when you switch ESPs. Key Takeaways Quotes [04:19] - “Find creators who are using the ESP and ask them their opinion. Do your shopping. Sign up for a free trial if they have a free trial. What works for one person is not gonna work for someone else.” ~ @mel_lambert_ [06:29] - “Is the problem something that switching to a new ESP can actually help with? Or are you beating around the bush on whatever the actual root issue is?” ~ @alyssa_dulin [09:42] - “You could be in the same exact space as another creator, and your needs at an ESP are completely different.” ~ @mel_lambert_ [22:22] - “Don’t switch ESPs for a feature or price at the risk of a deliverability issue.” ~ @alyssa_dulin Links ConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter! Connect with our hosts Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert Stay in touch Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.