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How To Improve Your Email Sender Reputation For a Higher Email Deliverability Rate

Amine Boussassi
Amine Boussassi
Sep 13, 2024
How To Improve Your Email Sender Reputation For a Higher Email Deliverability Rate
How To Improve Your Email Sender Reputation For a Higher Email Deliverability Rate

If you run a quick Google search on the factors that impact your email deliverability, you'll likely see the same common elements pop up: email list quality, ESP, sender reputation, and email content.

Wait—what is an email sender reputation? How do you check your reputation in the first place? Are there any practices to maintain a good sender reputation?

These are the questions we'll answer together in this article without overwhelming you with irrelevant technical jargon.

Okay, we can already tell this is going to be a long one, so you might want to grab a bowl of pineapple 🍍 slices before diving in.

Happy reading! 🗞️

What is an email sender reputation?

Email sender reputation, which you might also hear referred to as sender score, is the rating that email sending providers assign to your email sending IP address. This rating measures how likely your emails are to land in recipients' inboxes and directly impacts your overall email deliverability.

It goes without saying that a good sender reputation means ESPs (email service providers) trust your emails and are more likely to be delivered to their customers' inboxes, and on the flip side, a poor reputation means your emails could end up in the spam folder because ESPs simply don't want their customers flooded with spammy emails.

Which metrics determine sender score?

Now, you're probably thinking things like “what are the metrics that determine sender reputation?” Well, there are many. Let's get into them one by one.

Bounce rates

If your emails frequently fail to be delivered and often bounce back because you're sending them to invalid addresses (which might suggest you're buying email lists), it can seriously damage your sender reputation.

Engagement rates

This metric refers to the performance of your email marketing campaigns. High open, click-through and reply rates indicate that your emails are relevant and wanted and will boost your reputation, while low open rates suggest your emails aren't engaging enough, which can lead ESPs to mark your emails as spam. 

Sender history

Sender history is basically your email activity over time, so if you're sending a lot of emails each day, it can be perceived as a warning sign by ESPs, and your emails might not reach inboxes. Because, after all, ESPs want to keep their customers' inboxes spam-free.

Spam complaints

You don't need to be a seasoned marketer to know that recipients can mark any email as spam, and as you'd expect, each time someone sends your emails to the spam folder, your sender reputation will take a significant hit.

High unsubscribe rate

When a high number of individuals unsubscribe from your emails, ESPs might see it as a red flag, and they could assume you've bought email lists or you're simply not offering much value to your subscribers.

How can you check your sender reputation? 

You may think: "Okay, everything is clear so far, but how do I check my sender reputation?" Well, to understand how mailbox providers (MBPs) view you as a sender and check your domain reputation, your best option is to use tools designed specifically for that purpose:

Gmail Postmaster: this tool is built by Google, it offers insights into your domain's reputation with Gmail, and allows you to keep track of any issues like spam complaints and delivery errors.

Microsoft SNDS: this Microsoft service offers data on your sending IP's reputation and delivery performance with Outlook and other Microsoft email services.

Sender Score: This tool rates your IP reputation on a scale from 0 to 100. Needless to say, the higher your score, the better your domain's reputation with MBPs.

How can a good email sender reputation improve email deliverability? 

Now that we have established what an email sender reputation is and what determines its score, let's get to know its impact on email deliverability.

We hate to sound like a broken record, but we'll say this one more time, when you maintain a good sender score, there's a higher chance that ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and ESPs will deliver your emails because they trust that your content is valuable to their subscribers.

Even better, when you maintain a good sender reputation, your email marketing campaigns are less likely to be flagged by spam filters across different ISPs and will seamlessly reach your subscribers. 

And this will create some sort of snowball effect: because when the emails land in the inbox, they are more likely to be opened, and a higher open rate signals to ISPs that your emails are relevant and engaging to recipients. The end result of all this? An even stronger sender reputation.  

And with a stronger sender reputation comes higher response rates. And with higher response rates, more chances of attracting customers.

Five practices to improve your email sender reputation

You've learned the factors that determine your sender score and the way to check it. Congratulations, but you're not done yet! 

Now, let's move on to the more complicated part. How to improve your email sender reputation. 

Let's start the hands-on work!

1. Maintain a clean email list 

Running email marketing campaigns in the dark without knowing who your recipients are or what interests they have is like flying blind, and that's why buying email lists is a huge red flag 🚩 for ESPs and ISPs that will result in high bounce and unsubscription rates. 

And just a friendly little tip here: regularly check for invalid email addresses and remove inactive subscribers because corporate emails keep changing all the time, and not having an updated contact list can end up affecting your reputation.

2. Authenticate your emails

If you're facing some challenges with deliverability, starting with email authentification might be your best bet! For those out of context, authentication involves using specific protocols to prove that your emails are genuinely coming from you and not from someone pretending to be you.

Pick one of the industry-standard authentication protocols, like SPF, a DKIM checker, or DMARC, to verify your emails and help ISPs confirm that your messages are legitimate and trustworthy.

3. Avoid spam triggers

This one is a big piece of the puzzle that probably gets talked about less than it should: spam triggers. ESPs actually have a list of words that trigger spam filters. 

Using words like "Free," "Earn money," or "Guaranteed" can get your emails sent to the spam folder—or worse, not delivered at all. These terms are often associated with salesy or even fraudulent emails. 

But don't get us wrong—ESPs and mailbox providers are smart enough to analyze the context. If your email genuinely includes offers or valuable digital services or products, it's totally okay to use the word "free" (or even all three). 

4. Segment your audience

People love personalization, so instead of sending the same content for everyone on your list, go the extra mile by segmenting your audience based on things like subscriber behavior and preferences. And it's not as tough as you think; there are plenty of tools out there that can do the heavy lifting for you, like HubSpot or ConvertKit. 

When you segment your audience, you'll see how your subscribers get excited to hit that reply button and engage with the content you shared with them, which ends up boosting your reputation—bringing us to our next point 👇

5. Add engagement elements

You could say that there are email marketing campaigns that can succeed without a 

visually appealing email design, and sometimes they do—but that's definitely the exception, not the rule.

Beefree is one tool that can help you design eye-catching email templates with simple drag-and-drop actions in seconds and get your open and click-through rates through the roof. No steep learning curve 🎢 or endless onboarding videos needed. Go ahead, give it a go! 

Final thoughts

That's all for now. Appreciate you sticking with us till the end!

We think by now, one thing is clear for you. Having a strong email sender reputation is powerful enough to improve your email deliverability and ensure your marketing campaigns hit your subscribers' inboxes and convert them! 

We hope this article helps improve your email sending reputation — we'd love to hear what you implement!

Oh, and while you're at it, why not explore Beefree’s email templates 🐝? It's just a click away!

Wish you good luck, a strong sender reputation, higher engagement, and more customers! 😉

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#1. Unique, tailored experiences 

Damian Grabarczyk, the co-founder and growth marketer of PetLab Co., says, “We faced the challenge of connecting meaningfully with an audience that expects more than one-size-fits-all communication.” 

When we speak about crafting tailored emails we mean going beyond the recipient's first name in the subject line. We’re talking about optimizing your entire email strategy to design multi-stage touchpoints to nurture leads across the customer lifecycle. As well as, leveraging data to send hyper-personalized, relevant, and engaging emails that feel less like a broadcast message and more like a conversation. 

Many are using AI machine learning algorithms and AI automation to analyze customer interactions, past purchases, browsing habits, website visits, and even social media behavior to curate engaging email content that resonates deeply with the real-time needs of recipients.

For PetLab Co this looked like including content such as an individual’s pet health history or product usage timelines. Damian Grabarzyk expands, “This approach transformed the conversion rate and strengthened customer loyalty. As we look ahead, I see brands in 2025 moving beyond generic personalization to adopt strategies that make customers feel truly understood and valued.”

On the other hand, many are leaning into user-generated content (UGC) for crafting tailored experiences. Customers today are more likely to trust the opinions of peers over branded messages. UGC like customer reviews, testimonials, videos, and photos are the best form of social proof depicting real people using and benefitting from your products or services. 

We see the benefits of using both AI and UGC to get the most out of your email conversions ;). 

#2. AI tools as an addition, not a substitution

Experts at NordPass state, "AI-powered content generation tools are not here to replace email copywriters and marketers. These tools make us more efficient. The smarter the tool is, the better equipped we are to create high-performing email content that drives results." 

AI tools can support us by significantly enhancing the speed, precision, and effectiveness of your emails. For instance while traditionally A/B testing has required a lot of time to analyze small variations with AI you quickly implement and test multiple email elements and make adjustments based on real-time engagement data. There are AI algorithms that can even predict which variations are most likely to resonate with different audience segments, leading to more accurate targeting and faster optimization.

In short, AI tools are revolutionizing the way we craft and optimize our email’s deliverability. There are many different types of AI solutions so we suggest finding the right one for your needs. 

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As privacy regulations tighten, zero-party data will empower you to deliver hyper-personalized email experiences while respecting user privacy. This approach will help you build trust, as customers feel more in control of their data, and you gain insights that lead to more relevant and engaging email content.

#4. The death of static emails

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That said, requesting reviews via email requires precise timing, personalized messaging, and lots of engagement optimizations. But don’t worry—we’ll walk you through some key steps to create email campaigns that deliver the valuable feedback you need.

Why product reviews matter

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  • Fosters customer loyalty: Requesting and listening to feedback makes your customers feel valued and heard. It demonstrates that you prioritize customer satisfaction, which helps you build stronger, long-term relationships. Review requests also act as re-engagement emails by starting new conversations with customers.
  • Increases sales: Social proof drives sales. According to a recent survey by Power Reviews, 90% of potential customers use online reviews to make purchasing decisions. In fact, reviews have more influence over purchasing decisions than product prices. Turning product reviews into customer testimonials and encouraging reviews on third-party sites can significantly boost sales.
Image sourced from powerreviews.com
  • Builds Customer 360 insights: Customer feedback delivers insights into customer needs and sentiments, enriching Customer 360. Exactly what is Customer 360? It’s a unified, 360-degree view of customer data. It empowers you to tailor products and customer experiences to meet individual needs and preferences. 
  • Drives product improvements: Sincere customer feedback reveals what target customers like/dislike about your products. It provides key insight into their value, functionality, and usability, unlocking large-scale development opportunities.

How to create an email campaign to collect product reviews

Want to unlock the power of product reviews? Let’s explore how to create email campaigns that encourage customers to share their feedback.

Segment your audience

Like promotional emails, product review requests shouldn’t be sent to every subscriber.

If subscribers haven’t had the chance to try your product, product review requests will feel irrelevant and may trigger unsubscriptions. So, only send review email requests to customers recently trying your product.

You can do this by segmenting your email list based on where customers are in the buying cycle. Target loyal customers, recent purchasers, and first-time buyers with tailored email campaigns. This ensures that you’re sending emails to customers most likely to respond with insightful feedback.

Write a compelling email subject line

According to Superoffice, 33% of people open an email based on the subject line. 

Image sourced from superoffice.com

To get the click-through rates you want, your email subject lines should be personalized, relevant, and engaging. Here are some examples:

  • Did you love [product]? Or hate it? Let us know!
  • We value your opinion — help us improve!
  • We want YOU to help us make our product better!
  • Up for a discount? Share your feedback for 10% off! 

Learn more > Tips for writing open worthy subject lines.

Optimize for customer engagement

A successful email marketing strategy relies on customer engagement. Here are some key email elements you need to encourage interactions.

  • An attractive email design: With the right layout, color scheme, typography, and images, you ensure easy readability and promote interaction. Use these engagement-boosting email design best practices to help you create a design that boosts conversion rates.
  • Gratitude and value: Thank customers for reading the email and explaining why their feedback is so important. Also, consider including a personalized Gmail email signature with your content details to build trust and encourage customers to engage with your review request. 
  • Personalized, relevant content: Personalized email content motivates engagement. Use customer data platform (CDP) data to tailor messages to individual customers. What is a CDP? It’s a centralized platform that collects and unifies customer information, building comprehensive customer profiles. 
  • Incentives: Offering a small discount can motivate customers to leave reviews, especially first-time buyers. That said, incentives can (sometimes) generate insincere reviews, so stress the importance of honesty. 
  • A strong call-to-action (CTA): Your CTA should direct readers straight to the reviews submission page. Use clear CTAs with bold buttons and typography to make it stand out.
  • Mobile responsiveness: If your emails are slow to load or don’t display correctly on mobile devices, your bounce rate will spike. Leverage solutions that offer advanced mobile optimization features — such as Beefree— to create responsive emails every single time.

Ask specific, concise questions

Complex, drawn-out questions that are too open-ended can disengage customers. So, get straight to the point with concise, direct questions. Here are some examples:

  • What did you think of [specific product feature]?
  • How often do you use our product?
  • What are your favorite/least favorite features?
  • How likely are you to recommend this product?
  • What could we do to improve our product?

Use a mixture of closed and open-ended questions to increase your chances of receiving meaningful responses.

Make it easy to respond

The easier it is for customers to leave a review, the more responses you’ll receive. So, make the process as seamless and convenient as possible. One way to do this is with survey emails.

Email surveys have high response rates. They can be completed within the email with minimal effort, which is a big plus for busy customers. And, they can generate a wealth of quantitative data and metrics that are quick to analyze, leading to faster improvements. BeeFree has an extensive collection of email survey templates to suit every need.

For longer review requests, include a CTA that directly links to the review submission page. Review forms should use simple, clear language, be optimized for mobile, and have a progress bar. 

You could even provide your telephone contact details to allow customers to leave a review via telephone. It’s the preferred communication method for 55% of Baby Boomers according to Hubspot, so it’s worth considering. 

Leverage small business telephone services from Vonage to access call center capabilities like virtual receptionists and CRM integrations, streamlining processes.

Also consider directing customers to leave reviews on popular review sites, such as Google and Amazon.

Optimize email timings

If you send product review requests too early, there’s a chance your customers won’t have tried your product yet. But if you send them too late, your customer might have forgotten their experience. 

So, when’s the best time to request reviews? 

Aim to send review requests within 7-14 days post-purchase. This gives customers a chance to try the product a few times, leading to more sincere, meaningful reviews. Plan for seasonal surges such as Black Friday and incorporate them into your schedules.

Key takeaways

Do email campaigns work for gathering valuable product reviews that drive improvements, boost trust, and increase sales and loyalty? 

Absolutely — but they need to be strategic.

To generate sincere reviews and valuable data, ensure your marketing emails are personalized, engaging, and optimized for convenience. And, use email list segmentation and marketing automation to ensure they’re sent to the right customers at the right time.

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