Your Emails Are Landing. But Will They Stay That Way?

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As your business scales and your email volume increases, there's one silent factor that can make or break your outbound success—deliverability.

It’s not the flashiest topic, but it’s absolutely fundamental. After all, what’s the use of a killer copy, a compelling CTA, or the perfect list if your emails never reach the inbox?

In today’s newsletter, we’re focusing on the ongoing practices and hygiene measures every growth team should implement to maintain email deliverability over time—especially when email is a core GTM channel.

Why Deliverability Deteriorates at Scale

Scaling your email volume too quickly, neglecting technical setups, or poor sending behavior can all affect your sender reputation. And once you land on a blacklist or hit a spam trap, recovery can be slow and painful.

The biggest mistake? Teams assume deliverability is a one-time setup process—warm up the domain, set the DNS records, and you’re good forever. But deliverability is an ongoing discipline.

Let’s break down what sustainable success looks like.

1. Start with Technical Foundations, Recheck Often

It’s table stakes to have the following set up before scaling your sends:

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC properly configured

• A dedicated sending domain or subdomain for cold or outbound emails

• Proper reverse DNS and PTR records

• Custom tracking domains for links and open tracking

But many teams neglect to monitor these after setup. DMARC reports, in particular, can reveal spoofing attempts or configuration gaps. Schedule regular audits—especially if your tools or domains change.

2. Maintain Healthy Email Lists

Your list quality is a living, breathing factor that affects your deliverability every day.

• Remove bounced, invalid, or dormant emails routinely

• Avoid scraped or third-party lists unless verified by a data provider

• Use double opt-ins for newsletters and sign-ups to confirm intent

3. Monitor Engagement Signals

Mailbox providers (like Gmail or Outlook) now heavily weigh user engagement in deciding whether to route your email to inbox, spam, or promotions.

Here’s what helps:

• Maintain high open rates (20–30%+ for cold, 40%+ for warm lists)

• Encourage replies, clicks, and forwards

• Remove non-engagers after 3–4 cold touches

• Use a “sunset policy” for your newsletters: if someone hasn’t opened in 90 days, stop sending or re-engage them with a separate campaign

Even one poorly engaged segment can impact your whole domain's health. Engagement isn’t a vanity metric—it’s your lifeline.

4. Scale Volume Gradually

If you suddenly go from 100 emails/day to 10,000, that’s a red flag for ISPs. Use a staggered approach:

• Start at low volume (50–100 emails/day) per inbox or domain

• Slowly increase volume by 20–30% every few days

• Warm-up tools like Mailreach, Instantly, or Mailivery simulate replies and improve IP/domain reputation

Also, rotate sending domains or inboxes using tools like Smartlead or Instantly if your scale demands it.

5. Maintain Consistency in Sending Patterns

Email providers penalize erratic behavior. Sudden spikes in email sending or going dark for long periods can hurt your deliverability score.

Establish a sending rhythm and stick to it—whether that’s daily outbound cadences or weekly newsletters. Batch sends smartly over time, rather than blasting all at once.

6. Content Still Matters

The words in your email aren’t just for your prospects—they’re scanned by spam filters too.

Avoid:

• Spammy phrases like “Buy now,” “Make money fast,” or excessive use of ALL CAPS

• Overuse of images or links

• Attachments (especially .zip, .exe, .docx files)

Tools like Mail-Tester and GlockApps let you analyze your content score before sending.

Also, don’t forget a plain text version of your email—especially if you're sending in HTML.

7. Track Deliverability, Not Just Opens

Open rates are now harder to trust (especially after Apple MPP). Track deliverability metrics separately:

• Monitor bounce rates (should be <2%)

• Use seed testing tools like GlockApps, InboxAlly, or Mailook to check where your emails land

• Keep an eye on blacklists via MXToolbox or Google Postmaster Tools

If your bounce or spam rate climbs, pause sending, review logs, and reassess list quality.

8. Use Dedicated Sending Infrastructure

If email is a core part of your GTM engine, it’s worth investing in:

• Dedicated IPs for higher control (useful for high-volume senders)

• Dedicated domains or subdomains for outreach, newsletters, and transactional emails

This ensures one channel doesn’t bring down the others.

Deliverability Is a Discipline

Your sender reputation is fragile, and once broken, it’s tough to fix. But by treating deliverability as a long-term system—not just a one-time setup—you’ll build a resilient outbound channel that scales with confidence.

If email is a critical growth lever for your GTM strategy, treat it like you would a high-performing sales rep: onboard it carefully, monitor its health, and support it consistently.

For more deep dives on smart GTM execution, growth experiments, and what actually works—stay tuned. New playbooks drop every week.

GTM Guild | Stay in the Loop