Sender Reputation: Key to Ecommerce Email Success

Your email sender reputation works like a credit score - it decides if your store's emails land in inboxes or spam folders. Here's what you need to know:

Quick facts:

• 45% of all emails end up in spam
• You need a 70+ sender score to avoid problems
• Each $1 spent on email brings $38 in sales

3 things that make or break your sender reputation:

1. Domain setup (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
2. IP reputation (shared vs dedicated)
3. Email engagement (opens, clicks, spam reports)

Fix bad reputation fast:

• Remove inactive subscribers
• Clean email lists weekly
• Handle bounces right away
• Make unsubscribe easy
• Keep sending volume steady

Starting February 2024, Google, Yahoo and AOL require:

• SPF, DKIM, DMARC authentication
• Spam rate under 0.3%
• One-click unsubscribe
• TLS encryption

Bottom line: Watch your sender score. Stay above 80. Fix issues fast. That's how you keep emails working for your store.

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Main Parts of Sender Reputation

Your sender reputation boils down to three key factors that determine if your emails land in customers' inboxes or spam folders.

Domain Reputation

Your domain reputation shows how email providers view your sending practices. Here's what matters:

Want to protect your business emails? Set up a different subdomain for marketing messages. This way, if your marketing emails hit problems, your order and support emails stay safe.

IP Reputation

Your IP setup affects your sending power:

With a dedicated IP, you're in control - but you need to send emails regularly. Shared IPs work for smaller stores, but remember: other senders affect your reputation too.

Email Content Quality

Email providers look at three main numbers:

Here's a pro tip: Remove subscribers who haven't opened your emails in 6 months. Dead weight kills your engagement rates.

"Before our big campaign, we fixed our sender reputation first. Only then did we feel good about sending to everyone on our list." - Katherine Pachowicz, marketing specialist, CampSaver

Check these numbers every week. If your sender score drops under 70, stop sending until you fix what's wrong.

Online Store Reputation Factors

Your store's email success depends on three types of customer messages. Here's what you need to know:

Order and Shipping Emails

These emails MUST land in customer inboxes. No questions asked.

Here's the smart move: Use different sending domains for these must-deliver messages. That way, if your promo emails hit spam, your order updates still get through.

Sales Email Performance

Your promo emails need a different approach:

Want better results? Cut subscribers who haven't opened in 6 months. They're dragging down your sender score.

Customer Support Emails

These messages tell email providers if you're legit:

"Post-purchase emails get way more opens and clicks. That makes them perfect for cross-selling and upselling." - Alison Gootee, Braze

Pro tip: Watch your bounce rates across ALL email types. If any hit 2%+, stop sending until you clean your list.

One last thing: Keep your sending volume steady. Sudden spikes in email frequency? That's a red flag for spam filters - even with order confirmations.

Building Better Email Reputation

Here's how to get your emails into more inboxes in 2024:

Email Setup Guidelines

Your technical setup makes or breaks email delivery. Here's what you need:

Here's a smart move: Use different sending domains for marketing and order emails. That way, your order confirmations still hit inboxes even if your promo emails end up in spam.

Email List Management

Bad lists = bad delivery. It's that simple:

"Deliverability is more of an art than a science—the landscape is constantly changing." - Nonso Maduka, Director of Product Management at Glassdoor

Email Sending Schedule

Don't blast your whole list at once. Build up slowly:

The numbers don't lie: EmailTooltester's 2024 data shows 16.9% of marketing emails never make it to inboxes. But follow these rules, and you can hit delivery rates like Glassdoor's 99.5%.

Want better results? Do these three things:

• Test every campaign before sending
• Keep consistent daily volumes
• Stop sending if bounce rates pass 2%

Quick win: Add CAPTCHA to your signup forms. It stops fake signups from killing your engagement rates.

Tracking Email Reputation

Here's what you need to know about email metrics and fixing delivery problems:

These numbers aren't just random - they're the difference between landing in the inbox or the spam folder.

Testing With Captchify

Shopify and WooCommerce store owners: Here's how Captchify's A/B testing tracks what matters:

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When Things Go Wrong

Got reputation problems? Here's your action plan:

Want to check your status? These tools are free and effective:

• Google Postmaster Tools: See how Gmail handles your emails
• Sender Score: Get your IP rating (0-100)
• Talos: Find out if you're blacklisted
• Spamhaus: Check for domain blocks

Here's the bottom line: Keep your sender score above 80. Why? Because senders with 90+ scores get 92% inbox placement. Drop below 70, and only 45% of your emails make it through.

Pro tip: Check your score every week. If it drops below 70, it's time to act FAST.

Platform Email Settings

Here's how to set up emails in Shopify and WooCommerce to keep your emails landing in inboxes.

Shopify Email Setup

Setting up Shopify emails is pretty straightforward:

Want better deliverability? Use an email address that matches your store's domain. It's that simple.

WooCommerce Email Setup

Here's what you need to do in WooCommerce:

Quick tip: Need an SMTP service? SendLayer works great with WooCommerce and starts at $5/month.

Both platforms need email authentication - it's NOT optional. After you're done, send test emails. It's the only way to know everything works.

Here's how to track your emails:

Preparing for Future Changes

Google, Yahoo, and AOL just dropped big news: starting February 2024, they're changing how email works. These updates affect ANY business sending more than 5,000 emails per day.

Here's what's changing:

"These changes are like a tune-up for the email world, and by fixing a few things under the hood, we can keep email running smoothly." - Neil Kumaran, Group Product Manager at Google

Here's the thing: only 37% of businesses meet these standards right now. If you run an online store, you need to update your email system FAST.

What to Watch

Your email checklist:

Email success isn't just about IP reputation anymore. Now it's about:

• How good your domain looks
• Whether people open your emails
• What's in your emails
• Your technical setup
• How you handle your email list

If you're on Shopify or WooCommerce, you'll need to check your email settings MORE often. Set up alerts if your spam rate goes above 0.1% - that's your early warning system.

Do These Things NOW:

• Check all authentication
• Fix your unsubscribe process
• Clean up your email lists
• Send test emails to Gmail, Yahoo, AOL
• Set up tracking

Bottom line: These changes will make email BETTER. Follow these rules, and you'll get more emails delivered and more sales in return.

Summary

Here's what your store needs to hit the right email metrics:

Want better email delivery? Do these:

• Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC
• Use double opt-in signup
• Delete dead emails monthly
• Check bounces daily
• Send test emails first

"We see direct links between inbox placement and revenue at Philips." - Charlie Wijen, Digital and CRM Specialist, Philips

What Your Score Means:

"Your email future depends on what you do today and how people react. That decides if you hit inboxes or spam folders next time." - Alison Gootee, Compliance and Deliverability Principal at Braze

Fix Bad Scores Fast:

• Drop inactive subscribers
• Clean lists weekly
• Handle bounces right away
• Make "unsubscribe" obvious
• Keep email volume stable

Here's the thing: One bad email blast can wreck your reputation. Watch your score. Fix issues fast. That's how you keep emails working for your store.

FAQs

What is the reputation result of the sender's email address?

Think of sender reputation like a credit score for your email address. Email providers look at this score to decide: inbox or spam folder?

Here's what different scores mean:

"Your reputation comes down to two things: what YOU do and how people REACT to it. These factors determine if your next email lands in the inbox or gets thrown into spam jail." - Alison Gootee, Compliance and Deliverability Principal at Braze

How to fix a bad email reputation?

Want better email delivery? Here's what works:

"A bad email reputation is like a hangover: hard to get rid of and it makes everything else hurt." - Christ Marriott

4 Fast Fixes:

• Cut off subscribers who haven't opened emails in 6 months
• Remove hard bounces every day
• Make new subscribers confirm their email (double opt-in)
• Keep your sending volume steady (no random spikes)

Related posts

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• 10 Email Subject Line Best Practices for Higher Open Rates
• 12 Tips to Avoid Spam Filters in 2024
• Email Storytelling: Boost Engagement in 7 Steps