You can write the most heart-tugging subject line in the world. You can design a sequence so clever it would make Shakespeare jealous. But if your email never makes it to someone’s inbox, it’s worthless.
That’s where email deliverability comes in. Think of it as the road between your laptop and your customer’s eyeballs. If the road is blocked, cracked, or full of potholes, your messages won’t arrive safely. Instead, they’ll crash into spam filters or disappear into the void.
Deliverability is the unsexy foundation that every solopreneur needs, whether you’re selling coaching packages, online courses, or even socks. Let’s break it down.
Imagine you bake cookies and put them in boxes to deliver to your neighbors.
Email works the same way. If you don’t play by the rules, Google, Yahoo, Outlook, etc. block you, and your business suffers.
Email providers are paranoid, and for good reason. Spammers and scammers love pretending to be legit businesses. So before they let your email in, they ask: “Can you prove you are who you say you are?”
These little acronyms are like your passport and driver’s license:
If the first three of these aren’t set up, your emails look suspicious. Gmail shrugs and dumps you in spam.
When you use a new sending domain, mailbox providers don’t know you yet. If you suddenly blast thousands of emails, you look like a spammer.
Instead:
Think of it less like throwing a party and more like introducing yourself to the neighborhood one door at a time. Consistency and respect build trust.
Step 3: Keep Your Guest List Clean
A healthy list isn’t about size, it’s about quality. Sending to bad or disengaged addresses drags down your reputation and sends more of your emails to spam.
Here’s how to keep it clean:
Bottom line: an engaged list of 500 will outperform a “dirty” list of 5,000 every time.
Most solopreneurs obsess over open rates. That used to be fine, but thanks to Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection (and similar changes coming from other providers), open tracking is no longer reliable. The bigger issue: opens don’t tell you if your email even made it to the inbox.
Instead, you need to watch two categories of metrics:
These show whether mailbox providers trust you. If these drift in the wrong direction, your beautiful copy won’t matter.
These are about results, not inboxing. Still important, but don’t confuse them with deliverability signals.
Pro tip: Don’t judge a campaign only by clicks or conversions. If inbox placement is slipping, those numbers will tank, not because your offer is bad, but because your email never got seen.
This sounds obvious, but it’s the fastest way to get marked as spam.
Remember: being in the inbox is a privilege, not a right.
If you ignore deliverability, here’s what happens:
Deliverability isn’t glamorous. Nobody brags about “tight SPF records” at a networking event. But without it, your email marketing is like shouting into a void.
Think of it as plumbing: invisible when it works, a disaster when it doesn’t. Get your setup right, warm up carefully, keep your list clean, and focus on clicks and conversions. That way, when you do write a killer email, people actually read it.
Follow this like a recipe. You don’t need to be an IT wizard. Just go step by step.
• Don’t send business emails from @gmail.com or @yahoo.com.
• Buy a domain (example: joerando.com) from Google Domains, Namecheap, or GoDaddy.
• Use this domain for your emails. Example: joe@joerando.com.
• If you use Google Workspace, your email is handled by Gmail.
• If you use Microsoft 365, your email is handled by Outlook.
• Pick one. It makes managing the next steps easier.
This happens in your domain settings (the place where you bought your domain). Look for “DNS settings.”
Name: _dmarc
Type: TXT
Value: v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:you@yourdomain.com
Start with p=none (just reporting). Later you can change to p=quarantine or p=reject when everything is working smoothly.
BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification) is the standard that lets your logo show up next to your emails in inboxes. Sounds cool, right? Here’s the reality:
What to focus on instead:
• Strong authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC).
• Clean list hygiene.
• Consistent engagement.
Bottom line: BIMI is like buying a billboard. Great if you’re Coca-Cola, but unnecessary if you’re just opening your corner shop. Nail the basics first.
Email laws aren’t optional. If you ignore them, you risk fines, spam folder placement, or even losing your sending privileges. The catch: different countries have different rules. To stay safe, follow the strictest standards that apply.
• Identify yourself clearly
• Every email must include your business name and a valid physical mailing address.
• Make unsubscribing painless
• One click, no tricks. Hiding or delaying unsubscribes leads to spam complaints.
• Get valid consent
• CAN-SPAM (US) allows implied consent, but stricter laws like GDPR (EU), CASL (Canada), and PECR (UK) require explicit opt-in. If you’re global, assume you need consent.
• Honor requests quickly
• Remove unsubscribes immediately. Some laws allow up to 10 days, but delaying hurts trust and increases complaints.
• Never buy or rent lists
• Besides being illegal under GDPR/CASL, purchased lists almost always tank deliverability.
Bottom line: If you make sure people chose to hear from you, can easily stop, and always know who you are, you’ll meet the spirit of every major law, and keep mailbox providers happy.