Yet another juicy piece of data that affects your deliverability rate is the percentage of emails you’re sending that, for some reason or other, are coming back as undeliverable. You’ll need to be proactive about 1) ensuring that you’re adding contacts with valid email addresses, that have given you permission to contact them — hence, the term permission-email marketing remains valid, and 2) correcting or removing addresses that are bouncing.

Online Outbox automatically processes bounced emails for you, and holds those email addresses at bay after three bounces. However, you can curb high bounce rates by keeping an eye on your deliverability rates as well. Bounce rates that are above 20% may impact your deliverability and your ISP reputation with the SpamCops, meaning future emails, marketing or otherwise, will be much more susceptible to being moved into a Junk Mailbox, or even blocked entirely.

Emails coming from trusted email addresses are less likely to be knocked into a Spam or Junk Mail folder, or delayed or even blocked by your subscriber’s Internet Service Provider (ISP). And it’s all about deliverability, right? Or at least, it all begins there. If you can make it simple for someone to add you to their address book, you’ll have a higher probability of your email being received.

Here’s what you can do: Include a line of text that reads something like “Keep our emails out of your Junk Mail folder. Add us to your Address Book!”, and insert a hyperlink (using the icon that looks like two chain links, in front of a globe) to this non-descript page: http://www.memberlandingpages.com/address_book/address_book_add-a.htm

Instructions for adding you to their address book in a wide variety of email clients are listed within this document. Again, what could be more simple?

Consumers typically aren’t motivated with large amounts of information. They purchase products based on the vision of that product applied. If someone can imagine themselves using your product, and it helps them, serves them in some way, or helps them accomplish what they need to accomplish, they’re sold. Be careful not to show too many products, offers or specials. Simple gets your point across clearly. Feature a few products across multiple categories or price ranges, and your subscribers will immediately understand your message.

Hey, here’s a tip: watch your content! Many ISP’s check the content of emails for key words that are typically used by spammers. Each word it finds is assigned a certain point value. And they’re bad points, like in golf, or Uno. If the total score of an email is over a certain number, the email will be flagged as Spam and either get lumped into a junk mailbox, or not show up at all.

Online Outbox actually has a “Spam-checker” tool that will allow the system to scan your email to notify you of potential problems. Rewording potentially troublesome phrases can mean a great increase in your deliverability rate.