If your business depends on email to reach customers, you’ve probably seen inconsistent open rates, high bounce rates, or unexplained drops in engagement. These issues are often tied to email deliverability—the ability of your emails to land in the inbox instead of the spam folder.
An email deliverability consultant helps identify and resolve problems that affect whether your emails are delivered properly. For companies that send newsletters, transactional messages, or marketing campaigns, improving deliverability can directly affect revenue and customer communication.
Common Email Deliverability Problems
Many businesses assume that as long as an email is sent, it’s delivered. But email service providers like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo apply filtering rules that may silently divert messages to spam or reject them entirely.
Typical deliverability issues include:
- Poor domain reputation
- Improper authentication settings (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)
- High complaint or unsubscribe rates
- Inconsistent sending patterns
- Low engagement over time
These problems are not always easy to detect from inside your ESP’s dashboard. A deliverability consultant has access to tools and methods for monitoring how ISPs treat your messages and why.
What a Consultant Actually Does
Here are the specific ways an email deliverability consultant can help:
- Technical Setup Review
- They audit DNS records, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, using tools like Mail Tester to ensure your emails are properly authenticated. Misconfigurations here are common, especially with custom domains or complex setups.
- IP and Domain Reputation Monitoring
- Consultants monitor your sender reputation across various blacklists and ISP feedback loops. They identify if you’re being blocked or filtered and why.
- List Hygiene and Engagement Analysis
- They evaluate your mailing lists for inactive users, spam traps, and bounced addresses. Removing unengaged or invalid contacts is often the first step in improving deliverability.
- Content and Frequency Adjustments
- While not focused on copywriting, they help optimize subject lines, links, and formatting to avoid spam triggers. They may also help you adjust sending frequency to build a healthier reputation with ISPs.
- Ongoing Testing and Monitoring
- Consultants often set up email placement tests to track where emails land (primary inbox, promotions, spam, etc.). They use seed lists and monitoring tools to provide regular feedback.
Benefits of Hiring a Consultant
1. Fewer Emails in Spam Folders
The most direct benefit is more emails reaching actual inboxes. That means better visibility, especially for time-sensitive or transactional emails.
2. Improved Campaign Performance
Better deliverability often leads to higher open and click rates. Even a small percentage increase in inbox placement can yield measurable gains in engagement.
3. Avoidance of Platform Penalties
ESPs may suspend or throttle accounts with high bounce or complaint rates. Consultants help maintain healthy metrics and avoid account issues.
4. Reduced Guesswork
Without proper tools and experience, it’s difficult to know why deliverability issues are happening. A consultant brings objectivity and clarity to the process.
5. Long-Term Stability
Once deliverability issues are fixed, consultants often help put systems in place to maintain performance, including regular list cleaning, authentication reviews, and monitoring.
When You Should Consider Hiring One
If you’re seeing signs like low open rates, high bounce rates, or a drop in engagement with no clear reason, it may be time to bring in an expert. This is especially important before launching major campaigns or onboarding new platforms that change your sending behavior.
