Good email deliverability doesn't happen on its own. It depends on the quality of your contact list, your technical setup, and how your recipients engage with your emails over time. This article covers the key practices to follow to keep your emails landing in the inbox.

👥 Building and maintaining your contact list

Only import contacts who have agreed to receive your emails

The quality of your contact list is the primary factor influencing whether your emails reach the inbox. Brevo requires that you obtain the consent of your contacts before adding them to your database. Contacts who are expecting your emails are more likely to open them, which leads to better engagement and fewer complaints.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Build a legitimate contacts database for optimal deliverability and compliance.

Set up a double opt-in process

A double opt-in process requires new subscribers to confirm they want to receive your emails before being added to your list. This prevents fake addresses, bots, and spam traps from entering your database, and ensures your list is made up of contacts who are genuinely interested in your emails.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Create a sign-up form (Step 4: Manage your subscription confirmation settings).

Regularly clean your contact list

Sending to unengaged contacts over time damages your sender reputation. Regularly identify and blocklist contacts who have stopped interacting with your emails, for example, those who have not opened your last three campaigns. Blocklisting is preferable to deleting, as it prevents those contacts from being accidentally reimported in the future.

You should also make sure your list does not contain invalid addresses before importing it. When an email cannot be delivered due to a permanent issue, such as a nonexistent address, it generates a hard bounce. Brevo automatically blocklists contacts who hard-bounce, but a high hard-bounce rate can lead to the suspension of your account. Always verify the quality of a list before importing it into Brevo.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Optimize and clean your contact list to improve email deliverability.

Use segmentation to target engaged contacts

Sending the same email to your entire list reduces engagement and increases the risk of complaints. By segmenting your contacts and targeting those who have recently shown interest in your content, you improve open and click rates, which signals to mailbox providers that your emails are wanted.

A simple and effective approach is to exclude contacts who have not engaged with your emails in the last three to six months from your main campaigns and handle them separately with a re-engagement flow.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Create a segment to filter your contacts.

🧑‍💻 Technical setup

Use a professional email address

Do not send emails from a free address (@gmail.com, @yahoo.com, etc.). Use a professional email address ending with your own domain. This signals to mailbox providers that your emails are legitimate and is mandatory to comply with Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft's sender requirements.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Why you need to replace your free email address with a professional one.

Authenticate your domain

Domain authentication adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying that they genuinely come from you. It reduces the risk of spam and phishing, increases inbox placement, and is mandatory to comply with Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft's sender requirements.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Authenticate your domain with Brevo.

Maintain a consistent sending frequency

Mailbox providers build expectations based on your sending patterns. Sending too rarely can cause your domain reputation to fade, and suddenly increasing your volume after a long pause can raise flags with ISPs. Aim to send at a regular cadence and avoid large spikes in volume.

If you are starting out or resuming sending after a break, increase your volume gradually. This is especially important if you are using a dedicated IP, which requires a warm-up period before sending at full capacity.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Warm up your dedicated IP.

Include a clear unsubscribe link in every marketing email

Every marketing email must include a visible and working unsubscribe link. Beyond being a legal requirement in most countries, it directly protects your deliverability: contacts who cannot easily unsubscribe will mark your email as spam instead, which damages your sender reputation far more than an unsubscribe would. Brevo automatically adds an unsubscribe link if your campaign does not include one.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Do I need to add an unsubscribe link to my emails?

💌 Email content

The content of your emails can trigger spam filters and affect how recipients engage with them. The following table lists the key things to keep in mind when building your campaigns.

📈 Monitoring your metrics

Monitoring your metrics helps you identify deliverability issues early and take action before they affect your sender reputation. The following table lists the key metrics to track.

➡️ To learn more, check our dedicated article Understand the statistics and reports of your email campaigns.

⏭️ What's next?

• Comply with Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft's requirements for email senders
• Best practices for managing a dedicated IP
• What are spam traps and how to avoid them?

🤔 Have a question?

If you have a question, feel free to contact our support team by creating a ticket from your account. If you don't have an account yet, you can contact us here.

If you’re looking for help with a project using Brevo, we can match you with the right certified Brevo Agency partner.