If you’re sending bulk emails—newsletters, outreach, or anything in-between—getting your message into inboxes (and not spam folders) is half the battle. This guide is for anyone using Mailmeteor to send mail merges through Gmail who’s sick of deliverability headaches and wants to do things right, without getting lost in email marketing jargon.
Below, we’ll walk step-by-step through how to actually follow email deliverability best practices with Mailmeteor. We’ll be up front about what matters, what’s overhyped, and what’s worth ignoring. No magic tricks—just clear, actionable steps.
Step 1: Get Your Domain Ready (and Don’t Skip This)
If you’re sending from a free Gmail address (like yourname@gmail.com), you’re fighting an uphill battle. Free addresses are a red flag for spam filters, especially when sending to lots of people at once.
What to do:
- Use a custom domain email: Set up something like
you@yourcompany.comthrough Google Workspace. Yes, it costs a bit, but it’s non-negotiable if you care about deliverability. - Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC: These are authentication records for your domain. They’re not optional. If you don’t have these in your domain’s DNS settings, your emails will get flagged or flat-out rejected.
- SPF (Sender Policy Framework): Tells receiving servers your domain is allowed to send from certain mail servers.
- DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail): Adds a digital signature to prove the email is legit.
- DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance): Tells receiving servers what to do if SPF/DKIM don’t check out.
- Test your setup: Use tools like MXToolbox or Google Admin Toolbox to make sure you’ve set up everything correctly.
Pro tip: If email authentication makes your head hurt, ask your domain provider’s support for help. Most can walk you through adding these records.
What to ignore: Don’t waste time with “email warm-up” services that promise to fix deliverability by sending fake emails around. These are mostly snake oil, and the big email providers are getting wise to them.
Step 2: Build (and Clean) a Real Email List
It’s tempting to buy or scrape a list, but it’ll backfire fast. Sending to people who didn’t ask for your emails is the fastest way to land in spam.
What to do:
- Collect emails the right way: Use opt-in forms, events, or direct connections. If you’re not sure someone wants your email, don’t send it.
- Clean your list regularly: Remove invalid addresses, bounces, and anyone who hasn’t engaged in months. Tools like NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, or even Google Sheets formulas can help.
- Pay attention to engagement: If recipients never open or click, prune them from future sends. Low engagement signals spam to Gmail and others.
Red flag: If your bounce rate’s above 2-3%, or you get lots of spam complaints, stop and fix your list. Otherwise, even the best content won’t save you.
Step 3: Write Emails That Don’t Trigger Spam Filters
Spam filters look for weird formatting, spammy language, and dodgy links. But there’s no big secret—just keep it human.
What to do:
- Be clear and personal: Use the recipient’s name, talk like a person, and avoid ALL CAPS or too many exclamation points.
- Skip the “spammy” words: You don’t need to obsess, but avoid things like “FREE!!!”, “Act now,” or “Guaranteed winner.”
- Limit links and images: More than two or three links per email starts to look suspicious. Stick to plain text or light formatting.
- Use a real reply-to address: Don’t use “no-reply@yourcompany.com.” Encourage replies—real conversations help deliverability.
- Test your email: Before blasting your full list, send a test to yourself and check how it looks on desktop and mobile.
With Mailmeteor: Use its personalization features—like merge fields for first names—to make each email unique. Spam filters like that.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over “spam scores” from random online tools. They’re mostly guesswork and rarely line up with real-world results.
Step 4: Set Up Mailmeteor for Smart Sending
Mailmeteor is popular because it keeps things simple and plugs right into Gmail, but you still need to set it up for success.
What to do:
- Respect Gmail’s daily limits: For regular Google accounts, keep it under 500 emails per day. For Google Workspace, it’s typically 2,000, but Mailmeteor recommends staying well below that (around 1,500) to avoid account flags.
- Schedule your sends: Don’t send 1,000 emails in one go. Mailmeteor lets you stagger or schedule batches—use it. Drip out emails over hours, not minutes.
- Use personalization features: Beyond “Hi [First Name],” use other merge fields or custom columns to add context. The more unique each email, the better for deliverability.
- Enable “Track opens” sparingly: Mailmeteor can track opens, but adding tracking pixels can sometimes trigger spam filters. Use it if you need the data, but realize it’s a trade-off.
Pro tip: If you’re sending to a cold list (people who haven’t heard from you before), go extra slow—start with small batches to see how things land.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with “warming up” your Mailmeteor account. If your sending domain is set up and your list is clean, you’re good.
Step 5: Make It Easy to Unsubscribe
If people can’t easily opt out, you’re asking for trouble. Unsubscribes are way better than spam complaints.
What to do:
- Always include an unsubscribe link: Mailmeteor lets you add this automatically—do it every time.
- Honor opt-outs immediately: If someone clicks unsubscribe, they should never get another email from you.
- Don’t make people jump through hoops: No “email us to unsubscribe” nonsense. One click and done.
Pro tip: If you notice lots of unsubscribes from a certain campaign, pay attention—that’s real feedback on your messaging or targeting.
What to ignore: Don’t try to “hide” the unsubscribe link or make the font tiny. That just leads to more spam reports.
Step 6: Monitor Results and Adjust
Even if you follow every best practice, things can slip. Stay on top of your metrics and adjust as needed.
What to do:
- Watch open and click rates: If they drop suddenly, something’s probably wrong—check your content, list, or sending practices.
- Look for bounce and spam complaint warnings: Mailmeteor and Gmail will alert you if you’re bouncing too much or getting flagged. Take these seriously.
- Use Gmail’s Postmaster Tools: For bigger senders, Gmail Postmaster Tools can show your domain’s reputation and issues.
Pro tip: If you get a Gmail warning or your account is limited, stop sending and figure out what went wrong. Repeating mistakes will get your sending privileges suspended.
What to ignore: Don’t stress about industry “average” open rates. Your list and audience are unique—focus on your own trends.
Step 7: Don’t Fall for Deliverability Myths
There’s a cottage industry of “deliverability experts” who’ll sell you on all sorts of tricks. Most aren’t worth your time.
Here’s what matters most:
- Sending from a properly authenticated, custom domain
- Clean, opt-in lists
- Human, personal emails
- Respecting Gmail’s limits
- Easy unsubscribes
What doesn’t matter as much as people say:
- Fancy HTML templates (plain text works best)
- Changing up your subject line every single time
- Over-optimizing for “spam words”
If someone promises a magic fix, be skeptical. Deliverability is about solid, boring fundamentals—not hacks.
Keep It Simple (and Iterate)
Getting into inboxes, especially with tools like Mailmeteor, is about doing the basics well—over and over. Don’t get distracted by shiny tools or “growth hacks.” Focus on your list, your message, and making it easy for people to engage (or leave).
Start with small sends, keep things personal and honest, and tweak as you go. That’s the real best practice.