If your emails are going straight to spam, it doesn’t matter how good your pitch is. This guide is for sales teams, marketers, and founders who are tired of guessing why their cold emails never get a reply. We’ll cut through the noise and get hands-on: you’ll learn how to actually track what’s happening to your emails, what’s worth fixing, and how to use Salesforge to improve your deliverability rates (without losing your mind in the process).
Why Email Deliverability Matters (And What It Really Is)
“Deliverability” isn’t just about whether your email technically arrives. It’s about whether it lands where someone will actually see it — not in the spam folder, not in “promotions,” not lost in the ether.
If you’re sending cold emails or outreach campaigns, low deliverability kills your results before anyone even reads your message. The fix isn’t magic — it’s about tracking the right numbers and actually acting on them. Let’s get you set up.
Step 1: Know What to Track (And Ignore the Vanity Metrics)
You can measure a dozen things with email, but not all of it matters for your real goal: getting genuine replies. Here’s what you should actually care about:
- Inbox Placement Rate: Percentage of emails that make it to the primary inbox (not spam/promotions).
- Bounce Rate: How many emails never even make it to the recipient.
- Open Rate: Only useful if you’re sure your emails are landing in inboxes.
- Reply Rate: The gold standard — but only possible if you’re actually getting delivered.
What doesn’t matter much: - Click rates (for cold outreach, this can actually hurt you — spam filters don’t like links). - “Delivered” status: Just means it wasn’t bounced. Doesn’t mean it wasn’t filtered to spam.
Pro tip: If you’re just looking at email platform dashboards, you’re not seeing the full picture. You need tools that tell you where your emails actually land.
Step 2: Set Up Basic Deliverability Monitoring in Salesforge
Salesforge isn’t just a mail merge tool — it actually helps you see what’s happening after you hit send. Here’s how to get started:
- Connect Your Sending Accounts
- Add your sending domains and email addresses inside Salesforge.
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Use a dedicated sending domain if possible (not your main company one) to avoid burning your main reputation.
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Warm Up Your Inbox
- Use Salesforge’s automated warm-up feature. It sends and receives emails from real inboxes to build your sender reputation.
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Don’t skip this. Cold-starting a new address is the fastest way to get flagged as spam.
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Enable Deliverability Tracking
- Salesforge uses seeded inboxes (test accounts across Gmail, Outlook, etc.) to check if your emails are going to inbox, promotions, or spam.
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Set up a test campaign to these addresses before blasting your real list.
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Check Your Dashboard
- Look for “Inbox Placement Rate” and “Spam Rate” — not just delivered vs. bounced.
- Track these over time. A sudden dip means you’ve likely tripped a spam filter.
What to ignore: Don’t obsess over every individual metric. Focus on trends and big swings; random blips happen.
Step 3: Fix The Stuff That Actually Hurts Deliverability
Most “email deliverability” advice online is either outdated or written for huge companies. Here’s what actually works (and what’s a waste of time):
What Works
- Authenticate Your Domain
- Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your sending domain.
- Salesforge will usually tell you if these are missing — fix them before you send a single campaign.
- Use Custom Tracking Domains
- Don’t use generic tracking links. Salesforge can set up a custom one for you, which looks less spammy to filters.
- Keep Your Lists Clean
- Never buy lists. Remove bounced or inactive addresses every month. Salesforge helps automate this.
- Send Like a Human
- Don’t send 1,000 emails in an hour. Salesforge staggers sends to mimic real human behavior.
- Personalize at least your first line and subject. Spam filters love generic templates — for the wrong reasons.
- Limit Links and Attachments
- The more links and files, the more suspicious you look. One link max, and skip attachments unless you must.
What Doesn’t Move the Needle (Much)
- Changing your template every week.
- Endless A/B testing of subject lines if your emails are still going to spam. Fix deliverability first.
- Spending hours on HTML designs. Plain text or light formatting works best for outreach.
Step 4: Use Salesforge to Test Before You Send
Don’t just pray your campaign will land in inboxes — test it. Salesforge’s “pre-flight check” is actually useful here.
- Send a Test Campaign
- Before you email real prospects, send your template to Salesforge’s test seed list.
- Wait for the report (usually a few minutes): Did you hit inbox, or did you get flagged?
- Read the Spam Triggers
- Salesforge highlights words or patterns that triggered spam filters.
- Rewrite anything flagged as risky — avoid phrases like “FREE OFFER,” “Buy now,” or weird formatting.
- Check Technical Warnings
- Missing authentication? Too many links? Salesforge will warn you.
Pro tip: Don’t keep tweaking forever. If you’re hitting inbox on the test, just send it. Real-world results matter more than perfect scores.
Step 5: Monitor, Iterate, and Don’t Panic Over Dips
Deliverability isn’t set-and-forget. Here’s how to keep things healthy:
- Check Your Metrics Weekly
- If your inbox placement drops, pause campaigns and investigate before blasting more.
- Rotate Sending Accounts
- If you’re doing high volume, set up multiple inboxes/domains. Salesforge can manage this for you.
- Clean Lists Regularly
- Hard bounces hurt your sender reputation. Salesforge’s auto-cleanup helps, but delete any address that bounces twice.
- Watch for Manual Spam Reports
- Even the best setups get marked as spam sometimes. If it keeps happening, rework your approach or copy.
What to ignore: Don’t freak out over one bad week. Filters change, and sometimes Gmail or Outlook just decides to be grumpy. Trends matter more than single campaigns.
Step 6: What to Do When Your Deliverability Tanks
No tool can save you if your domain reputation is trashed. Here’s a no-B.S. recovery plan:
- Stop All Sending Immediately
- Continuing to send will just dig the hole deeper.
- Check Your DNS and Authentication
- Make sure SPF/DKIM/DMARC haven’t broken.
- Switch to a Fresh Domain or Subdomain
- If your main domain is cooked, set up a new one. Warm it up slowly with Salesforge’s tools.
- Rethink Your Content
- Sometimes your copy or targeting is the culprit. Strip it back to basics and start fresh.
- Reach Out to Support
- If you’re stuck, Salesforge support is actually pretty good — but don’t expect miracles. They can’t un-spam a domain that’s been blacklisted everywhere.
Keep It Simple: Focus on the Basics and Iterate
Email deliverability isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of discipline. Track the metrics that matter, fix what hurts, and use tools like Salesforge to test before you send. Don’t buy into the myth that there’s a secret trick that guarantees inbox placement — the basics, done consistently, win every time. Start small, monitor closely, and tweak as you go. That’s how you actually get replies, not just “delivered” stats.