- Only email people who agreed to hear from you.
- Authenticate your domain so mailbox providers trust it.
- Segment lists and send one message with one action.
- Watch bounces and spam complaints as closely as opens.
Build the list the right way
Collect addresses through sign-up forms, checkout and events with a clear statement of what you will send. Keep a record of when and how each person agreed. Avoid purchased lists; they hurt delivery and reputation.
Prepare your sending domain
Publish SPF and DKIM records and add a DMARC policy so receivers can verify your emails. Google's sender guidelines describe what large mailbox providers expect. Our email deliverability guide walks through the steps.
Plan the campaign
- Pick one goal and one call to action.
- Segment the audience.
- Write a subject line that says what is inside.
- Keep the layout simple and mobile friendly.
- Add a visible unsubscribe link.
Send and learn
Send at a steady volume and monitor bounces, unsubscribes and complaints. Remove hard bounces promptly. Compare clicks and conversions, not only opens, because mail apps can distort open counts. See our bulk email service and email campaign software pages for tools.
A sending checklist
- Domain authenticated with SPF, DKIM and DMARC.
- List contains only consented, recently active addresses.
- Segment chosen and a single goal set.
- Subject line and preview text reviewed.
- Unsubscribe link visible and working.
- Test sent to several mailbox providers and viewed on a phone.
- Send scheduled; bounce and complaint monitoring ready.
Metrics worth watching
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Delivered rate | Whether addresses are valid and receivers accept your mail |
| Click rate | Whether the content and offer interest readers |
| Unsubscribe rate | Whether frequency and relevance are right |
| Complaint rate | Whether people feel the mail is unwanted; keep it very low |
Common mistakes
- Importing an old list and sending to all of it at once.
- Using a no-reply address that discourages replies.
- Large image-only emails with no text.
- Ignoring bounces until delivery drops.
Sources and further reading
Rules and platform requirements change. Last reviewed . This guide is general information, not legal advice.