There’s no better way to learn about improving email deliverability than in wonderful company, surrounded by sunny beaches, while enjoying a cheeky Tempranillo! The true essence of this year’s Deliverability Summit was about connection. Louise shares her experience of the event, which she attended alongside Charlotte and Sam, all members of our Customer Success team.
The highlight of work events for us is always catching up with our colleagues. Working remotely can sometimes be challenging, so it’s always nice to get together face-to-face. Getting to spend a few days with Charlotte and Sam in sunny Alicante really was a treat!
This year’s Deliverability Summit in Alicante was the second EmailExpert event I’ve attended. Organizers Andrew and Nely Bonar, as always, put on a phenomenal conference, and it was a pleasure to take part in. The goal of the event was to be a learning experience, with the opportunity to get accredited through a final exam. There was a small group of around 30 attendees, and the intimate atmosphere meant that everyone felt welcome to engage with the topics, asking questions and clarifying doubts. We discussed, debated, and respectfully disagreed on certain topics – but we came away with a much better understanding and knowledge of email deliverability.
Here are some of the highlights of the topics that were covered:
Fundamentals: Delivery and Deliverability – Andrew Bonar, EmailExpert & Deliverability Summit organizer
Andrew’s foundational session on deliverability covered essential metrics and best practices. His advice on technical setups, like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and the importance of regular list management, reinforced the basics that are crucial for successful email marketing.
It’s so important to understand that delivery is not our final goal—deliverability is. Just getting to your recipient’s server isn’t enough; you need to make sure that your email actually gets to where you want it to go.
Spamtraps – Raymond Dijkxhoorn, SURBL
Raymond’s session was both enlightening and practical. He detailed the different types of spamtraps—pristine, recycled, and typo—and their impact on deliverability and reputation. His historical overview of blocklists and practical tips on list hygiene were particularly useful.
Managing Lists: Hygiene & Segregation – Yanna-Torry Aspraki, EmailConsul
Yanna-Torry emphasized the importance of maintaining clean email lists and using double opt-in processes. Her advice on managing complaints and identifying potential spamtrap addresses provided actionable insights that every sender can immediately apply to improve email campaigns.
List Signup Attacks, Protecting Forms – Nathalie Small, Bird
Nathalie’s presentation on protecting signup forms from list attacks was a highlight. She explained various protective measures, such as reCAPTCHA, honey pots, and rate limiting, offering a comprehensive strategy to safeguard against these threats.
IP and Domain Reputation & Warmup Strategies – Pierre Pignault, MailSoar
Pierre’s session on IP and domain reputation was really informative. He explained how to build and manage reputation, offering detailed warm-up strategies to maintain high deliverability rates.
How to Do Email Marketing When It Is the Only Thing You Can Do – Marina Febles, Atipica Marketing and Cannascale
I found Marina’s presentation really interesting as her main focus is on marketing for cannabis companies in legal markets. It was fascinating to see the hoops that need to be jumped through and how important it is to do everything right when your only source of online marketing is through email. Although these emails would fall under a banned industry in our terms of service, it got me thinking about why all senders don’t apply best practices when sending emails. Does marketing rely less on perfection when there are other forms of advertising to fall back on?
I can’t wait for the next Deliverability Summit event!
