Email deliverability
Email deliverability is the ability of your emails to reach usersâ inboxes instead of being marked as spam or blocked. High deliverability is vital for user engagement.
This post outlines key email deliverability best practices and explains how Pushwoosh supports them with real-time validation, bounce management, double opt-in, and sunset flow automation.
Email deliverability best practices
Section titled âEmail deliverability best practicesâTo maintain high deliverability and protect your sender reputation, follow these universal best practices:
Keep your email list clean
Section titled âKeep your email list cleanâRemove invalid, inactive, or misspelled addresses (e.g., @gnail.com).
Eliminate disposable or temporary emails.
Use explicit (double) opt-ins
Section titled âUse explicit (double) opt-insâDouble opt-in is a two-step process for collecting email consent. After a user submits their email address (e.g., via a form or app registration), they receive a confirmation email with a link. Only after clicking this link is the user added to your mailing list.
Why it is important
Improves deliverability by ensuring only real, interested users are subscribed
Reduces spam complaints and protects sender reputation
Increases engagement quality by filtering out fake or low-intent signups
Supports legal compliance with data protection and anti-spam regulations
Monitor engagement and performance
Section titled âMonitor engagement and performanceâTrack how your audience interacts with your emails to spot and fix potential deliverability issues early. Focus on key metrics like opens, clicks, bounces, and spam complaints. Learn more
Avoid spam-like characteristics in your content
Section titled âAvoid spam-like characteristics in your contentâTo prevent your emails from being flagged as spam:
- Avoid excessive use of promotional language (e.g., âBuy now!â, âFree!â in subject lines)
- Do not use deceptive subject lines or misleading headers
- Limit the use of all caps and multiple exclamation points
- Keep a healthy text-to-image ratio
- Ensure that the content is relevant and expected by the recipient
Avoid common pitfalls
Section titled âAvoid common pitfallsâDo not purchase email lists.
Avoid sudden spikes in sending volume.
Use consistent sender names and addresses.
Identify and remove disengaged subscribers
Section titled âIdentify and remove disengaged subscribersâUsers who donât engage with your emails, even if their addresses are valid, can still hurt your deliverability. To keep your list healthy, identify inactive users and ask them to confirm whether they still want to receive your emails. This process is called a sunset email flow.
A sunset flow helps you:
- Clean your list by removing users who no longer engage
- Improve open and click rates
- Lower the chance of being marked as spam
- Protect your sender reputation
How Pushwoosh helps you maintain deliverability
Section titled âHow Pushwoosh helps you maintain deliverabilityâPushwoosh includes several built-in mechanisms to automatically protect your email reputation and keep your list clean.
Email validation
Section titled âEmail validationâWhen users register their email addresses, Pushwoosh automatically blocks malformed entries (e.g., missing â@â or domain) and rejects disposable or temporary email addresses. This validation helps reduce bounces, avoid wasted sends, and protect your sender reputation.
Bounce management
Section titled âBounce managementâPushwoosh automatically checks email addresses against its internal bounce list and blocks re-registration of addresses marked as bounced. This helps maintain a clean email list and protects your campaign performance.
How it works
- Pushwoosh monitors every email delivery attempt.
- If a message bounces, the system captures the response and classifies it as a hard or soft bounce.
- In case of a hard bounce, the email address is added to an internal âbounced listâ and excluded from your subscriber list.
- If a user later tries to register with an email address already on the bounced list, Pushwoosh will automatically prevent it from being added to your email audience, maintaining the integrity of your contact list.
Double opt-in automation
Section titled âDouble opt-in automationâPushwoosh enables you to create automated double opt-in flows using Customer Journey. This helps you verify new subscribersâ intent and maintain list quality.
Sunset email flow automation
Section titled âSunset email flow automationâPushwoosh also supports automated sunset email flows to identify disengaged users and prompt them to confirm their interest. This ensures your list remains active and reduces the risk of spam complaints.