Challenges of Email Development

In 2025, 99.89% of HTML emails contain serious or critical accessibility issues, yet only 21 emails from two brands passed all automated checks. Analyzing 443 585 emails, the Email Markup Consortium revealed: - Missing dir on body children (98.14%) - Missing lang on body children (96.67%) - Formatting tables without role="presentation" (86.24%) - Links without discernible text (72.04%) - Images without alt text (51.42%) The root causes are systemic: - Developers often lack email-specific accessibility know-how - Drag-and-drop builders generate inaccessible HTML - Email clients don’t support key HTML/CSS accessibility features It’s time for shared responsibility: - Senders: integrate automated audits (e.g., Parcel.io) into your build pipeline - ESP & template providers: bake in accessibility checks and sane defaults - Email clients: implement missing features to empower inclusive email experiences Read the full report:  https://lnkd.in/eT9uSTUN 

POST 6/7 👉2025: Why Design Is Now a Deliverability Signal—Not Just a Branding Element. Good design doesn’t just get attention. It gets delivered — to the right part of the inbox. Let’s get one thing clear: Promotions is inbox. Updates is inbox. What matters in 2025 is avoiding spam, not forcing Primary. If your email is expected, renders cleanly, loads fast, and respects UX principles, you're in the right place. Too many ecommerce marketers still underestimate how much design affects deliverability. It's no longer just about what looks good. Design performance is now tied to how your domain is scored by Gmail, Apple Mail, and Outlook. Here’s how. Mobile-first rendering: Over 74% of ecommerce opens now happen on mobile. If your layout breaks or loads slowly, you're triggering behavior Gmail sees as friction — not engagement. Load speed and responsiveness: Gmail and Apple Mail monitor how quickly your message displays and how long the user interacts. Heavy layouts or large imagery can cause quick exits, reducing future inbox trust. Dark mode compatibility: Unreadable emails in dark mode break the experience. Invisible text or poor color contrast are quietly penalized. Accessibility: Skipping alt text, using tiny fonts, or low-contrast layouts may technically deliver your message — but visually fail for many. Those silent exits hurt engagement scoring. Real-world case: A brand redesigned its templates with GIFs, AMP, and rich visuals. On desktop? Beautiful. On Gmail mobile? Broken. Result: click rates dropped, complaint rates rose, and inboxing fell. They reverted to fluid layouts, lighter assets, and simpler code. Engagement and delivery recovered within 2 sends. Email design checklist for 2025: 1. Keep size under 100KB 2. Use system fonts 3. Code mobile-first, not retrofitted 4. Preview in both dark/light modes on Gmail and Apple Mail 5. Always use alt text 6. Avoid base64 images and fixed-width tables 7. Load-test AMP and interactive elements 8. Match design tone with your website 9. Ensure contrast and readability pass basic checks Takeaway: Every second of lag is a penalty. Every failed render hurts trust. Gmail is evaluating design behaviors—not beauty. Design is no longer just branding. It's inbox access. #email #emailmarketing

After reviewing data from 1,000s of inboxes at RevGrowth, these 8 practices have made the biggest impact for consistent 99% email deliverability:   Most teams skip at least one of these, then wonder why their cold emails land in spam.   Here's what we do:   1. Use Secondary Domains - Never send from your main domain > We buy secondary domains through Porkbun for cheap, easy management   2. Track Replies Only - Open and click tracking hurt deliverability > I keep reply tracking on and turn everything else off. Clean signal, less risk   3. Send Fewer Emails Per Mailbox - I stick to 30 emails/day per mailbox, max > Spread your volume across several domains. Fewer red flags, more consistency   4. Warm Up Slowly - Ramp up sending volume over time. > Start low, increase gradually. This builds trust with inbox providers.   5. Double-Verify Your Lists - Bad data kills sender reputation > We use LeadMagic, Icypeas, and Prospeo.io for email search, then verify with LeadMagic. Clean lists = low bounce rates   6. Use Modern Sending Platforms - Old-school SEPs drag down deliverability > I recommend EmailBison or Smartlead   7. Automate CRM Syncing - Manual updates cause errors and missed follow-ups. > OutboundSync handles real-time syncing with HubSpot or Salesforce. Less manual work, more accuracy.   8. Stick to Plain Text - Links and images lower inbox rates. > I write text-only emails. They look more human and get better placement.   Our team applies these 8 steps in every workflow ourselves & all client accounts.   What’s been your biggest deliverability challenge lately?

Is your nonprofit's email program running on autopilot? After working with dozens of organizations, here are the 5 top signs you need specialized email support: 1. Your open rates haven't improved in 6+ months • You're using the same subject line formulas • Every email goes to your entire list • You haven't cleaned your list in... forever • Your delivery times never change • Testing? What testing? 2. You're sending the same messages to everyone • First-time donors get the same emails as monthly donors • New subscribers jump right into regular communications • No segmentation by interest or behavior • One-size-fits-all appeals • Generic thank you messages 3. Your team dreads email campaigns • Hours spent on technical issues • Last-minute scrambles to get appeals out • No documented processes • Manual tasks that could be automated • Constant worry about deliverability 4. Your donation emails feel more like apologies • "Sorry to ask, but..." • "We hate to bother you..." • No clear case for support • Weak calls-to-action • Missing impact stories 5. You can't remember the last time you: • Ran a re-engagement campaign • Updated your welcome series • Reviewed your automation flows • Analyzed your metrics • Celebrated a win Sound familiar? You're not alone. Many nonprofits struggle with these challenges. But here's the good news: These are all fixable problems with the right expertise. A specialist can: • Implement proven strategies • Set up time-saving automation • Create sustainable processes • Train your team • Drive better results Because your mission deserves more than just "getting by" with email. --------------------------------- 👋 Hi, I'm Katelyn! I help nonprofits raise more money through strategic email & SMS marketing. If you're ready to transform your digital fundraising, let's connect!

“Nobody reads email anymore.” Says the brands that are: 1. Using opens as their core KPI while Apple MPP inflates them. 2. Tagging “success” to a campaign with 2% CTR and no revenue tracking. 3. Sending the same hero to VIPs, first-timers, and lapsed buyers. 4. Linking every CTA to the homepage instead of the PDP you pitched. 5. Shipping a “Welcome” flow with one email that just says hi. 6. Hiding price in the email and asking readers to hunt for it. 7. Writing subject lines like “Fall Favorites 🍁” with no angle, no outcome. 8. Leaving preview text as “View this email in your browser.” 9. Treating image-only emails as “design” while Gmail treats them as spam. 10. Testing nothing — not even subject lines or button copy. 11. Blasting the full list for a 20% off promo every week and wondering why spam complaints spike. 12. Never splitting offers for VIPs vs first-timers vs lapsed. 13. Copying a competitor’s layout and inheriting their mediocre performance. 14. Including 5 separate 5 mb image files in one message. 15. Using seven fonts and nine colors because “it pops.” 16. Reusing the same message template for 6 years (actually...) 17. Burying the first CTA halfway down the email. 18. “Shop Now” as the only CTA in every send, regardless of the story. 19. Zero product education in the Welcome flow — no proof, no outcomes, no FAQs. 20. Browse abandonment that looks identical to cart abandonment. 21. Cart abandonment that triggers after purchase because the filter logic is lazy. 22. Post-purchase that ends at the receipt — no usage tips, no cross-sell, no review ask. 23. Replenishment ignored for a 30-day consumable because “we’ll get to it.” 24. Winbacks that say “We miss you” with nothing to win back the customer. 25. Letting flows run untouched since 2021 while product mix, margins, and buyers changed. 26. Building for desktop first when 70%+ of opens are on mobile. 27. No SPF/DKIM/DMARC, then blaming Klaviyo for deliverability. 28. Not warming a new subdomain before BFCM. 29. Never removing inactive contacts from their active lists. 30. Treating unsubscribes like a problem instead of a signal. 31. Sending at 12:00 AM Eastern because no one changed the default. 32. Ignoring time zones for West Coast and international buyers. 33. Stacking discounts on discounts until margin disappears — then wondering why LTV stalls. 34. “Last chance” three times a week until no one believes you. 35. UTMs missing or duplicated — analytics shows “Direct / None.” 36. Measuring email’s worth only by web orders when a brand has physical storefronts or a high-volume of draft orders from CS And the list keeps going below...

When starting with a new ESP, you’re told to: 👉 Authenticate your sending domain properly. 👉 Avoid shady lists. 👉 Warm up your domain and send volumes. I did all of that. Most senders do. But 𝗱𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 still tanked, and here’s what nobody talks about: 👉 Blacklisted tracking domains with tracking links in your emails used for tracking opens and clicks can sink deliverability and inboxing and they can go under the radar. 👉 Spam traps can appear in unlikely circumstances, such as within a dated list where an old email turns into one, or even bad actors can inject spam trap emails without you even knowing. 👉Not all industries play by the same inbox rules. In crypto, igaming, or finance? Even ‘normal’ words can send you to spam. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸… 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗸 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽.  👉 The ESP support sends you a checklist.  👉 Deliverability teams deflect from the actual issue.  👉 Tech goes silent. Meanwhile, your emails are vanishing, and you don’t even know where. What I’ve realized is this: Most platforms don’t ban bad senders. They ban 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 ones. If your issues require looking five layers deep… no one wants to touch it. But that’s where the real challenges live. Stuff you control. Stuff you don’t. Sometimes both, tangled together. I’ve seen founders in eCommerce, iGaming, and financial services get flagged not because they’re doing anything wrong, but because their setups are just… hard to unpack. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝘂𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲. It’s built for volume. It avoids the mess. But I think that mess is where the truth lives. That’s where the real fix begins. If you’ve ever stared at your dashboard and thought, “𝙒𝙚’𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩… 𝙨𝙤 𝙬𝙝𝙮 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜?”I see you. Let’s talk about these invisible problems. Because ignoring them won’t fix them.  Drop your weirdest, most frustrating deliverability moment below 👇