Help ensure your emails
hit the inbox
Stop guessing why your messages end up in spam. Follow this 26-point checklist to achieve technical compliance, enhanced sender reputation, and delivery success.
Content
Content
TL;DR
- Content quality and clarity strongly affect trust, accessibility, and filtering outcomes.
- Use clear subject lines, meaningful text, and balanced, accessible formatting.
All outbound email content should be developed in accordance with professional communication, accessibility, and deliverability best practices. Message composition plays a significant role in how mailbox providers and recipients evaluate legitimacy, relevance, and trustworthiness.
Subject lines should be clear, accurate, and proportionate in tone. The use of excessive punctuation, repeated symbols, misleading phrasing, or full capitalisation should be avoided, as these patterns are commonly associated with low-quality or abusive messaging and may trigger filtering mechanisms or reduce open rates.
Email messages must include meaningful, readable text content. Messages composed primarily of a single image or with minimal textual context are difficult for filtering systems to assess and may be treated as suspicious. They also create accessibility barriers for recipients using screen readers or with images disabled by default.
A balanced combination of text and images should be maintained to support both technical evaluation and user experience. Images should be optimized for size and load performance, include appropriate alternative text where relevant, and complement rather than replace written content.
Language and tone should remain clear, professional, and consistent with organizational branding. Overly aggressive sales terminology, exaggerated claims, or manipulative phrasing (for example, “Buy Now!” or “Act Immediately!”) should be used sparingly and only where contextually appropriate, as such language is frequently associated with unsolicited or deceptive communications.
Organizations should ensure that all content is:
Content should be reviewed regularly to ensure alignment with evolving filtering standards, regulatory requirements, and audience expectations. Poorly formatted, misleading, or low-value content increases the risk of spam classification and damages recipient trust.
By maintaining high standards for subject lines, message structure, and language, organizations improve deliverability outcomes, enhance accessibility, and reinforce credibility across all email communications.
Subject lines should be clear, accurate, and proportionate in tone. The use of excessive punctuation, repeated symbols, misleading phrasing, or full capitalisation should be avoided, as these patterns are commonly associated with low-quality or abusive messaging and may trigger filtering mechanisms or reduce open rates.
Email messages must include meaningful, readable text content. Messages composed primarily of a single image or with minimal textual context are difficult for filtering systems to assess and may be treated as suspicious. They also create accessibility barriers for recipients using screen readers or with images disabled by default.
A balanced combination of text and images should be maintained to support both technical evaluation and user experience. Images should be optimized for size and load performance, include appropriate alternative text where relevant, and complement rather than replace written content.
Language and tone should remain clear, professional, and consistent with organizational branding. Overly aggressive sales terminology, exaggerated claims, or manipulative phrasing (for example, “Buy Now!” or “Act Immediately!”) should be used sparingly and only where contextually appropriate, as such language is frequently associated with unsolicited or deceptive communications.
Organizations should ensure that all content is:
- Relevant to the recipient’s interests and subscription purpose
- Accurate and transparent in its messaging
- Well-structured and easy to read
- Compatible with common email clients and devices
- Accessible to users with diverse needs
Content should be reviewed regularly to ensure alignment with evolving filtering standards, regulatory requirements, and audience expectations. Poorly formatted, misleading, or low-value content increases the risk of spam classification and damages recipient trust.
By maintaining high standards for subject lines, message structure, and language, organizations improve deliverability outcomes, enhance accessibility, and reinforce credibility across all email communications.