Email Sending Tips: How to Get Your Messages Delivered and Read

Good email sending tips cover two jobs: getting delivered and getting read. To land in the inbox, publish SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for the domain you send from, send only to people who agreed to hear from you, keep your spam complaint rate low and grow volume gradually. To get read, write a subject line that matches the message, keep formatting simple, send at a steady pace your audience expects and follow up sparingly. The rules below come from the published sender guidelines of Gmail and Yahoo and the US Federal Trade Commission, all checked on October 26, 2026.

Why delivery comes before copy

A strong message does nothing if it lands in spam. Mailbox providers decide where your email goes based on who you are (authentication), how recipients react (complaints and engagement) and how you send (volume and consistency). Google’s email sender guidelines say that following its rules helps prevent Gmail from limiting sending rates, blocking messages or marking them as spam. Yahoo’s guidance for senders sets out a closely matching list.

Get email authentication and list hygiene right first, then work on the words.

Email sending tips for authentication

Authentication proves to the receiving server that a message really comes from your domain.

Set up SPF and DKIM

Every sender to Gmail needs at least one of SPF or DKIM on the sending domain, according to Google, and Yahoo asks for the same at a minimum. Bulk senders need both. For DKIM, Google says sending to personal Gmail accounts requires a key of 1024 bits or longer, and it recommends a 2048-bit key where your domain provider supports it.

Publish a DMARC record

DMARC tells receiving servers what to do with mail that fails SPF or DKIM. Yahoo asks bulk senders to publish a valid DMARC policy of at least p=none and says DMARC must pass. Both providers want the domain in the visible From: header to align with the SPF or DKIM domain.

Check the rest of the plumbing

• Reverse DNS. Google and Yahoo both expect valid forward and reverse DNS records (also called PTR records) for sending IPs.
• TLS. Google lists using a TLS connection for transmitting email as a requirement for all senders.
• Message format. Google asks senders to format messages according to RFC 5322 and not to impersonate Gmail From: headers.

If you use a hosted email service or a sending platform, these settings usually come down to pasting the provider’s records into your registrar’s DNS panel. Ask its support team which records you need.

Keep your list clean

List hygiene means mailing only real, willing recipients. Who you send to affects your reputation as much as how you send.

Only email people who asked for it

Google’s guidelines tell senders to make sure recipients opt in, to confirm each address before subscribing it and to avoid opt-in boxes that are checked by default. They also say not to purchase email addresses from other companies and not to email people who didn’t sign up, because those recipients may report the mail as spam and future messages to them will be marked as spam.

Remove addresses that don’t work

Yahoo advises monitoring hard and soft bounces as well as inactive recipients, removing invalid recipients promptly and using double or confirmed opt-in to cut the number of bad addresses. Bounces waste sends and signal a poorly kept list. Checking an address before it goes on the list helps, and the methods are laid out in our piece on checking an address before you send. For the bigger picture on bounce causes, see this guide to bounce prevention.

Prune inactive subscribers

Google suggests periodically sending messages to confirm recipients still want to stay subscribed, and Yahoo suggests sending a reconfirmation email to inactive subscribers from time to time. People who never open your mail drag down engagement, and some of them will eventually click the spam button instead of unsubscribing.

Make leaving easy

Unsubscribing should never be harder than subscribing.

• Google says marketing and subscribed messages must support one-click unsubscribe and include a clearly visible unsubscribe link in the body.
• Yahoo asks for a working list-unsubscribe header that supports one-click unsubscribe, highly recommends the RFC 8058 POST method and asks senders to honor unsubscribes within 2 days.
• In the US, the Federal Trade Commission’s guide to CAN-SPAM for businesses states that senders must honor an opt-out request within 10 business days and keep any opt-out mechanism working for at least 30 days after sending.

That FTC page also explains that commercial email sent to other companies is not exempt, and it requires a valid physical postal address in each one. Each separate violating email can bring penalties of up to $53,088.

Watch your spam complaint rate

Spam complaints are the clearest negative signal a provider receives. Google’s ceiling for every sender is a Postmaster Tools spam rate under 0.3%. Its guidelines also recommend staying under 0.10% and never hitting 0.30% or higher. Yahoo also sets the limit at 0.3%.

Postmaster Tools is Google’s dashboard for senders; according to Gmail’s help, it needs enough email volume before it can show data such as your domain’s spam rate. Check it after each larger send.

Quick reference: sender rules at a glance

Pace your sending volume

How fast you send matters, especially from a new domain or a new sending setup.

Keep it steady

Gmail’s help page on sender issues advises spreading traffic at consistent volumes throughout the day and across several days, rather than in random spikes. Its example: instead of sending 60 messages as fast as possible, waiting a minute and repeating, send one message per second. The page says a steady volume matters especially for new domains that are still building a sending reputation.

Ramp up slowly

When Gmail defers your mail, the same help page suggests pausing for 15 minutes, sending a single test message and, if it arrives, sending below the volume that first triggered deferrals for 24 hours. After that, increase gradually; the page describes a common daily increase of 25% to 100% depending on various factors. Google’s sender guidelines give similar advice for changes to your sending setup: move the changed segment of traffic up separately, and cut volume if bounces or deferrals appear.

Choose a send time by testing

No single send time suits every audience. Start with the hours your recipients work or read email, then compare open and reply data across a few sends before you settle on a schedule. Whatever slot you pick, keep the volume and rhythm consistent so providers see a predictable sender.

Write honest subject lines

The subject line decides whether a message gets opened, and it is also a compliance point.

• Match the content. The FTC says the subject line must accurately reflect what’s in the message.
• Don’t fake a thread. Google asks senders to reserve Re: and Fwd: prefixes for genuine replies and forwards.
• Skip lookalike characters. Google also warns against using emojis or other non-standard characters to imitate a verified sender or brand.
• Keep the display name clear. Google asks that display names consistently and accurately identify the sender and contain no subject or message content.

Beyond the rules, aim for short, specific wording that names the topic or the benefit. Test two versions on small segments of your list rather than guessing.

Keep formatting simple

Formatting choices affect both how a message looks and how filters read it.

• One message, one purpose. Google’s guidelines say not to mix different types of content in the same message, for example promotions inside a sales receipt.
• Use a consistent From address per type. Google recommends a distinct sender address for each category of mail, so alerts and promotions come from different addresses.
• Send from an address people know. Google notes that messages from an address in the recipient’s contacts are less likely to be marked as spam, so it helps when recipients save you.
• Lead with the point. Put the main message and any call to action early in the message, with short paragraphs and descriptive link text.
• Identify marketing mail. The FTC guide says commercial messages should be identified as ads.

Follow up without annoying people

Well-judged follow-up emails earn replies. One polite follow-up often gets a reply that the first message missed. A long chain of reminders gets you reported.

• Give it time. Allow several business days between messages so the recipient has time to respond.
• Add something new. Each follow-up should carry a fresh detail, question or resource, not a copy of the original with “just checking in” added.
• Set a limit. Decide in advance how many touches a contact gets and stop after the last one.
• Stop on request. A reply asking you to stop is an opt-out and should be handled the same way as an unsubscribe click.

If your follow-ups are part of prospecting, our guide to cold outreach goes deeper into sequence planning, and the article on growing a B2B prospect list covers where the contacts should come from.

Pre-send checklist

• ☐ SPF and DKIM set up for the sending domain; DMARC published
• ☐ From domain aligned with the SPF or DKIM domain
• ☐ Every recipient opted in or has a clear reason to hear from you
• ☐ Bounced and invalid addresses removed
• ☐ One-click unsubscribe and a visible unsubscribe link in marketing mail
• ☐ Physical postal address included in commercial messages
• ☐ Subject line accurately reflects the message
• ☐ One purpose per message; promotions kept out of receipts
• ☐ Volume in line with recent sends, no sudden spikes
• ☐ Spam rate checked in Postmaster Tools after the send

Comparing options for contact data? Plan details sit on the pricing page.

FAQ

Start with one fix today

You don’t have to change everything at once. Check your DNS records this week, clean your list before the next campaign and review your subject lines against the rules above. Each step improves the odds that the next message you send reaches the inbox and gets a response.