Deliverability Defined Alyssa Dulin & Melissa Lambert

The creator landscape thrives on connection, and newsletters have always been a powerful tool for nurturing these relationships. However, email marketing is changing. Just as domain reputation has become a crucial factor in email deliverability, the future of newsletters hinges on creators adapting their approach when needed, and practicing effective strategies and best practices. 

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the future of newsletters. They reflect on the changes in the email marketing landscape over the past few years and offer some predictions for the future. They highlight the importance of mastering both newsletter creation and email marketing strategies to succeed in the email space. Additionally, they suggest how AI could eventually help navigate subscriber preferences and improve email marketing strategies.

Join us as we discuss:
[02:25] - The benefits of the email promotions tab.[05:00] - Managing inbox with labels.[07:08] - How newsletters have evolved in recent years.[09:21] - Alyssa's prediction for the future of newsletters.[12:08] - Creators who have successfully combined newsletters and lead magnets to monetize their content.[16:44] - Melissa's prediction for the future of emails and newsletters.[19:54] - Potential roles for AI in emails.[22:04] - The challenges of deliverability in the current email ecosystem.[25:51] - The risks of not following email best practices.[27:05] - Reframing mindsets and embracing opportunities.
Key Takeaways
Deliverability is becoming more challenging and requires an empathy-based marketing approach.The future of newsletters will involve creators mastering both regular newsletters and strategic email marketing tactics to maximize success.The use of AI tools in list management could become more prevalent in the future.Senders must take control of their own domain reputation and follow best practices to ensure success in the ever-changing email landscape.
Quotes
[10:30] - "The future is people mastering both newsletter creation and email marketing strategies. People who figure out both of those things will be the most successful in the email space." - Alyssa Dulin

[10:48] - "All those people who have crushed the newsletter game could benefit a ton by figuring out what the email marketers have figured out, having their own digital products or services, paid newsletters, or things they are selling." ~ Alyssa Dulin 

[22:24] - "Deliverability is going to continue to be harder and harder because senders have to rely on their own domain reputation. It's more sensitive than it was previously. There's more that can upset certain systems." ~ Melissa Lambert

[25:51] - "Even if you are at an email service provider who may be able to sign up your emails with a domain that belongs to the email service provider, there's always going to be a chance in this new era of deliverability where a bad actor could potentially really hurt a lot of people." ~ Melissa Lambert

Links
YahooGoogle Postmaster ToolsConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
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Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert
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It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa talks with email marketing expert Tarzan Kay. They discuss the value of building an engaged email list and prioritizing real connections over high numbers. Tarzan shares her strategies to boost email engagement and deliverability while avoiding gimmicks. They also discuss the role of storytelling in emails, improving subscriber relationships, and the importance of self-editing for clarity.

In this episode:
[02:59] - Tarzan's background - from copywriting to email marketing[08:47] - The power of engagement over list size[18:43] - Crafting emails that engage and convert[25:30] - Unlocking the power of storytelling[27:31] - Common email marketing mistakes and how to avoid them[27:48] - The importance of list nurturing and engagement[30:28] - Navigating unsubscribes and feedback[39:17] - Maximizing engagement - the shift to a more interactive newsletter[41:52] - Automation and personalization
Key Takeaways
Creating great content that engages your subscribers improves your relationship with them. It also boosts your overall deliverability.Regularly maintain your email list. This includes removing inactive subscribers. It's critical for keeping your engagement rates up. It also ensures your content reaches those who value it most.Balance the mix of text and images in your emails. Do this with a focus on user experience and content clarity. This balance fosters higher engagement rates.Storytelling isn’t just for novels. Adding it to your emails can captivate your audience. It will make your messages resonate more and linger in their minds.Sometimes less is more. Being brief and valuing clear, direct communication can strengthen your message. It can also improve subscriber engagement.
Quotes
“What I love about email as a medium, and why I've chosen to make it the center of my business, is because it's relationship building.” ~ Tarzan Kay

“Anytime someone hits reply on an email, that's an opportunity for me to get content ideas. So I'm always looking for the things that they care about and writing emails about those topics.” ~ Tarzan Kay

“Engagement matters so much more than the size of your email list.” ~ Tarzan Kay

“When people see the same thing week after week, they glaze over, they scroll past it. So sometimes I move things around; maybe I'll put the interesting links at the top, maybe I'll put them at the bottom.” ~ Tarzan Kay

Links
TarzanKay.comTarzan’s NewsletterTarzan on LinkedInOne6CreativeHemingwayCraft + CommerceConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
Connect with our hosts
Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert
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Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website
Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action
It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Many creators understand the importance of email marketing but need help to transform it into a sustainable growth engine. An email course offers a solution that's both powerful and efficient. This strategic approach provides a structured learning experience, establishes credibility, and supercharges audience growth.

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa are joined by Sean Stewart to discuss how to build an email course flywheel and the benefits of email courses for creators. Sean also explains the four types of email courses: crash course, step-by-step, biggest mistakes, and resources and templates, and provides valuable tips for creating them.

In this episode:
[00:23] - Saint Patrick's Day.[05:35] - Sean's background and how he became an expert in email courses.[09:18] - Getting rid of the weird marketing sales pitches.[10:53] - The benefits of doing an email course.[17:06] - Tips for finding a niche.[18:57] - Common misconceptions about email courses.[25:16] - Four types of email courses.[29:28] - The importance of landing pages when creating email courses.[31:48] - Tips for making an effective email course.[36:18] - Why having an email course adds credibility as a thought leader.[40:22] - One-week email course challenge.
Key Takeaways
Email courses are a powerful tool for creators to establish credibility, build relationships, and grow their audience.Email courses offer a lot of value when considering the relatively short amount of time needed to create them.Clear headers in each email help readers quickly understand the value they will receive.Creating a landing page with a specific URL for the email course increases credibility and makes it easier to promote and share.
Quotes
"Email courses are a great way to create doorways into your world. It's an opportunity that a lot more creators can and should take advantage of." ~ Sean Stewart

"Solving problems for people and building relationships with them is how you create lifelong fans who are going to create that referral flywheel for you. Not only is it the most effective way to grow a business, but it also feels genuine and good." ~ Sean Stewart 

"The beauty of email courses is that they let you do that at scale. It's like having this little copy of you who is an expert, who will work 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and welcome everyone into your world with this amazing course where you're teaching and solving a problem for them and building a relationship. And you can do this for dozens of people a day." ~ Sean Stewart
Links
Sean Stewart EmailAmy PorterfieldThe Art and Business of Online WritingNicolas ColeJohnny MillerNervous System MasteryGardenaryConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
Connect with our hosts
Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert
Stay in touch
Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website
Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action
It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Many people find their inboxes overflowing with generic emails and promotional content, all vying to grab their attention. But what separates an email that gets deleted from one that gets opened, sparks engagement, and drives results? Ultimately, effective emails prioritize value over promotion. It's finding and understanding your target subscribers and delivering value that addresses their needs. 

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa talk about the steps and strategies for creating effective emails. They provide practical tips on identifying the target audience, creating a value proposition, and reaching potential subscribers through lead magnets and social media strategies.

Join us as we discuss:
[01:32] - One of Alyssa's favorite content creators.[02:07] - The steps to writing an effective email.[09:33] - Popular strategies for Instagram and Pinterest.[12:59] - An effective Instagram strategy.[18:23] - Using lead magnets to grow an email list.[24:50] - The importance of clarity in writing emails.[26:52] - Why the size of your email list does not guarantee success.
Key Takeaways
Understanding your target subscriber and their needs is crucial for creating valuable content.Ues lead magnets and strategic social media tactics to grow your email list.Creating a clear persona of the target subscriber, including their job, age, interests, and challenges, will help you deliver more value.Developing a value proposition that communicates the unique benefits offered to your ideal subscribers strengthens their understanding of your product or service.When writing emails, focus on providing value and addressing your subscriber's specific needs. This will increase engagement. 
Quotes
"A lot of people think about their email as a bunch of random email addresses, and they are thinking about their goals. It's a much better strategy to reverse this thinking and get laser-focused on how to serve your audience. Then, you'll find way more success because you'll be serving people and giving them what they need." ~ Alyssa Dulin 

"If you have a lot of engagement on TikTok and Instagram because of the reels you do, but you don't have a newsletter or a website, you are missing out." ~ Melissa Lambert

"Having this lens [a lead magnet and target subscriber] makes your life much easier. Because now, with every single email you send, instead of coming from your goals, you have a human you're writing to in your head when you sit down to write an email." ~ Alyssa Dulin

"We know people at ConvertKit who have smaller lists and are successful. It's not about the list size. It's because they figured out what their audience needed and put that into place ahead of time." ~ Melissa Lambert

Links
James ClearAtomic HabitsPinterestInstagramConvertKit Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
Connect with our hosts
Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert
Stay in touch
Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website
Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action
It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

Domain reputation has been a theme this season. And for good reason. In the world of email, IP addresses and domains have reputations that can make or break an email’s journey. While it might seem a little technical, understanding these nuances can have a big impact on your email deliverability.

In this episode of Deliverability Defined, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the differences between shared and dedicated reputation regarding IP addresses and domains. They talk about the importance of IP and domain reputation, the factors that affect them, and their impact on email deliverability. They also highlight ConvertKit's approach to maintaining a high reputation.

Join us as we discuss:
[02:47] - The difference between shared IP and dedicated IP.[06:12] - Who is most likely to benefit from dedicated IP?[07:01] - The benefits and risks of using a dedicated IP.[08:30] - Shared IP and Google Postmaster Tools.[11:42] - The risk of shared IP pool and the importance of having good email managers.[15:44] - The team behind ConvertKit's deliverability and compliance.[16:52] - How ConvertKit monitors block lists.[20:51] - How IP reputation and domain reputation work together.[23:50] - The impact of domain reputation on mail providers.[30:09] - ConvertKit's new domain features.
Key Takeaways
Most email service providers commonly use shared IP addresses which are a good option for the majority of users.Dedicated IP addresses are recommended for high-volume senders or those who want complete control over their reputation.Domain reputation is crucial in email deliverability and can impact whether emails land in the inbox or the spam folder.Senders need to take responsibility for maintaining a healthy domain reputation by following best practices and avoiding spammy behavior.ConvertKit’s new feature allows users to purchase and validate a domain within the platform, making it easier for senders to own their email identity.
Quotes
[07:19] - "If you care about completely owning the reputation of your email, you want to be low risk, and you don't want any other factor to influence your email's deliverability, you might want a dedicated IP. Your deliverability is all on you 100 percent." ~ Alyssa Dulin 

[22:56] - "Your domain reputation is extremely important and can be the cause of emails going to spam. There is nothing your ESP can do about it if you don't clean up your side of the street." - Melissa Lambert

[27:59] - "Helping our customers and senders buy their own domains and figure out their own mailboxes so that they can really own their identity and their mail is helpful to the entire ecosystem." ~ Alyssa Dulin

[31:58] - "We want to be good stewards of email and are also trying to get tooling in place to support that. We've tried to align our tooling with our belief that this is the best way for senders to have autonomy over their domain reputation, and we're going to give you a tool to make it even easier." ~ Melissa Lambert

Links
Alison GooteeBrazeSubstackMailchimpConvertKitGoogle Postmaster ToolsNathan BarryConvertKit's Creator NetworkSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
Connect with our hosts
Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert
Stay in touch
Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website
Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action
It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing. 

If you’ve ever found yourself in a tangle of numbers, wondering which email metrics actually matter, this episode is for you. 

This week, Alyssa and Melissa unravel the tangled web of open rates, bounce rates, click rates, and complaint rates, guiding email senders toward clarity. They discuss why maintaining low bounce and complaint rates is essential, and explore the impact of metrics on email deliverability. They also explore the value of subscriber engagement and the reality of cold subscribers. Understanding these metrics (which ones deserve your attention and how to interpret them) is vital for your email deliverability. 

In this episode, we discuss:
04:42 - Understanding open rates and their impact on deliverability09:59 - Exploring bounce rates and new ConvertKit features13:34 - The importance of monitoring complaint rates17:58 - The nuances of click rates21:05 - Cold subscribers and list cleaning strategies24:01 - Every sender’s deliverability puzzle is unique25:35 - Know your metrics and look for abnormalities
Key Takeaways
Open rates are more than just percentages; they're indicators of your emails landing in the inbox, especially important post-Apple's Mail Privacy Protection.Maintaining a bounce rate below 2% is critical, and a sudden spike can signal deeper deliverability troubles that merit further investigation.Complaint rates are a vital health check for your domain reputation, and staying below 0.1% is essential, especially with stricter Gmail rules in place.The enigma of click rates can be demystified by examining content strategy and understanding the role of bot clicks, not just deliverability factors.Regularly engaging with and cleaning your cold subscribers can significantly boost the overall health and deliverability of your email list.
Quotes
“If I were to give any advice to someone who is experiencing a drop in open rates, it would be to not panic and just start slowly digging into different aspects of why your open rates might be changing.” ~ Melissa Lambert

“Get really familiar with your metrics. What's normal for you? What's a normal open rate for you? What's a normal click rate for you? And spot anything that is abnormal.” ~ Alyssa Dulin
Links
ConvertKitConvertKit Creator NetworkGoogle Postmaster ToolsGmailYahooSubscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!Facebook MarketplacePilates Reformer
Connect with our hosts
Alyssa DulinMelissa Lambert
Stay in touch
Apple PodcastsSpotifyTwitterFacebookInstagramDeliverability Defined Website
Try ConvertKit's deliverability in action
It's now free to use ConvertKit with an audience of 1,000 subscribers or less! Start building your audience and reaching their inboxes: convertkit.com/pricing.