Deliverability and compliance: the quiet foundations of a credible email channel.
Inbox placement, domain reputation and UK GDPR compliance are not side projects; they are the conditions under which all email marketing either thrives or quietly fails.
Deliverability is often framed as something mystical. In reality it is a mix of technical hygiene, editorial discipline and respect for consent. The providers watching over your emails – Microsoft, Google, corporate filters – pay close attention to whether you keep your promises.
Inbox placement and domain reputation
Domain reputation is essentially your trust score with mailbox providers. It is built slowly through predictable, respectful behaviour: clean lists, stable sending patterns, clear unsubscribe options and content that earns engagement.
- Monitor complaint, bounce and "this is spam" rates as closely as you track click-through.
- Warm new sending domains gradually, starting with your most engaged, clearly opted-in segments.
- Use subdomains sensibly – for instance, separating transactional and marketing streams.
SPF, DKIM and DMARC in plain English
These three records act as your public ID documents on the internet. SPF confirms which servers are allowed to send on your behalf, DKIM signs your messages so that providers can check they have not been tampered with, and DMARC tells those providers what to do if something looks suspicious.
Compliance with UK GDPR – beyond the checkbox
For email, UK GDPR is mostly about clarity and choice. People should understand what they are signing up for, how often you will contact them, and how to step back gracefully.
Every discipline on this subdomain feeds into deliverability. If you are troubleshooting a current issue, it is usually worth reviewing strategy, automation and analytics alongside the technical checks.