How to install Google’s free deliverability tool for email newsletters

The hidden killer of email marketing:

Deliverability.

It doesn’t matter how good your email is if it never lands in the inbox.

Fortunately, there’s an easy way to stay on top of this.

Today, I’m sharing how to install Google’s free deliverability tool for email newsletters…

So you can monitor & improve your email deliverability.

Let’s dive in.

Reading time: 2 minutes and 55 seconds

Step 1: Choose your domain

Head to gmail.com/postmaster and click Get Started.

Then enter your custom domain.

NOTE: You’ll need a Google Workspace email on your custom domain to set it up.

Step 2: Add TXT record

Next, you’ll be prompted to add a TXT record to your DNS.

This is typically managed wherever you purchased the domain (Namecheap, GoDaddy, etc) or where the domain is being hosted (Bluehost, Siteground, etc).

Give it 5-10 minutes before proceeding to the next step.

Step 3: Verify your domain

Finally, once you’ve added the TXT record to your domain’s DNS, hit Verify.

If it’s successful, you’ll see a message like this:

If it’s not, give it another 5-10 minutes and try again.

Step 4: Review deliverability

Once you’re set up and verified with Postmaster Tools, it can take 7-10 days for data to start appearing, depending on what your send volume is.

Here are all the categories it reports on:

You don’t need to understand them all.

There are two I recommend keeping an eye on.

The first is User-Reported Spam:

That’s because Google doesn’t always report every single spam complaint to your ESP (Beehiiv, ConvertKit, etc).

Your goal should be to keep this below 0.1%.

As you can see, I’ve had a few spam complaints recently.

And given the size of my list, 1-2 is enough to push me above that threshold.

This is likely due to the fact I’ve started mailing more often.

I’m not overly concerned about it.

But I will be keeping a close eye on it.

The second category to keep an eye on is Domain Reputation:

The better your domain reputation is, the more likely you are to hit the Primary inbox.

So aim to keep this High at all times.

What to Do If Your Deliverability Sucks

If you install Postmaster Tools and find you’re getting lots of spam complaints or your domain reputation isn’t very good, there are a few things you can do to fix it.

1) Send to a smaller engaged segment

Avoid sending broadcast emails to your entire list.

Especially as it gets bigger.

Instead, best practice is to mail engaged segments of people who’ve opened or clicked at least one email in the last 60-90 days.

But if your deliverability sucks, you can shrink that further.

- 30-day opens & clicks
- 14-day opens & clicks
- 7-day clicks
- etc

The smaller and more recent their engagement, the better your email will perform.

Which sends a positive signal to Gmail that will help repair your deliverability.

2) Prompt replies

Another important signal Gmail looks for is how many people reply to your email.

So consider prompting replies with questions in the P.S.

And make sure to reply to those replies.

3) Test with Mailgenius before sending

Mailgenius is a free tool you can use to test your Spam Score before you hit send.

It outlines all the possible steps you can take to improve your inboxing.

Putting It All Together

Deliverability is the hidden killer of email marketing.

If you want to continue reaching as many of your subscribers as possible…

Don’t ignore it.

That’s it.

Thanks for reading!

See you next time.

Jim Hamilton

P.S:

My friend Ryan recently interviewed me for his YouTube channel.

We chatted about:

- What most creators get wrong about content vs copy
- My “offer agnostic” plan for getting to 100k/m
- My biggest pet peeve on LinkedIn
- And a whole bunch more

It was a really fun conversation :)

If you want to check it out…

Watch the interview here