Maximizing Email Deliverability with Marketo: Best Practices for Reaching Your Audience

Ensuring your emails reach the intended audience is crucial for driving engagement and achieving marketing goals. This webinar will dive deep into the essentials of email deliverability. We’ll cover key strategies, technical considerations, and common pitfalls to avoid.

Whether you're new to Marketo or looking to fine-tune your existing approach, this session will equip you with actionable insights to enhance your email deliverability and maximize your marketing ROI.

Key Takeaways:
- Understanding email reputation and Sender Score
- Optimizing technical setup: SPF, DKIM, and IP warming
- Tips for getting your Marketo emails delivered
- Leveraging Marketo’s deliverability tools and metrics
- Join us to ensure your emails aren’t just sent, but seen.

1. Adobe Marketo Engage Deep Dive – October 2024 Maximizing Email Deliverability with Marketo: Best Practices for Reaching Your Audience

2. Adobe Marketo Engage User Group House Rules To ensure our MUGs stay user-focused and a safe space for members of the Marketing Nation to learn, network, and problem solve, we ask that all MUG attendees follow these rules: No self-promotion or pitching of any kind is permitted at MUG events Don’t contact people outside of the User Group without their consent If MUG members share their use case at the User Group, please don’t share that information without their consent

3. This MUG Meeting is being Recorded. To ensure that we are abiding by the MUG Code of Conduct, we are informing all user group attendees at the Adobe Marketo Champion Deep Dive on October 15, 2024 at 8:00 am PT that this meeting will be recorded and posted on the MUG YouTube Channel to promote training, education, and future learning.  If you do not wish to participate in a LIVE recorded session , please feel free to watch the recording at a later time, which will be linked after the meeting concludes, and send us any questions you may have to [email protected].  

4. Stay connected with our chapter! Sign up for Bevy – the new tool for Adobe Marketo Engage User Groups! Step 1:  Navigate to https://mugs.marketo.com/adobe-deep-dive-mug/ Step 2: Create an account using the email associated with your Adobe Marketo Engage Account Once you’ve joined the chapter you’ll receive notifications and reminders about new events that the chapter has posted! 

5. Upcoming Opportunities for Chapter Members

6. Adobe is sourcing speakers for the Marketo Engage Breakout sessions at Adobe Summit 2025. We encourage submissions from seasoned practitioners, thought leaders, and those with hands-on experience in B2B marketing. Submissions should highlight real-world applications, innovative ideas, and lessons learned. Diversity in perspectives and experiences is highly valued. Please ensure your proposal is tailored to a B2B audience and offers clear, actionable takeaways for attendees. Help us inspire and equip marketers for the future of B2B marketing! Submissions are open now through October 18 th . Adobe Summit 2025

7. Adobe Marketo Engage & Journey Optimizer B2B Edition Roadmap Webinar Recording is only available through 10/31/2024 Watch the recording where we'll unveiled the latest updates and future directions of Adobe Marketo Engage and Adobe Journey Optimizer B2B Edition! This 45-minute roadmap session is your golden opportunity to get a firsthand look at what's coming next and review questions from your fellow Adobe Marketo Engage community.

8. Upcoming User Group Meetings Calendar (North America) DATE MUG CHAPTER FORMAT TOPIC Oct. 17th Sports Marketing – MUG Virtual Meeting Sports Marketing Best Practices- Session 2: Data Retention & CRM Sync RSVP HERE

9. Maximizing Email Deliverability with Marketo: Best Practices for Reaching Your Audience Josh Arrington Panelist Kapturall Partner & Chief Marketing Technology Officer Jane Musatova Panelist Wolt Global B2B Marketing Operations Manager Christiane Rodes Moderator CNA Marketing Technology Director

10. Overview

11. Overview Introduction to Email Deliverability Key Factors Impacting Email Deliverability Optimizing Marketo for Better Deliverability Advanced Strategies for High Deliverability Tips, Tricks & Best Practices Live Q&A session

12. Introduction to Email Deliverability

13. Introduction to Email Deliverability What is email deliverability? What is the Importance of deliverability in modern marketing? What is Marketo’s role in email deliverability? Emails Accepted At Gateway Emails Sent = Delivery Rate

14. Levels of the Email Journey Target Target Audience Sent Email Excluded Delivered Emails Hard / Soft Bounce Inbox Spam / Blocked Email Opened Unopened Clicked No Click / Unsub

15. Key Factors Impacting Email Deliverability

16. Key Factors Impacting Email Deliverability Sender Reputation : Based on email performance (spam complaints, bounce rates, engagement). A strong reputation leads to higher inbox placement. Email Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) : Implement email authentication protocols to verify your sender identity. Proper setup helps prevent your emails from being flagged as spam. List Hygiene and Accurate Targeting : Regularly clean and update your email list to avoid bounces and spam traps. Segment lists for targeted, relevant messaging to boost engagement. Email Content and Design : Avoid spammy language and design emails with a good balance of text and images. Focus on creating valuable, engaging content to improve open and click rates.

17. Optimizing Marketo for Better Deliverability

18. How to Optimize for Deliverability – Email Design Personalization and Relevance Importance of relevant, personalized content to reduce unsubscribes. Clean and Clear HTML Proper formatting, avoiding broken links or excessive images, and ensuring mobile responsiveness. Balanced Text-to-Image Ratio Importance of having a good balance between images and text. Proper Use of Links and CTAs Setup branded tracking links, use non-deceptive calls to action. Unsubscribe Link and Contact Info Ensure a clear and visible unsubscribe option and include a valid physical address. Avoid Spammy Text Over use of words like “Free,” “Buy Now,” or excessive use of all caps, etc.

19. How to Optimize for Deliverability – Data Quality Gain recipients permission and respect their preference Allow recipients to determine what type of content they are signing up for Set expectations regarding how frequently you are going to contact them Re-engage inactive contacts by confirming subscription status at least once a year Nurture inactive contacts and stop email them if they fail to re-engage after a set timeframe

20. How to Optimize for Deliverability – Opt in Practices Good opt in methodologies: Double opt in – requires the lead to fill out a form and then confirm subscription via the email Single opt in- requires a form submission Passive out in – checkbox upon form fill or purchase Not recommended opt in methodologies: Opt out – unsubscribe page Append – enrichment of email address using an existing name in your database Rented lists- temporary permission to send to a list of contacts Purchased lists- email list acquired without consent

21. Configuring sender domains and authentication in Marketo SPF Sender Policy Framework : Verifies that the email is sent from an authorized server. It checks the sender’s IP address against a list of allowed servers to prevent email spoofing. DMARC Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance: Builds on SPF and DKIM. It gives domain owners control over how their email is authenticated and specifies what to do with emails that fail the checks. DKIM Domain Keys Identified Mail: Adds a digital signature to emails, ensuring that the message hasn’t been tampered with during transit. It proves the email was sent by the claimed domain. Monitor R egularly tracking key email metrics like deliverability rate, bounce rate, open rate, and spam complaints to ensure optimal performance. By reviewing DMARC reports, you can identify and address any authentication issues and keep an eye on sender reputation

22. Advanced Strategies for High Deliverability

23. Deliverability Review Protocol Creating and managing lists to review specific deliverability-related behaviour : Hard Bounces- Persons who had a bounced email with a category 2 (Email Invalid) or 1 (Spam Block). Soft Bounces are Persons who bounced with a Category 3 and a subcategory Out of Office in the last 30 days Unsubscribed because of Spam Complaint – unsubscribed with a reason "Customer complaint received from ISP"  Chronic Non-Responders –Persons who received 5+ emails and did not Open or Click on any of them within 2 months

24. Marketo Email Deliverability Package - Reporting Email Performance Report Sent Delivered Hard Bounced Spam blocks (Email suspended) Bad addresses (Email invalid) Technical Errors (No status change for example) Soft Bounced Opened Clicked

25. Marketo Email Deliverability Package – Understanding email stats Rule 1 Email activity record is set to one of the following: Delivered, Hard Bounced, Soft Bounced, or Pending. Rule 2 If the email record shows Opened, it is counted as Delivered. Rule 3 If the email record shows Clicked Email or Unsubscribed, it is counted as Delivered and Opened.   Rule 4 If the email is Opened, bounces are ignored. If the email has not been opened, Hard Bounced takes precedence over Soft Bounced and Delivered.

26. Optimizing Email Deliverability – Bounce Codes and Messages A soft bounce is a temporary deliverability issue, usually due to a server unavailability or a full inbox. Temporary technical errors No status change (stuck in pending) Retried for 24 hours

27. Optimizing Email Deliverability – Soft Bounce Management Clean Existing Emails Doing it proactively will help protect your reputation, instead of waiting for it to be identified as a hard bounce.

28. Optimizing Email Deliverability – Soft Bounce Management 2. Create a soft bounce threshold to automate deliverability management Doing it proactively will help protect your reputation, instead of waiting for it to be identified as a hard bounce.

29. Optimizing Email Deliverability – How To Further Categorize Bounces 3. Further categorize bounces using attribution: The last type of bounce The last email that bounced The category of the email bounced This way you can create “First Touch” (FT) and “Last Touch”  (LT) fields and stamp them whenever a bounce occurs. 🔗 - the-three-keys-to-email-deliverability

30. Optimizing Email Deliverability – Hard Bounce Codes and Messages There are two categories of hard bounces: 1: The recipient server bounced your email as spam or due to a blacklist.  Results in email suspension for 24 hours and then becomes eligible for emails again. 2: The email address is invalid or doesn't exist.  Marketo automatically marks the record as "Email Invalid" and does not try to send to it again.

31. Utilize Marketo Engage Functionality Identify Unengaged Audiences Run Email Performance Report and look at the factors, impacting deliverability Leverage Smart Lists to identify records that cause poor Email Deliverability Capture Bounce Details Utilize Trigger based Smart Campaign functionality and Custom Fields to capture the Email Name {{ trigger.Name }} that bounced, the Type of Bounce {{ trigger.Trigger Name}} and Bounce Category {{ trigger.Category }} to track which emails are impacting deliverability.

32. Monitor Spam Complaints When the lead marks your email as spam, there is a feedback loop that allows the email sender to notify the email sender (Marketo) that they have marked it as spam. Marketo automatically changes the value of the unsubscribe field but also records the reason.

33. Metrics To Monitor

34. Tools to help elevate your Deliverability

35. Marketo Engage Deliverability Tools Trusted IP Dedicated IP Address Requires a warm-up Higher Deliverability rates when compared to shared IPs Request Whitelisting For specific Person segmentations you are sending to on a regular basis Everest Deliverability Tools Provides insights on Email engagement and Email Deliverability.

36. Q&A

37. How to Optimize for Deliverability Good practices around email design Data quality Opt-in strategies Use custom fields to keep timestamp, IP, and URL for opt-in Make sure to abide to legal requirements specific to each country Make sure your opt-in form includes the following: Company name Product line, brands, and business unties Make unsubscribing clear and easy

38. Tips, Tricks & Best Practices Set up and verify all DNS records (SPF,DKIM,DMARC) Be proactive: It’s harder to claw your way out of the spam folder than to stay in the inbox Create a Bounce Management Program Set up blacklisting alerts ( MXToolbox,Debouncer , ZeroBounce )

39. Monitoring Tools MXToolbox.com : https://mxtoolbox.com/SuperTool.aspx?action=blacklist Google Postmaster Tools: https:// postmaster.google.com / Microsoft SNDS: https://sendersupport.olc.protection.outlook.com/ MultiRBL.NET :