Deliverability Defined

Email service providers are committed to providing their users with the best possible experience, increased security and safety measures may come at the expense of content creators’ success. A content creator’s biggest fear may be their emails landing in the spam folder, but emails landing in the promotions tab is also a major worry.

The promotions tab is determined by Gmail’s ever-changing and unpredictable algorithm. While these messages are not technically labeled as spam, they imply to your audience that there is promotional or advertising content inside. While the promotions tab is meant to organize users’ inboxes, creators fear that it might tarnish their engagement and the audience relationships they’ve worked so hard to build.

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss what the promotions tab is and how to avoid it, why you shouldn’t try to beat the algorithm, and what you should focus on instead to improve your deliverability metrics. 

Key Takeaways

• [07:25] - What is the promotions tab?
• [12:32] - Sender best practices to help you avoid the promotions tab.
• [15:20] - Alyssa reveals her big secret.
• [17:50] - Key insights from Alyssa’s experiment.
• [24:59] - Why you should focus on what you can control.
• [27:20] - One thing deliverability experts can all agree on.

Quotes

[14:55] - ​​“Senders can underestimate the effectiveness of just being honest with your subscribers.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[19:43] - “The primary promotions tab placement algorithm isn't a human.”  ~ @alyssa_dulin

[27:19] - “Focus on what you can control and do not lose sleep over where your email is placed.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

Links

• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

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• Deliverability 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. 

Whether you’re a consumer, business owner, or content creator, Instagram's potential to expand your reach is undeniable. With more than one billion active users, Instagram can help you connect with new audiences and engage existing ones.

Although growing your Instagram following is important, it's only half of the battle. While Instagram remains a popular social media platform, its future is unpredictable. Algorithms can change and platforms can go out of business or be replaced by competitors. Therefore, it's crucial to convert your Instagram following into email subscribers to ensure that you have a more stable and direct relationship with them, one that is not subject to the platform's uncertainty.

In this episode, Alyssa delves into how and why you should convert your Instagram followers to email subscribers, what to avoid when building your Instagram presence, and which best practices you should follow to maximize your audience growth.

Key Takeaways

• [02:30] - Why should you use Instagram for your business?
• [06:38] - What are the best practices for Instagram?
• [08:50] - How to convert your Instagram following into email subscribers.
• [21:50] - What to avoid when building your Instagram presence.
• [26:34] - Why authenticity makes you more relatable on Instagram.

Quotes

[16:15] - “Your Instagram is building up your proof that you know what you're doing, you know what you're talking about, you are someone that can be trusted, and you have valuable insights to share.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[17:28] - “The ideal situation is that it's a symbiotic relationship. You're not asking people for a favor. You are helping them as well, and they're excited to give you their email address, and you all can build a connection and relationship, and it's a win-win for everyone.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[26:34] - When it comes to Instagram, authenticity is key. It’s not Twitter or LinkedIn. We don't really want to see that perfectionism.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

Links

• McGee & Co.
• Melody McMunn
• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

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• Apple Podcasts
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• Deliverability 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. 

While creators hope their audience will open and read their emails, the first step is to ensure emails actually make it into the intended audience’s inbox. The goals of B2C audiences (business to consumer) are not the same as B2B audiences (business to business). By understanding the unique challenges of B2B and B2C subscribers and tailoring the message accordingly, creators can achieve better results in their deliverability strategy.

While we have control over our personal email inboxes, B2B audiences often rely on increased security measures that can block unknown senders or direct emails straight to spam. What is an ESP’s role in deliverability for different audiences, and what kind of control does the sender have in getting these messages successfully delivered? 

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss how the goals of B2B and B2C audiences differ, how to optimize deliverability to B2B email addresses and tailor your message to their needs, and why transparency with your audience matters. 

Key Takeaways

• [06:02] - How do the goals of B2B and B2C differ? 
• [10:44] - How B2B subscriber bases skew success metrics.
• [12:15] - How to optimize delivery to B2B email addresses.
• [16:06] - Why transparency with your audience matters.

Quotes

[06:31] - “For B2B addresses, the main goal of those usually are for communicating with coworkers and clients and more task-oriented, business-focused. So marketing emails that land in B2B inboxes are typically treated more like spam, even if the person signed up for it.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[13:25] - “The ESP you use can help with B2B delivery, but it cannot guarantee it. There are some things that are going to be tough no matter which ESP you're using because you might be sending to a mailbox where the person who controls the mailbox does not want any promotional, newsletter, or other type of email to get through. However, using an ESP with really strict compliance will help make sure your sending IP isn't on any major block list and that you're sending from an IP and domain that have a healthy reputation. That's always extremely helpful for any deliverability, but especially B2B deliverability.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[16:20] - “Be honest with your audience. Have transparency, ask for their help.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

Links

• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
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• Deliverability 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. 

Creators hope to grow a following, but communicating with an audience at scale is challenging. Technology can help facilitate communication with your subscribers, especially if you’re seeking analytics on email performance and engagement.  

Email service providers, or ESPs, are services that allow you to send campaigns to subscriber lists. Different ESPs have different features, such as automation, audience segmentation, template builders, A/B testing, and customer support. Not all ESPs are created equally, and the type of ESP that is right for you can vary depending on your goals.

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss what the decision-making process looks like when moving to a new ESP (email service provider). Together they discuss how to choose the right ESP depending on your goals, how ESPs impact email deliverability, and what actually happens when you switch ESPs.

Key Takeaways

• [03:05] - How to look for a new ESP.
• [05:42] - Why ESPs can’t solve all of your problems.
• [08:47] - How the “right” ESP for you changes depending on your goals.
• [10:21] - How different ESPs impact email deliverability.
• [16:12] - What switching ESPs actually looks like.
• [23:09] - Why price shouldn’t be your only consideration when choosing an ESP.
• [25:47] - How switching ESPs affects your IP address and domain.
• [28:22] - Why creators might want to switch ESPs?

Quotes

[04:19] - “Find creators who are using the ESP and ask them their opinion. Do your shopping. Sign up for a free trial if they have a free trial. What works for one person is not gonna work for someone else.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[06:29] - “Is the problem something that switching to a new ESP can actually help with? Or are you beating around the bush on whatever the actual root issue is?” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[09:42] - “You could be in the same exact space as another creator, and your needs at an ESP are completely different.”   ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[22:22] - “Don’t switch ESPs for a feature or price at the risk of a deliverability issue.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

Links

• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
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• Deliverability 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. 

When emails don’t perform well, creators will do whatever it takes to uncover the root cause of the issue and win back their subscribers. Senders can learn whether their messages could get lost in the spam folder by running an inbox placement test that predicts deliverability issues. 

This type of test gives creators more insight into their emails, especially if open rates have been lower than usual. Perhaps there’s a single word in the copy that’s causing the entire email to default to the “promotions” tab, and a quick revision could prevent this going forward. The test isn’t perfect, but it’s an effective way to gather data on your emails and their deliverability.

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the benefits and drawbacks of inbox placement tests. Together they discuss what an inbox placement test is, why and how people run one, and what the results will look like.

Key Takeaways

• [03:21] - What is an inbox placement test?
• [05:27] - How panel data is used.
• [07:07] - Why you should keep an open mind when running inbox placement tests.
• [07:41] - Why inbox placement tests may not always be accurate.
• [08:47] - The reasons people run inbox placement tests.
• [10:36] - How to run an inbox placement test.
• [13:31] - What do the results of an inbox placement test look like?
•  [17:00] - How to know if your emails are being blocked.
• [20:45] - Why data-driven data people will love inbox placement tests.

Quotes

[07:07 ] - “With an inbox placement test, you really have to keep an open mind and not take it for the absolute because there are so many other factors  that occur in those mailboxes and with subscriber behavior.”  ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[07:27] - “If you're going to run an inbox placement test and try to gather insights from it, you have to use that data alongside your real subscriber data.”  ~ @alyssa_dulin

[20:27] “Panicking doesn’t solve an issue. The  best thing you can do is reach out to an expert and get some advice on what changes or steps you can take next that are actionable and helpful.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

Links

• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
• GlockApps
• Kickbox
• Inbox Monster
• MxToolbox
• Yahoo
• Outlook
• Gmail

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
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• Deliverability 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. 

Word-of-mouth has proven to be one of the most consistent business tactics of all time. If someone we admire and trust recommends something to us, we are much more likely to take their recommendation seriously and take action. The same holds true for creators. Successful creators who have already built their audiences know which newsletters are worth subscribing to and which creators are worth following, and they only recommend the content they believe in to maintain their audience’s trust.  

ConvertKit’s Creator Network is a place where creators can work together to grow their audience with similar interests and similar niches. One of the biggest challenges for newsletter creators is growing an audience, because the ability to “go viral” doesn’t exist in the same way it does via social media. Reaching audiences organically and ensuring they will be a good fit is difficult, but not impossible. How can recommendations give you an advantage when trying to expand your email reach? 

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss how to grow and get to know your audience 

organically through ConvertKit’s Creator Network, how to recommend creators that will resonate with your subscribers, and how to maintain a highly-engaged email audience by cleaning your list and being consistent.

Key Takeaways

• [03:02] - What is the Creator Network? 
• [06:20] - How creators can grow their newsletter lists and get to know their audience better.
• [08:42] - How to choose which creator will resonate the most with your audience.
• [10:30] - How automation helps deliverability. 
• [13:26] - Why it’s crucial to clean up your lists.
• [16:27] - How to boost subscribers on your email lists.
• [21:05] - Why consistency is key for content creators. 

Quotes

[07:59] - “If you're going to recommend someone to your audience, it's really important that you believe in their content. You don't want to recommend people sign up for a list that you actually don't enjoy, and then for your audience to lose that trust.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[09:59] - “We know that a lot of creators on our platform are busy running their own businesses. They don't have a lot of time to do the research. So if we are recommending people to you that we know have a similar audience, that's less work that you have to do on your end.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[14:11] - “It's gonna be more important than ever to check engagement levels and make sure that people who may not be opening your emails are either excluded from receiving certain emails or eventually removed from your list.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[20:38] - A larger creator can recommend a smaller creator and have such a big impact. It's wild. I hope a lot of creators get to partner up with each other and connect and help each other grow.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

Links

• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Craft + Commerce Conference
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined Newsletter
• Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
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• Deliverability 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. 

We’ve all been there: you press “send” on an email and immediately recognize there’s a mistake. Recalling an email requires quick reflexes, and unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that your request will be successful. The good news is that we are all human, and email mistakes such as typos, inaccessible links, and failed deliverability are much more common than you’d expect. 

When sending emails, you may occasionally have more control over a situation than others and can take preventative measures to avoid common issues. There are also scenarios where deliverability issues are unrelated to anything you have personally done wrong. So, how can you spot these mistakes, learn from them, and avoid them in the future? 

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss the worst-case scenarios when sending emails, why deliverability is not always in your control, and how to avoid deliverability horror stories of your own.

Key Takeaways

• [05:44] - What are Alyssa and Melissa’s email horror stories? 
• [10:30] - Why deliverability is not always in your control.
• [15:45] - Even Arnold Schwarzenegger has deliverability issues.
• [19:44] - When chef Mario Batali went viral in the wrong way.
• [23:00] - How to avoid email horror stories of your own.

Quotes

[10:10] - “Even if you have the best intention, you have to be careful with preview text being shortened. That’s just a recipe for disaster.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[13:09] - “There’s so much of deliverability that is not under one person’s control.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[23:35] - “Always send yourself a test.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

Links

• ConvertKit Creator Network
• Statista | Emails sent per day
• Vrbo
• Logitech
• Spamhaus
• Mario Batali ends apology email with recipe and the internet can't believe it
• Vanderbilt University
• ChatGPT
• Craft + Commerce Conference
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
• Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Deliverability 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. 

Creators are always looking for a way to earn income through their efforts, which traditionally evolves into sponsorship or brand deals. Of course, creators want to earn this extra income, but they struggle to keep their audiences happy; no one likes to feel like they’re being sold to when reading their favorite newsletter. Is there an option that balances the needs of creators, audiences, and sponsors alike?

One solution is newsletter sponsorship. Creators spend a long time crafting relationships with their audiences to keep them loyal and engaged, and this can pay off for them in the long run once they’ve amassed a following with consistent open rates. Brands with similar target audiences strive to work with creators who have already built their readers’ trust. 

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss what newsletter sponsorship is and how to use it to your advantage. Together, they delve into how newsletter sponsorship differs from email marketing, how sponsorship impacts your deliverability, and why newsletter sponsorship is mutually beneficial for all parties involved.

Key Takeaways

• [04:27] - What is newsletter sponsorship?
• [07:21] - What is the ConvertKit Sponsor Network and who is the target audience?
• [10:26] - How newsletters differ from email marketing.
• [15:14] - What sponsors are looking for when they pay to appear in a newsletter.
• [18:10] - How will your newsletter’s deliverability change once you start introducing sponsorship?
• [23:30] - Why newsletter sponsorship is mutually beneficial for everyone involved.
• [26:40] - What to do when you experience deliverability issues with a sponsor.

Quotes

[12:21] “Another thing that's really awesome about newsletters and sponsors and brands is that you can really clearly help brands find out where they should go to find new customers.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[20:13] - “The more you can encourage replies and that one-to-one feel in your newsletters, the better chance you have of moving those back to the primary inbox.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[21:24] - “I do recommend making sure that the ad still sounds like it's coming from you, that it visually matches your branding, and then, also, that the copy matches your branding.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

Links

• ConvertKit Sponsor Network
• Athletic Greens
• Petco
• James Clear
•  Pat Flynn
• Subscribe to the weekly Deliverability Dispatch Newsletter!
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
• Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Deliverability 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. 

You may be familiar with traditional newsletters, but an evergreen newsletter is a smart and automated approach to standard email newsletters. It allows established creators to step off the content hamster wheel, build a personalized journey for new subscribers, and make better versions of future email sequences based on audience feedback.  

Nathan Barry, CEO of ConvertKit, has made $50K from “a secret newsletter about money.” He noticed that a lot of content existed for new creators, but not for established ones. Nathan’s “Secret Money Newsletter” is a paid $149 email sequence targeting established creators that make at least $200K annually. It currently has 500 subscribers and an impressive 87% open rate. 

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa talk to Nathan about the power of transparency and providing context behind success metrics, the advantages of an evergreen newsletter, and connecting with your audience by incorporating their feedback into future email sequences.

Key Takeaways

• [03:03] - What is Nathan’s paid newsletter about?
• [08:26] - Why Nathan is so transparent about his own finances, and is it worth it?
• [17:24] - How much revenue has Nathan’s paid newsletter generated?  
• [22:36] - What is the most challenging aspect of an evergreen newsletter?
• [29:06] - Why evergreen newsletters are a great way to showcase your expertise.
• [32:30] - How an evergreen newsletter can remove the pressure of wanting it to be “perfect”.
• [34:21] - How to keep email sequences from overwhelming your subscribers.
• [36:45] - What are Nathan’s plans for the future of his newsletter?
• [39:59] - Why asking your audience for specific feedback makes it so much easier to keep writing content.
• [45:16] - Nathan’s method for coming up with content for future emails.

Quotes

[14:04] - “By putting advice out there, and real numbers, you show people what’s possible and they can learn from the specifics. It makes a huge difference when people share actual numbers, it gives you real context.”  ~ @nathanbarry

[20:35] - “I love with email how few barriers there are between your ideas and the reader.” ~ @nathanbarry

[32:47] - “If you know this is going to be email #1 for a long time, that puts the pressure on it. But, good news — you can edit it. So 15 people will get that, and you can learn from it and so the version that’s going to go out to 500 people over a period of time is so much better, and a lot of the pressure comes off.” ~ @nathanbarry

Links

• Nathan Barry on Twitter
• Nathan Barry on LinkedIn
• Nathan Barry
• A secret newsletter about money
• Buy Back Your Time
• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
• Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Deliverability 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. 

According to Finances Online, as of January 2020, Gmail had over 1.8 billion active users. When you’ve got a mailbox provider so prevalent on your email list, keeping yourself on good terms with that provider is essential for the survival of your subscriber count. But how do you know if your reputation with Gmail has tanked? And what’s the best way to respond? 

While every mailbox provider cares about customers first, Gmail has its advantages for senders too. For example, Gmail allows you to track your domain and IP reputation. Gmail also sends helpful hints when your emails land in the spam folder, but it can be confusing.

In this episode, Alyssa and Melissa discuss how to determine where your sender reputation stands with Gmail, what to make of every possible inbox tip-off, how to respond when you realize your reputation has tanked, and reaching the root cause of your strained relationship with Gmail. 

Key Takeaways

• [03:28] - There are many clues and data points Gmail provides that can point senders in the right direction when it comes to fixing your reputation. 
• [06:37] - While Gmail is the mailbox provider, the actions of your subscribers determine where you land in the inbox. Remember that mailbox providers care about their customers (your subscribers) above all else. 
• [07:34] - Subscribers will sometimes tell you when your messages are landing in their spam folders. Keep in mind that the promotions tab is still the inbox.
• [11:24] - If you land in the spam folder and see a banner that reads, “Why is this message in spam?” — it usually means you’re not using a verified sending domain with an ESP.
• [13:16] - If you realize you have a bad reputation with Gmail, immediately stop sending to unengaged subscribers and figure out the root cause.
• [14:07] - Clean your list, check to see if you’ve been listbombed, and avoid sending to unengaged subscribers for two weeks. As you see your reputation start to improve, you can gradually begin re-engaging subscribers who haven’t been receiving your messages. 

Quotes

[06:59] - “Gmail’s number one priority is their customers, who are your subscribers. So you may have every good intention in the world of helping people, sending relevant content, but if those subscribers are not interacting in a positive way, then your reputation may be suffering.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

[17:43] - “You have to give them time to build that trust back. And you want to make sure that in that process, when you’re building it back, you don’t do anything that would cause more negative signals to show up. Don’t try and re-engage your list too fast. You want to do all that really slowly and try to make sure that the most things they’re seeing when you send messages are those positive engagements like opens, and clicks, and replies.” ~ @alyssa_dulin

[19:22] - “Even though reputation issues can be scary, at least at Gmail there are a decent amount of tools, signals that you can use to be able to work on certain aspects of your list and your sending habits, and they give you an opportunity to get better.” ~ @mel_lambert_ 

Links

• Subscribe to the monthly Deliverability Defined newsletter!
• Monthly deliverability reports
• Starbucks
• Slack
• Gmail
• Hotmail
• Yahoo Mail
• Finances Online report
• Google Postmaster Tools
• Deliverability Defined 0222: Ask Our Experts: Help, My Emails Are Landing in the Promotions Tab!
• LinkedIn
• Ask Alyssa & Melissa questions or suggest content for our next monthly newsletter!

Connect with our hosts

• Alyssa Dulin
• Melissa Lambert

Stay in touch

• Apple Podcasts
• Spotify
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram
• Deliverability 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.