An email walks into a bar...

Something something male server.?

Something something… what do I have to do to get a response around here?

Something something… Then the lights went dark and no one really knows what happened next. ?But there definitely wasn’t any ROI.

Oh email deliverability – the modern marketer’s favourite tragicomedy.

I know you’ve been there, artistically finessing the perfect campaign, only to have it crash and burn in the murky depths of recipient spam folders. ?It’s a never-ending battle, the challenges keep coming, and the solutions… well the solutions get more absurd by the day. ?

Let's dive in and explore some of the Darwin award worthy genius approaches doing the rounds.

The Rise of the Ridiculous

Once upon a time, B2B was simple. You wrote an email, hit send, and voila! It magically appeared in your recipient's inbox. ?

Long gone. Now, thanks to the never-ending quest to outsmart spam filters, we’re living in an era where sending an email is broadly comparable to launching a space shuttle – with similar chances of success.

Enter the modern day “solution” to poor deliverability: sending more emails. ?Yes, you read that right, because flooding the digital seas with even more messages will surely fix the problem. What could possibly go wrong?

The Domain Deluge

Here’s where the comedy tops out. To evade the wrath of spam filters caused by volume, wily marketers have now started using more domains. And, by more domains, I don’t mean a couple of dedicated marketing outboxes, I mean a small country’s worth. The logic? ?If one domain generates X, fifty will clearly generate 50X.? Because maths.?

It’s the digital equivalent of sending junk mail from every post office in town hoping it might just slip through… and magically become interesting.

But why stop there? ?

Let’s take it to its logical conclusion: a new domain for every single email sent. ?

Yes, register and set up a new domain for every message. ?What could be more 2024? ?Sure, it’s a logistical clusterfuffle and completely unsustainable, but your email SaaS just rolled out an automated domain provisioning tool and you can spin 1000 domains in minutes.? Again, what could possibly go wrong?

When Will It End?

As we barrel towards the dystopian hellscape where domain registration is literally integrated into email sending protocols, (perhaps the 2-week domain warm up starts when you hit send!), we must ask ourselves: where does this unholy madness end?

Will we eventually have more email domains than actual emails? Will domain registrars become the new power brokers of the internet, their influence surpassing even that of the ISPs?

Imagine a world where your email address looks like this: [email protected]. And don’t you dare forget which domain you used for which email. The IT department can’t wait either.

The Inevitable Backlash

Of course, all good comedies have a twist. The backlash is firmly underway. Spam filters adapt (they always do), and the 100-domain tactic will fall out of favour, just like the ‘promising’ hacks before it. ?In the end we’ll be left with the same fundamental issue: delivering relevant, wanted communications to real people.

So, what’s the real solution? Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to get back to basics.

Dial back to a volume that stands half a chance of being delivered, focus on quality and create valuable content that people actually want to receive. ?Expand through parallel channels and better material… and start building genuine relationships again.

And for the love of all things digital, stop trying to game the system.

The Conclusion

Email deliverability is not the Wild West it once was. It’s a sophisticated game of cat and mouse. Only the cats are powered by AI and NVIDIA chipsets… and they’re really good at catching mice.

But amidst all the chaos and absurdity, one truth remains: quality trumps quantity.

So, let’s raise a toast to the brave marketers out there, navigating the deliverability labyrinth and solving it with quality.

May your inboxes be ever full, and your sender reputations unblemished.

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If you’re dealing with email deliverability woes and want to chat about it, feel free to reach out.