Any good email campaign starts with strong delivery rates.

If you send frequently to a targeted list of opt-in addresses and systematically prune dead ones, you may deliver to 99 percent. But if you send less frequently and don’t promptly remove dead addresses, delivery rates will not be as stellar.

Some delivery failures are to be expected-- after all, people change jobs, switch ISPs or simply abandon addresses. Ideally, you’d like recipients to update their addresses, but if they’ve moved on, so should you-- so remove those dead addresses from your list.

Be aware: normal address churn is one thing, but poor delivery may indicate your mail has been flagged as spam.

When recipients complain about your messages, ISPs may slow receipt of your email or even block it from reaching the inboxes of everyone at that ISP-- even those who really want to receive it.

Remember: Your customers can’t act on your email campaign if they never receive it.

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