How to improve email deliverability? Best tips and practices in 2026

Email marketing is one of the most effective ways to stay connected with photography clients — whether you’re sharing session availability, announcing mini sessions, or offering print sales around the holidays. But once you start sending email campaigns, you might notice that there’s more to it than just hitting send. Not every email makes it to the inbox, and not every message gets opened.

As inbox filters continue to evolve, understanding how emails get delivered has become more crucial than ever. Low deliverability can mean missed bookings, unseen offers, and fewer opportunities to connect with your audience. In this article, we’ll walk through what email deliverability is, what affects it, and a few simple ways to ensure your emails reach your clients’ inboxes.

What is email deliverability (and why it matters)

There are two terms you might come across when learning about email performance: delivery rate and email deliverability. Delivery rate is a technical metric that shows whether the recipient’s server accepted your message. Email deliverability, on the other hand, refers to your ability to reach the inbox, rather than landing in the spam folder. It’s influenced by factors like your sender reputation and the content of your emails (see next section).

Deliverability often matters more than other metrics. If your delivery rate is 99%, but most of the messages end up in spam, your email deliverability suffers. When this happens, emails are far less likely to be opened, meaning missed opportunities to connect with clients, book sessions and make sales.

Here are more key metrics inside the dashboard of your email marketing tool, that you should keep an eye on to understand how your emails are performing:

• Open rates — the percentage of emails that are opened;
• Click-through rates — the percentage of emails where someone clicks a link;
• Bounce rates — the percentage of emails that aren’t delivered, either due to a full inbox (soft bounce) or an invalid email address (hard bounce).

3 factors that influence your email deliverability

Email providers constantly evaluate whether your emails should be trusted. Over time, they look at how people interact with your emails and use those signals to decide where future emails should go. There are three main factors that influence this:

1. Who you send to

Email deliverability starts with who you send your emails to. Focus on building a list of people who have intentionally signed up to hear from you. When your audience genuinely wants to receive your emails, they’re more likely to open, click, and engage with your content. Some may even move your emails from spam to their inbox. These positive signals tell email providers that your emails are relevant and trustworthy, helping strengthen your sender reputation over time.

2. How you send

Your email setup also plays an important role. Using a custom domain (like yourname@brandname.com) helps signal that you’re a legitimate sender. In contrast, generic email addresses are more commonly associated with spam and can affect where your emails land (ie. yourname@gmail.com).

It’s also important to send emails in a consistent and predictable way. For example, sending one campaign every few weeks builds a more reliable pattern than sending multiple emails at once after a long pause. This kind of consistency helps email providers recognize your behavior as trustworthy over time.

3. What you send

The content of your emails matters just as much as who you send them to. Whether you’re announcing new sessions, sharing recent work, or offering something special, your message should feel intentional and easy to understand. When your emails are useful, people are more likely to engage, which in turn helps improve your deliverability.

6 tips on how to improve your email deliverability

By following the steps below and taking a consistent, intentional approach to your email list, you’ll improve your email deliverability over time. This will also strengthen your sender reputation and help you reach more of your subscribers and past clients.

#1 Send emails to people who opted in

Start by sending emails only to people who have subscribed, ideally through a double opt-in process where they confirm their email after signing up.

Sending emails without clear consent or purchasing email lists is considered poor practice and can quickly harm your deliverability. These recipients are less likely to engage, and more likely to ignore, unsubscribe, or mark your emails as spam. Over time, this signals to email providers that your messages aren’t wanted.

Inside Pixieset, visitors have the option to check the consent box in their collections to be added to your marketing audience and included in future email campaigns. Learn how to build your audience in Pixieset.

#2 Keep your email list clean and engaged

An engaged email list is more valuable than a large one. After a while, some subscribers may become inactive and stop opening your emails. It’s a good practice to review your list regularly and identify contacts who haven’t opened any of your emails in the last 3–6 months.

You can try to re-engage them with a simple check-in email where you ask if they’re still interested to hear from you. If they remain inactive, it’s best to remove them from your list. It’s also important to remove bounced or invalid email addresses, as they can directly impact your deliverability.

#3 Make your emails trustworthy and compliant

Small details in your emails can make a big difference in how they’re perceived, both by your subscribers and by email providers. A clear and easy-to-find unsubscribe link is a legal requirement, but it also signals transparency. When people know they can opt out at any time, they’re less likely to mark your emails as spam. Adding your physical address in the footer further reinforces that you’re a legitimate sender. These details help email providers recognize your emails as credible and compliant.

You can also encourage subscribers to add your email address to their contacts. This is a strong positive signal that your emails are wanted, which increases the chances of them landing in the inbox instead of spam.

#4 Write emails that feel natural and human

Email providers look at how your content is written to determine whether it feels trustworthy or spam-like. Messages that rely on excessive capitalization, multiple exclamation points, or overly promotional phrases (like “get free…” or “limited time offer”) are more likely to be filtered out.

A good rule of thumb is to write the way you would speak to a client. Keep your tone conversational, clear, and focused on something genuinely useful — whether that’s sharing updates, offering availability, or highlighting recent work. Adding small touches of personalization, like using a subscriber’s name, can also help your emails feel more relevant.

Keep your emails concise and easy to scan. Long, dense messages can feel overwhelming and are less likely to be read, which can impact engagement over time. When your emails are focused and written in a natural way, people are more likely to open and interact with them. That positive engagement helps improve your deliverability. Discover more tips on how to write effective marketing emails.

#5 Use images and links thoughtfully

Visuals can enhance your emails, but using too many or relying on images alone can affect how your emails are delivered and viewed. Some email providers may flag image-heavy emails as promotional or spam, especially if there’s little supporting text. Try to strike a balance between images and written content so your message remains clear, even if the images don’t load. It’s also best to avoid large files or attachments, as they can slow down loading times or trigger spam filters.

Be mindful of how many links you include as well. Emails with too many links or using link shorteners can appear suspicious to spam filters. Instead, focus on one clear call to action rather than adding multiple links that compete for the viewer’s attention.

Adding alt text to your images ensures that your message still comes through if visuals aren’t displayed, and helps make your emails more accessible. Keeping your emails lightweight and easy to load improves the overall experience, and increases the chances of them reaching the inbox.

#6 Send emails consistently and build up gradually

Consistency plays a key role in how email providers evaluate your sending behavior. Instead of sending emails sporadically or in large bursts, aim for a steady and predictable cadence.

If you’re starting a new list or haven’t sent emails in a while, it’s important to “warm up” your audience by sending to smaller, more engaged segments first. Gradually increasing your volume over time helps build trust with email providers.

It’s also important to be mindful of how often you email your marketing list. Sending too many emails in a short period can lead to lower open rates and engagement, which signals to email providers that your content may not be relevant. Similarly, sudden spikes in sending, like emailing your entire list after a long pause, can be flagged as unusual behavior and may affect your deliverability.

Start improving your email deliverability

Improving your email deliverability doesn’t require complex changes. Focus on a few key habits — like sending to an engaged audience, writing clear and relevant emails, and maintaining a consistent sending schedule. Over time, this helps you build trust and increases the chances of your emails reaching the inbox of your subscribers. Regularly reviewing your metrics, like open and click-through rates, can also help you spot what’s working and make adjustments as needed.

Ready to try email marketing for your business? Grow your email list right inside Pixieset with Email Campaigns. Start by turning on opt-ins for clients and their friends to build your marketing list. To send an email campaign use our ready-made templates to promote booking availability, share discounts on prints, run sales, request testimonials or simply thank your clients for an amazing year. And if you need some inspiration, check out this list with 15+email campaigns ideas to send clients.