Email Deliverability Course

Lesson 1 • Mailbox Provider Ecosystem Overview

Maps the major mailbox provider types and their filtering philosophies. Helps students anticipate provider-specific behaviour addressed in advanced chapters.

Lesson 2 • Key Deliverability Metrics Defined

Defines delivery rate, inbox placement rate, bounce rate, and complaint rate. Provides the measurement vocabulary used throughout the course.

Lesson 3 • How Email Transmission Works

Covers the SMTP protocol, mail transfer agents, and hop-by-hop routing. Establishes the technical baseline every subsequent chapter depends on.

Lesson 1 • DMARC Policy Configuration

Explains alignment modes, policy levels, and aggregate reporting. Ties SPF and DKIM together into an enforceable anti-spoofing policy.

Lesson 2 • SPF Record Structure and Logic

Teaches SPF syntax, include mechanisms, and lookup limits. Directly prevents unauthorised IP addresses from sending on behalf of a domain.

Lesson 3 • DKIM Signing and Key Management

Covers cryptographic signing, selector records, and key rotation. Ensures message integrity is verifiable end-to-end by receiving servers.

Lesson 4 • Reading and Acting on DMARC Reports

Teaches parsing of aggregate and forensic XML reports. Converts raw report data into actionable authentication fixes.

Lesson 1 • TLS Encryption and Secure Transmission

Explains opportunistic and enforced TLS, MTA-STS, and DANE for secure mail transport. Protects message integrity and satisfies provider security requirements.

Lesson 2 • Mail Server and ESP Selection Criteria

Compares self-hosted mail servers with email service providers on deliverability-relevant dimensions. Guides infrastructure decisions based on volume and use case.

Lesson 3 • Feedback Loop Setup and Processing

Covers complaint feedback loop enrolment, report parsing, and automated suppression. Converts complaint signals into immediate list hygiene actions.

Lesson 4 • DNS Configuration for Deliverability

Covers PTR records, MX records, and hostname alignment requirements. Ensures DNS is configured to pass receiving server identity checks.

Lesson 1 • Blacklist Types and Delisting Processes

Covers major blacklist categories, listing triggers, and delisting request procedures. Equips students to resolve listings that block mail delivery.

Lesson 2 • Reputation Monitoring Tools and Workflows

Surveys postmaster dashboards, third-party monitors, and alert setups. Builds a proactive monitoring habit that catches issues before they escalate.

Lesson 3 • How Reputation Scores Are Built

Explains the signals mailbox providers use to score senders over time. Frames reputation as a dynamic asset requiring ongoing maintenance.

Lesson 4 • Domain Reputation vs. IP Reputation

Distinguishes domain-level from IP-level reputation signals and their relative weight. Guides infrastructure decisions such as subdomain strategy.

Lesson 1 • Spam Trap Identification and Avoidance

Describes pristine, recycled, and typo trap types and how lists become contaminated. Guides acquisition and hygiene practices that minimise trap hits.

Lesson 2 • Email Address Validation Techniques

Teaches syntax checks, domain verification, and real-time validation at point of capture. Stops invalid addresses from entering the list.

Lesson 3 • Sunset and Re-Engagement Policies

Defines inactivity thresholds, re-engagement sequences, and sunset suppression rules. Removes chronically unengaged subscribers before they harm reputation.

Lesson 4 • Permission and Consent Best Practices

Covers opt-in methods, consent documentation, and permission decay. Establishes the ethical and technical foundation for a healthy list.

Lesson 1 • Spam Filter Content Triggers

Identifies word patterns, formatting choices, and structural elements that raise spam scores. Directly reduces filter-triggered inbox failures.

Lesson 2 • HTML and Plain-Text Message Structure

Covers multipart MIME construction, HTML best practices, and plain-text fallback. Ensures messages render correctly and pass structural filter checks.

Lesson 3 • Pre-Send Content Testing Methods

Introduces spam scoring tools, seed testing, and rendering previews. Validates content deliverability before any message reaches a live audience.

Lesson 4 • Attachment and File Handling

Covers attachment type risks, file size limits, and safer alternatives like hosted links. Reduces attachment-triggered filtering without losing functionality.

Lesson 1 • Inbox Placement Testing and Monitoring

Explains seed network testing, panel-based placement data, and trend monitoring. Provides ongoing visibility into where mail lands across providers.

Lesson 2 • Send Time and Frequency Optimisation

Covers optimal send-time analysis, frequency fatigue, and cadence testing. Reduces unsubscribes and complaints caused by poor timing and over-sending.

Lesson 3 • Segmentation for Deliverability Gains

Teaches engagement-based segmentation to concentrate sending on active subscribers. Improves aggregate engagement rates and protects overall sender reputation.

Lesson 4 • Engagement Metrics That Influence Filtering

Identifies opens, clicks, replies, and deletions as reputation inputs. Connects subscriber behaviour to the filtering decisions made by mailbox providers.

Lesson 1 • Building a Deliverability Roadmap

Covers prioritisation frameworks, milestone setting, and stakeholder communication for improvement plans. Translates audit findings into an executable action plan.

Lesson 2 • Diagnosing Deliverability Problems

Teaches systematic root-cause analysis using bounce logs, placement data, and reputation tools. Converts symptoms into confirmed diagnoses with evidence.

Lesson 3 • Ongoing Deliverability Governance

Establishes review cadences, ownership assignments, and escalation procedures. Embeds deliverability discipline into routine email programme operations.

Lesson 4 • Reporting Deliverability to Stakeholders

Teaches metric selection, visualisation choices, and narrative framing for executive reports. Enables students to communicate deliverability value to non-technical audiences.