High email reach for worldwide sales success

Ever sent a perfectly crafted sales email only to discover it never reached your international prospect’s inbox? You’re not alone. For sales teams targeting global markets, email deliverability can make or break your campaign success.

Why email deliverability matters for international sales

Email deliverability refers to your ability to get emails into recipients’ inboxes rather than spam folders or being blocked entirely. This distinction is crucial:

• Delivery simply means your email was accepted by the recipient’s mail server
• Deliverability means it actually reached the inbox where it can be seen

For sales teams, poor deliverability directly impacts:

• Revenue potential (can’t convert prospects who never see your message)
• Brand reputation (appearing as spam damages credibility)
• Campaign ROI (wasted effort on emails that go unseen)

Think of email deliverability as the foundation of your sales communication strategy. Without it, even the most compelling message falls into the digital void. According to Return Path research, senders with “excellent” reputation scores achieve over 90% deliverability rates, while those with “poor” scores see less than 50% of their emails reach inboxes.

Core factors affecting international email deliverability

Sender reputation

Your sender reputation is how email service providers judge your trustworthiness. It’s like a credit score for email senders—once damaged, it takes consistent good behavior to rebuild.

Key practices to maintain a strong reputation:

• Implement proper authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC)
• Monitor your reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools or Sender Score
• Maintain consistent sending volumes and patterns
• Keep bounce rates below 2% and complaint rates under 0.1%

According to Mailgun research, 66% of successful senders use SPF and DKIM authentication, while 53.8% implement DMARC to protect against spoofing and phishing. These technical protocols essentially verify that you are who you claim to be—crucial for building trust with email providers.

Email infrastructure

Your technical setup significantly impacts deliverability across different regions. Think of your infrastructure as the vehicle delivering your message—the more reliable it is, the better chance your message has of arriving intact.

Consider these infrastructure elements:

• Dedicated vs. shared IPs: High-volume senders benefit from dedicated IPs, while low-volume senders may use shared IPs (with caution)
• Email service providers: Choose providers with strong deliverability features like SendGrid, Mailgun, or SparkPost
• Warm-up processes: Gradually increase volume when using new IPs or domains to build reputation

Just as you wouldn’t drive a new car at full speed immediately, don’t start sending thousands of emails from a new domain. Begin with small volumes and gradually increase to establish credibility with email providers.

List quality and engagement

Clean, engaged lists are fundamental to deliverability success:

• Regularly remove invalid or inactive addresses
• Segment lists by engagement level and region
• Use double opt-in for new subscribers (especially important for GDPR compliance in Europe)
• Run re-engagement campaigns before removing inactive subscribers

HubSpot data shows that emails with click-through rates above 2% often bypass spam filters, highlighting the importance of engaging content. Think of engagement as a virtuous cycle—the more recipients interact with your emails, the more likely providers are to deliver your future messages.

Regional challenges and strategies

European considerations (including UK)

Regulatory compliance:

• GDPR requires explicit consent and easy unsubscribe options
• Document your consent collection process
• Include your physical address and clear unsubscribe mechanisms

ISP variations: UK providers like BT Internet, Virgin Media, and Sky have unique filtering approaches. These providers place significant emphasis on user engagement when determining inbox placement. Focus on engagement metrics and personalization to improve deliverability with these providers.

A UK retailer improved deliverability by 20% simply by implementing GDPR-compliant list cleaning practices, showing that compliance and performance often go hand-in-hand.

North American considerations

• CAN-SPAM compliance requires physical address and unsubscribe options
• US providers often focus heavily on engagement metrics
• Canada’s CASL legislation has strict consent requirements

North American providers like Gmail and Yahoo have sophisticated filtering algorithms that analyze engagement patterns. A consistent sending schedule and engaging content are particularly important for these providers.

Asian market considerations

• ISPs like Yahoo Japan may block emails with excessive images
• Consider using text-heavy formats for better deliverability
• Be aware of content filtering for politically sensitive topics in some regions

Cultural sensitivity plays a crucial role here—what works in Western markets might trigger spam filters in Asian countries. For instance, emails with high image-to-text ratios perform poorly in Japan, while certain keywords or phrases might trigger political content filters in China.

Best practices for international sales campaigns

Content optimization

• Personalize and localize: Adapt content for regional preferences and language
• Avoid spam triggers: Limit excessive capitalization, exclamation marks, and spam words
• Balance text-to-image ratio: Aim for approximately 80% text, 20% images
• Mobile optimization: With 75% of UK email opens occurring on mobile devices, responsive design is essential

Well-crafted content isn’t just about persuasive copy—it’s about creating messages that navigate filtering systems successfully. Consider how your email appears visually: a wall of blue hyperlinks or all-caps subject lines send strong spam signals to filters.

Sending strategies

• Time zone optimization: Send during business hours in the recipient’s time zone
• Consistent sending patterns: Establish regular sending schedules
• Smart delays: Implement 180-200 second delays between emails for better deliverability
• A/B testing: Test subject lines, content formats, and sending times for different regions

Folderly clients have achieved 96%+ inbox placement by implementing smart delays between emails, demonstrating how technical sending patterns impact deliverability.

Monitoring and improvement

• Track key metrics like open rates, click rates, and bounce rates by region
• Use deliverability testing tools before major campaigns
• Analyze spam complaints to identify and address issues
• Continuously clean and validate your email lists

Successful email deliverability requires constant vigilance. Treat your email program as a living system that needs regular care and attention, not a set-it-and-forget-it channel.

Tools to improve international deliverability

Tool Type	Purpose	Examples
Authentication Tools	Verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC setup	MXToolbox, DMARCian
List Validation	Clean invalid addresses	ZeroBounce, NeverBounce
Deliverability Testing	Test inbox placement	Litmus, Email on Acid
Reputation Monitoring	Track sender reputation	Talos Intelligence, Sender Score
AI-Driven Optimization	Personalize content and timing	Phrasee, Sailthru

Case study: Improving global sales reach

A London-based travel agency struggled with poor deliverability for their international sales campaigns. By implementing these changes:

1. Segmented lists by travel preferences and region
2. Implemented proper authentication protocols
3. Used SendGrid for infrastructure and NeverBounce for list validation
4. Created localized content for different markets

The result: Deliverability improved from 65% to 85%, with open rates rising by 15% and a significant boost in conversions.

This transformation didn’t happen overnight—it required systematic implementation of best practices and continuous monitoring. However, the ROI was substantial, with the increased visibility directly translating to higher sales volumes.

How Sera helps maximize international email deliverability

At Sera, we understand the critical importance of email deliverability for sales success. Our AI-driven platform helps sales teams:

• Reach prospects in over 100 languages with properly localized content
• Ensure authentication compliance across all campaigns
• Monitor deliverability metrics in real-time
• Optimize sending patterns based on regional engagement data
• Clean and validate contact lists automatically

By combining these deliverability best practices with our AI-powered sales automation, your team can focus on closing deals while we ensure your messages actually reach decision-makers worldwide.

Ready to boost your international sales email performance? Contact our team today to learn how Sera can help your sales messages land in more inboxes across the globe.