How to Ensure Better Email Deliverability Rates?
Best Practices for running email campaigns with Reo.Dev's Data.
Your domain reputation is one of your most valuable marketing assets. Good email deliverability isn't just about having email IDs—it's about how and who you email. This guide will help your team safely and effectively use contact data (especially developer identities) in your outreach workflows.
Understanding Reo.Dev's Contact Data Points
Reo.Dev provides multiple data points that enable different types of marketing campaigns:
What Data We Provide
Named Companies – Revealed accounts showing intent
Named Developers – Individual developer profiles with activity signals
LinkedIn Profile URLs – Professional profiles for social outreach
Business Emails – Verified work email addresses
Personal Emails – Only when provided directly by the person through first-party assets (website forms, product signups, etc.)
Multi-Channel Activation Options
Each data type opens up different outreach channels:
Data Type
Campaign Channels
Best Use Case
Named Companies
LinkedIn Ads, Google Display Network (GDN)
Increase brand awareness and digital impressions among target accounts
LinkedIn URLs
LinkedIn cold outreach, InMail campaigns
Direct professional networking and engagement
Business Emails
Email marketing, cold outbound sequences
Personalized 1:1 outreach and nurture campaigns
Each channel comes with its own nuances and best practices—especially email, where strict spam filters and deliverability algorithms can impact your domain reputation.
Signal Strength: Understanding Data Maturity
Not all intent signals are created equal. The number and type of signals an account shows directly impacts campaign success rates.
Single-Source Signals (Lower Maturity)
When an account or developer is revealed from only one intent source—like hiring signals or a single GitHub repository interaction—we consider this lower signal maturity (in comparison to compounded intent signals).
Recommended approach:
Start with awareness campaigns: Run LinkedIn Ads or GDN to increase brand visibility
Build engagement gradually: Drive prospects to engage with your website, product docs, or product itself
Move them down the funnel: As they show deeper interest, they become warmer prospects for email and LinkedIn outreach
Multi-Source Signals (Higher Maturity)
When prospects show 2+ different intent signals—for example, they've starred your GitHub repo AND visited your documentation—this indicates stronger buying intent and higher receptivity to direct outreach.
Why it matters:
Multiple touchpoints signal genuine interest
Higher likelihood of positive response to email/LinkedIn campaigns
Reduced risk of being marked as spam
The General Thumbrule
When prospects engage with your ads, visit your website multiple times, interact with your docs, or show product interest—these combined signals make them significantly more likely to respond positively to your email and LinkedIn campaigns.
Email Deliverability Best Practices
Email deliverability is heavily influenced by sender practices, domain configuration, list hygiene, and sender reputation. Follow these guidelines to protect your domain health while running effective campaigns.
✅ Do's: What You Should Do
1. Authenticate Your Sending Domains
Ensure all sender domains have proper authentication records configured:
SPF (Sender Policy Framework) – Authorizes which mail servers can send on your behalf
DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) – Adds a digital signature to verify email authenticity
DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication) – Tells receiving servers how to handle emails that fail SPF/DKIM checks
Why it matters: ISPs use these records to verify you're a legitimate sender, drastically improving inbox placement rates.
2. Use High-Quality TLD Domains
Stick with reputable top-level domains (TLDs) like .com, .io, .net, or .co.
Avoid low-credibility TLDs that are often flagged as spam:
.xyz
.top
.info
.click
.loan
.work
Why it matters: Certain TLDs have higher spam association rates, causing ISPs to filter them more aggressively.
3. Warm Up Your Sending Inboxes
Before launching campaigns, gradually increase your sending volume using email warm-up tools like Instantly.ai or similar platforms.
Why it matters: Sudden high-volume sending from a new or cold inbox triggers spam filters. Warm-up tools simulate natural email activity to build sender reputation.
4. Use Professional Sender Identities
Your sender profile matters. Ensure:
Real person's name (not "Marketing Team" or "Sales Dept")
Profile picture on linked accounts
Valid reply-to email that's monitored
Domain redirects to your main website
Why it matters: Recipients and spam filters trust emails from real people, not faceless entities.
5. Personalize Your Emails
Generic, templated emails get marked as spam. Personalization signals genuine interest and relevance.
Best practices:
Use recipient's first name, company name, and relevant context
Reference specific activities or signals (e.g., "I noticed you starred our repo")
Tailor messaging to their role or use case
Why it matters: Personalized emails have higher open rates, engagement rates, and lower spam complaints.
6. Avoid Links in First Emails (Especially Cold Outreach)
For cold outreach, keep your first email clean and link-free. Links—especially multiple links or shortened URLs—are red flags for spam filters.
Why it matters: Reduces the likelihood of being filtered as spam, especially when reaching out to cold audiences.
7. Validate Emails Before Sending
Run your email list through an email verification tool like NeverBounce or similar services to:
Remove invalid email addresses
Flag risky emails (role-based, disposable, catch-all domains)
Reduce bounce rates
Why it matters: High bounce rates damage sender reputation. Clean lists = better deliverability.
8. Include Clear Unsubscribe Options
Make it easy for recipients to opt out. Include an unsubscribe link in every marketing email.
Why it matters: Required by CAN-SPAM and GDPR compliance. Also prevents spam complaints, which hurt deliverability more than unsubscribes.
9. Start Small: Test with Under 500 Contacts
For your first campaign, limit your list to under 500 contacts. Monitor performance before scaling.
Why it matters: Allows you to catch issues early (bad copy, deliverability problems, targeting mismatches) before damaging your sender reputation at scale.
10. A/B Test Your Personalization
Test different personalization angles to see what resonates:
Subject line variations
Opening lines
Call-to-action phrasing
Timing and cadence
Why it matters: Small improvements in engagement (opens, clicks, replies) compound over time and signal to ISPs that your emails are wanted.
11. Create Developer-Friendly Content (Value > Pitch)
When reaching out to developers and technical end-users, focus on education and value, not sales pitches.
Best practices:
Share relevant resources, guides, or tools
Offer to help solve a specific problem
Reference the technical context they care about
Invite them to training workshops/webinars that help. them upskill
Need inspiration? Check out our cold outreach email and LinkedIn templates designed specifically for developer audiences.
Why it matters: Developers are notoriously averse to sales pitches. Value-first approaches earn trust and engagement.
12. Prioritize Multi-Signal Audiences
Whenever possible, target contacts with at least 2 different intent signals—for example, developers who've both starred your repository AND visited your documentation.
Why it matters: Multi-signal audiences are warmer, more receptive, and more likely to engage positively—reducing spam risk and improving campaign ROI.
13. Monitor Domain Health with Google Postmaster
Set up Google Postmaster Tools for your sending domains and conduct regular audits to monitor:
Domain reputation score
IP reputation
Spam rate
Delivery errors
Why it matters: Proactive monitoring helps you catch deliverability issues before they snowball into major sender reputation damage.
❌ Don'ts: What You Should Avoid
1. Don't Use Your Primary Website Domain for Outreach
Never send marketing or cold outbound emails from your main website domain (e.g., yourcompany.com).
Why it matters: If your outreach domain is flagged or blacklisted, it affects your entire digital presence—including transactional emails, customer communications, and even your domain authority for SEO.
Best practice: Use a subdomain (e.g., mail.yourcompany.com) or a separate domain for outreach campaigns.
2. Don't Blast Cold Lists of Unknown Developers
Sending mass emails to developers you've never engaged with is a fast track to spam folders and blacklists.
Why it matters: Developers are highly sensitive to unsolicited outreach. High spam complaint rates destroy sender reputation.
3. Don't Skip Email Validation
Sending to unverified email addresses results in high bounce rates, which ISPs interpret as poor list hygiene—a direct hit to your sender reputation.
Why it matters: Email validation is a small upfront cost that protects your long-term deliverability.
4. Don't Send High Volume on Day 1
Ramping up too quickly—especially from a new or cold inbox—triggers spam filters and ISP throttling.
Why it matters: ISPs monitor for suspicious sending patterns. Gradual ramp-up is critical for inbox placement.
5. Don't Use "noreply@" or Generic Sender Names
Generic sender identities like "[email protected]" or "Marketing Team" signal automated, impersonal outreach.
Why it matters: Recipients are less likely to engage, and spam filters penalize emails that discourage replies.
Pre-Send Checklist: Before You Hit Send
Use this checklist to validate your campaign setup before launching:
Domain & Authentication
[ ] Domain authenticated (SPF/DKIM/DMARC records configured)
[ ] Using a subdomain or separate domain (not primary website domain)
[ ] High-quality TLD domain (.com, .io, .net)
Email Validation & List Quality
[ ] Email IDs validated with the verification tool
[ ] List size is under 500 for the first campaign
[ ] Removed bounced, unsubscribed, or inactive emails from previous campaigns
Sender Identity
[ ] Real person's name as sender
[ ] Valid reply-to email address
[ ] Professional email signature included
Audience Warmth & Targeting
[ ] Audience has at least 2 intent signals (ideally)
[ ] Contacts have been warmed through ads, LinkedIn, or community engagement (if possible)
[ ] Segment focuses on engaged or known prospects (not purely cold)
Email Content
[ ] Personalization included (name, company, context)
[ ] Content is developer-friendly: value-focused, not pitch-heavy
[ ] No links in first email (for cold outreach)
[ ] Clear call-to-action included
Compliance & Deliverability
[ ] Unsubscribe link included
[ ] Sending volume throttled (gradual ramp-up plan in place)
[ ] Inbox warmed up using the warm-up tool
[ ] A/B test plan ready for subject lines and personalization angles
Monitoring Setup
[ ] Google Postmaster Tools configured for domain monitoring
[ ] Tracking metrics ready: open rate, reply rate, bounce rate, spam rate
Additional Resources
Learn More About Outbound Campaigns
We hosted a comprehensive webinar on LinkedIn outbound campaigns, but the principles of messaging, list building, and account research also apply to email campaigns.
🔗 Watch the LinkedIn Outreach Playbook
Related Guides
Key Takeaways
Reo.Dev is committed to providing highly accurate, intent-based B2B contact data. However, email deliverability is a shared responsibility. Heavily influenced by sending practices, domain configuration, list hygiene, and sender reputation.
By following the best practices outlined in this guide, you'll:
Protect your domain reputation and sender credibility
Improve inbox placement rates and campaign performance
Build trust with your prospects through thoughtful, personalized outreach
Maximize ROI from Reo.Dev's developer intelligence data
Your goal should be to build meaningful connections, not spam folders. This playbook will help your team safely and effectively use contact data in your outreach workflows while product enhancements continue strengthening data quality at the source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Email Quality & Data Understanding
Deliverability Issues
Campaign Setup & Technical Requirements
Scaling & Volume
Targeting & Segmentation
Need Help?
If you have questions about best practices, campaign setup, or optimizing your outreach strategy, reach out to our team at [email protected] or through the in-app chat.
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