Best Practices to Improve Email Deliverability

You’re doing the hard work—crafting updates, sharing announcements, and keeping constituents informed. But if those emails aren’t reaching inboxes, your message isn’t getting through.

The good news? Improving email deliverability doesn’t require a technical background—just a few smart, consistent practices. Below are key tips any government office can follow to make sure more emails land where they’re supposed to.

1. Use a Professional Email Platform

Avoid sending mass emails from personal accounts or your everyday inbox. Instead, use a trusted email platform designed for outreach—like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or government-focused tools like CivicTrack Outreach.

These services are built for bulk sending and help ensure your emails are formatted properly, authenticated, and sent from IP addresses with good reputations. They also handle unsubscribes and bouncebacks for you—saving time and reducing risk.

2. Set Up Authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC)

These technical-sounding terms help email providers verify your messages are legitimate. Think of them as digital ID checks for your emails.

• SPF tells mail servers which addresses are allowed to send on your domain’s behalf.

  
  

• DKIM signs each message with a secure signature.

  
  

• DMARC tells providers what to do if something looks suspicious—and gives you reports to monitor delivery issues.

  
  

Why it matters:

Many providers (especially Gmail and Outlook) filter out emails that aren’t properly authenticated. Setting these up builds trust with inboxes and protects your office from spoofed emails pretending to be you.

3. Keep Your List Clean and Consent-Based

Your email list should include people who want to hear from you. That means:

• Use opt-in forms (on your website or at events)

  
  

• Avoid old lists or importing contacts without consent

  
  

• Regularly remove bounced or invalid addresses

4. Use Different Addresses for Different Purposes

Don't send newsletters and handle constituent replies from the same inbox. Separate the two.

Example: Use updates@districtoffice.gov for announcements, and keep councilmember@districtoffice.gov for one-on-one replies. Why? If your mass emails trigger a spam flag, it won’t affect your direct communication channels.

5. Write Like a Human, Not a Headline Generator

Subject lines and content should sound genuine—not spammy. Avoid:

• ALL CAPS

• Too many exclamation marks

• Clickbait language (“You won’t believe this…”)

Instead, try:

• “Community Update from Mayor Thompson”

• “Your April District 6 Newsletter”

• “New Resources Available for Small Businesses”

Also: make sure your emails include clear text (not just an image), alt text for any graphics, and a simple, mobile-friendly layout.

6. Respect Frequency and Timing

Consistency builds trust—with both people and spam filters. Set a regular schedule (e.g. monthly updates), and avoid long periods of silence followed by bursts of email activity.

Tip: If you need to increase volume temporarily—such as during a local emergency—give recipients a heads-up in advance.

7. Always Include an Unsubscribe Option

Even if your emails are purely informational, recipients should always have the option to opt out. Most email platforms include this automatically—but it’s your job to make sure it’s visible and works.

Also include your office’s contact information at the bottom. This builds credibility and helps meet legal requirements like CAN-SPAM and CASL.

8. Encourage Replies and Engagement

Believe it or not, a simple “Thank you” reply can boost your reputation with email providers. When constituents engage with your emails—open, click, or respond—it signals to inboxes that your content is wanted.

In your welcome email or newsletter footer, encourage recipients to add your email to their address book. This small step helps future messages avoid spam filters.

9. Test Before You Send

Always preview your message before sending it to your full list. Send test emails to yourself and a colleague using different email services (like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo) to see how it looks—and whether it ends up in spam.

Tools for sending emails will even scan your email for common red flags before it goes out.

10. Monitor and Adjust

After each send, review your performance: delivery rate, open rate, bounce rate, unsubscribes, and click-throughs. If something looks off, dig into the “why.”

If many emails bounce or go unopened, it may be time to clean your list, adjust your content, or refine your subject lines.

Final Thought

You don’t need to be a tech expert to improve your office’s email deliverability. By following these best practices, you’ll protect your inbox reputation, improve your open rates, and make sure the important messages you send—about policies, events, safety, and services—reach the people they’re meant for.

Small steps make a big difference. And when your communication works better, your community feels more connected, informed, and represented.

Ready to improve your email outreach? Book a demo today.