How to Improve Email Deliverability Amid Privacy Changes

If you’re like most small business owners, email is one of your most reliable ways to reach customers. But here’s the catch: just because you hit “send” doesn’t mean your email actually lands in someone’s inbox.

Between stricter privacy rules, smarter spam filters, and new tools like Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection, the inbox has become a gate-kept neighborhood. If you want your emails to make it through the door (and not get lost in a promotions tab or spam folder) you need to understand how deliverability works today.

This guide is written for small businesses. No tech jargon, no overwhelming acronyms, just clear, practical advice to help you keep your emails where they belong: in front of your customers.

Why Email Deliverability Matters More Than Ever

Imagine printing 1,000 postcards for your business, carefully writing your offers, and dropping them in the mailbox, only to have half of them thrown away before they ever getting to your customers’ homes. That’s what poor deliverability looks like in email marketing.

The inbox has become more guarded for three main reasons:

1. Privacy-First Changes: Apple’s Mail Privacy Protection and Gmail’s tightening filters mean marketers can no longer track open rates the way they used to. Customers are harder to “see,” and bad practices are punished much more quickly.

2. Smarter Spam Filters: Email providers use machine learning to judge whether your email feels trustworthy. Poorly targeted, overly salesy, or generic emails get flagged.

3. Customer Expectations: People are more selective with what they will read. If your emails aren’t helpful or relevant, they won’t just be ignored,  they could hurt your sender reputation.

The Key Factors That Drive Deliverability

So how do you get your emails into the inbox instead of the spam or junk folder? It comes down to a mix of technical setup, healthy habits, and customer-first thinking.

1. Authentication and Trust

Think of it like proving your ID at the door. Email providers want to know your messages are really coming from you. This means setting up tools like:

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records  - these are email security tools that work together like a guest list, signature and rulebook to prove your emails are real and help keep them out of spam (your IT provider or email platform should be able to help you with this).

• Using a business domain (not a general Gmail or Yahoo email address) for sending emails.

2. List Quality

Your email list is the backbone of its deliverability. Sending to outdated or an uninterested contact list tells providers you’re not a trustworthy sender. Here are a few quick tips:

• Regularly remove inactive subscribers.

• Avoid buying email lists (they will almost always hurt your reputation).

• Use double opt-in when possible to ensure people want to receive your messages.

3. Engagement Signals

Inbox providers pay attention to how people interact with your emails. If customers open, click, and forward them, that’s a good sign. If they delete them without reading or mark them as spam, your reputation suffers.

That means you need to:

• Write subject lines that feel personal and genuine.

• Keep content helpful and conversational.

• Don’t overwhelm inboxes, sending emails too frequently can backfire.

4. Content and Design

A wall of text or emails loaded with images and spammy words (“FREE!!!” “ACT NOW!!!”) are big red flags. Instead:

• Balance text and images.

• Make your content scannable.

• Always include a clear unsubscribe option.

5. Monitoring and Adjusting

Deliverability isn’t a “set it and forget it” type of task.  Keep an eye on bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement metrics. If something looks off, adjust your strategy.

The Privacy-First Twist: What’s Changed

Here’s where things get tricky. In a privacy-first world:

• Open rates aren’t as reliable: Apple Mail users may show as “opened” even if they didn’t. You should focus on clicks and conversions instead.

• Customer consent matters more: Regulations like GDPR and CCPA (privacy laws that give you more control over personal data—like knowing who has it, how it’s used, and the ability to opt out of sharing or selling it) mean you need clear permission to email people.

• Personalization requires finesse: You can’t rely on tracking pixels the way you used to, so delivering value in your emails matters more than clever tricks.

The Pros and Cons of Email Marketing Today

The Pros:

• You have direct, personal access to your customers.

• It is affordable compared to other marketing channels.

• Still one of the highest ROI tools available.

The Cons:

• Deliverability challenges require more work than before.

• Privacy changes mean you can’t rely on the same metrics.

• Customers have less patience for irrelevant or sales-heavy emails.

How to Decide if You’re Doing Email Right

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do my customers actually look forward to my emails?

• Am I sending to people who gave clear permission?

• Do my emails provide value, not just promotions?

• Have I noticed more of my messages landing in spam or the “promotions” tab?

If you’re not sure about the answers, it’s time to evaluate your email strategy.

An Example: A Midwest Small Business

A family-owned boat dealer in Minnesota noticed that their seasonal emails — announcing spring de-winterization services, weren’t getting the usual response. After cleaning their list (removing old or inactive subscribers), setting up proper authentication, and sending fewer but more useful updates, they saw open rates stabilize and sales from email increase 25% in one season.

It wasn’t about sending more emails, it was about sending better ones.

The Role of Voice Search and AI

Here’s a forward-looking piece most small businesses miss: AI-powered inboxes and voice assistants are changing the way emails are sorted and consumed.

Customers might not read your subject line, they might hear it read aloud by Alexa or Siri. That means writing conversational, clear subject lines is extremely important. And, AI-driven inbox filtering prefers messages that sound authentic and useful.

In other words: the future of email deliverability is about sounding more human, not less.

How Four Paws Marketing Can Help

At Four Paws Marketing, we know small business owners don’t have time to master SPF records or decode privacy regulations. That’s our job.

We help businesses:

• Set up authentication and technical foundations the right way.

• Clean and grow their email lists responsibly.

• Write emails that people actually want to read.

• Monitor deliverability so you’re not flying blind.

We don’t just look at open rates, we help you understand the bigger picture: what your emails are achieving and how they’re building customer relationships.

Final Thoughts

Email is far from dead, but it is evolving. In a privacy-first world, success doesn’t come from sending more emails, but from sending smarter ones. By focusing on trust, relevance, and respect for your audience, your messages will not only reach the inbox, they’ll actually get read.

And if you need help figuring out the technical side or putting together campaigns that have impact, Four Paws Marketing is here to guide you every step of the way.