09/02/2026
𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐬 NOT 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲.
I know. 😆
There’s something incredibly satisfying about running your email through a testing tool, fixing all the little red X’s, and watching that score climb.
89…
97…
100!
Look at us being deliverable!
Except...
Mailbox providers don’t care what some email tester scored you.
And blindly fixing every “issue” a testing tool flags can actually create new problems.
Because those scores are subjective.
Someone decided:
▪️What gets tested.
▪️What constitutes an “issue.”
▪️How many points you lose for it.
▪️And what they recommend you should do to fix it.
Run the exact same email through multiple testing tools and you may get multiple opinions.
Because that’s what they are.
Opinions.
Now, does the technical side of email deliverability matter?
Absolutely.
You need your authentication right.
You need your sending infrastructure configured correctly.
You need a solid technical foundation.
But that’s just the foundation.
It’s not the whole house.
Email deliverability is only about 10% technical… the other 90% is all behavioral.
Because at its core, deliverability isn’t a technical problem.
All the technical fixes in the world will not save you from the spam folder.
Beyond all the techy stuff, mailbox providers are watching what you do - and what their users do in response.
They’re like a parent, protecting their kids from bad guys (and numb-nuts 🥜)
So don’t build your email strategy around making some email testing tool happy.
Focus on becoming the message your audience can’t wait to engage with.