Most SFMC teams focus on content and design — and overlook the operational practices that actually determine whether emails land in the inbox or the spam folder. This guide covers the SFMC email best practices that protect your sender reputation, keep your list healthy, and drive consistent engagement over time.
1. Admin & Governance
Designate Multiple Admins
Assigning multiple admins ensures business continuity by distributing responsibilities and reducing dependency on a single individual.
Essential Roles for Marketing Cloud
Assign the correct user roles — such as Marketing Cloud Administrator — to streamline account management and enforce security protocols. Use the Users screen to manage roles, ensuring team members have the right access to complete their tasks without over-permissioning.
Keep One Admin Without SSO
Ensure at least one admin account has Single Sign-On (SSO) disabled. This acts as a backup in case of SSO authentication issues, allowing direct login access when needed.
Maintain an Internal Admin List
Keep a documented list of all Marketing Cloud admins within your organisation. This eases troubleshooting, strengthens security compliance, and prevents access loss during personnel changes.
2. Email Authentication & Engagement Fundamentals
Set Up Sender Authentication Package (SAP)
Set up email authentication with SAP to improve deliverability and build sender trust with inbox providers. See: Email Authentication Documentation →
Use a Confirmed Opt-In Process
A confirmed opt-in (double opt-in) process ensures recipients have explicitly consented to receive your emails — improving list quality, reducing complaints, and supporting compliance.
Never Use Purchased Data
Purchased or third-party data without prior permission increases spam complaints and violates compliance standards. Only mail contacts who have explicitly opted in to hear from your brand. See: List Compliance FAQ →
Create Spam Filter-Safe Content
Avoid spam trigger words and maintain a balanced text-to-image ratio. A heavily image-based email with minimal text is a common deliverability risk that is easy to avoid. See: Content and Spam Filters Guide →
Deliver Relevant, Value-Driven Content
The most effective spam filter is a subscriber who wants to open your email. Craft content that addresses the real needs and interests of your audience — this is what sustains engagement over time, not subject line tricks.
3. List Hygiene & Deliverability
Monitor and Reduce Bounce Rates
Keep your bounce rate below 10% by removing invalid or unengaged addresses regularly. High bounce rates directly damage your sender reputation with inbox providers.
Suppress Low-Engagement Contacts
Contacts who have not opened or clicked in six months or more should be moved to a re-engagement journey or suppressed from primary sends. Continuing to mail disengaged contacts trains inbox providers to deprioritise your domain.
Encourage Address Book Inclusion
Ask subscribers to add your sending address to their address book or safe sender list. This simple step meaningfully improves inbox placement over time.
Optimise Subject Lines and From Names
Use clear, recognisable From names and subject lines that reflect your brand. Familiarity reduces spam complaints and increases open rates — consistency matters more than cleverness.
Manage Frequency Against Expectations
Send according to the cadence you promised at sign-up. Unexpected frequency spikes are one of the most common causes of unsubscribe surges and spam complaints.
Accessible emails also perform better on deliverability — higher engagement signals tell inbox providers your mail is wanted. See our email accessibility services →
4. Analytics & Continuous Improvement
Use SFMC’s Built-In Analytics Tools
Leverage the full analytics stack available in SFMC:
- SQL Query Activity — for custom data segmentation and audience building
- Email Studio: My Tracking — for per-send performance insights
- Analytics Builder — for deeper reporting and cross-campaign dashboards
- APIs — for real-time data synchronisation and automation triggers
Track What Matters, Not Just Open Rates
Open rates have become a less reliable metric since Apple Mail Privacy Protection. Prioritise click rate, conversion rate, and revenue per email as your primary engagement indicators. Use SFMC’s tracking data to identify patterns — which send times, content types, and segments consistently outperform — and systematically apply those learnings.
Conclusion
Strong SFMC email performance is built on operational discipline, not just great creative. Consistent admin governance, clean authentication, rigorous list hygiene, and data-driven optimisation are what separate teams with sustained engagement from those constantly chasing deliverability problems. Apply these SFMC email best practices systematically and the results compound over time.
Need help with your SFMC email setup or deliverability? Get in touch →
