Errors in Email Outreach and How to Sidestep Them

Lead finding is extremely crucial yet challenging when you are starting a brand. As a small business proprietor or a sole proprietor, following up with leads allows you to get in touch with your customers and expand your business.

But how do you do when you go out with a good effort, do everything you think you are supposed to do, and yet get poor results? Perhaps your message isn’t clear. Don’t worry, you are not alone.

Nowadays, the internet is highly competitive, and there are set rules for emails. For this reason, your messages can be blocked, ignored, or lost for reasons you don’t know. This can be highly injurious for small businesses with limited resources in an attempt for new customers.

By uncovering hidden pitfalls and learning how to get through them, you can significantly enhance the likelihood of success and keep your outreach strategies secure in the long run.

The Hard Truth: Outreach Isn’t Just About Doing It Right

Since you’re a small business, you know firsthand how much it matters to convey the right message, tailor your pitch, and get in touch with the right people. Even with proper outreach and a good offer, there’s no guarantee it will get seen—or even read.

This is due to the fact that existing e-mail programs possess robust filters in order to shield users from spam, phishing, etc. This is very convenient for users but causes trouble for marketers. Even with robust filters, genuine and useful e-mails are directed towards the spam box where no one ever lays eyes on them.

That’s why it’s a good thing to know technical issues. You may be doing everything in your messages in compliance with the rules, but being identified as a risk sender unwittingly, there’s a possibility for your messages being rejected silently beforehand, without being noticed.

Common Issues with Successful Outreach

These are among the issues you can’t help but experience regardless of how well you design your outreach program:

1. Spam Filters and ISP Reputation

Internet service providers, also called ISPs, and e-mail services, including Gmail or Outlook, employ advanced means in verifying the quality of e-mails. Such systems analyze the reputation in the sender’s domain, the structure in the e-mail, as well as the presence of spam words.

Even if you aren’t spamming, your email may get filtered if:
Your IP address, or domain name, isn’t particularly famous for good emails.
You are currently making an account with a shared mail server, marked.
Your recipients may assume you are sending unnecessary messages.

2. Fear of a blacklist for no good reason.

One large issue with emailing people is being put on a blacklist. A blacklist is a collection of domains, or IP addresses, which are recognized, or are suspected, of being spammers. Should your domain be present on one, it can significantly lower the likelihood people ever see your messages in their inboxes.

The issue? You may never realize you are blacklisted. Platforms do not notify senders when emails are blocked or taken down. Therefore, doing anm email blacklist scan is crucial.

If you want to improve your sender reputation and ensure better inbox placement, consider using a reliable business email hosting provider. A dedicated service can help separate your domain from shared servers and give your messages a higher chance of reaching the right audience.

How do you test an email blacklist?

Blacklist Scan for Email

A blacklist scan looks for your sending domain name or IP address in any pre-existing blacklists. Various services maintain these lists. Mail servers and internet service providers consult them when making decisions about delivering, blocking, or flagging an email.

If your outreach emails aren’t performing well, do this first. Even though you never spammed, your domain name and IP might be penalized due to wrong doings from a shared host way back.

Regular checks of an email blacklist can often help you identify and correct reputation issues swiftly. When you notice you are listed on a blacklist, a check can tell you where you are listed, and you can request delisting or switch your sending approach.

Inbox Placement: Explained

Inbox placement, in the simplest terms:

You assume your domain isn’t in any blacklist. You are not in any blocklist, yet you are receiving low engagement with very few responses. Now, you must uncover where your messages are.

A scan for inbox placements is extremely useful in this case.

Where your mail ends up in the recipient’s inbox matters, not simply that it arrives. It indicates where your mail is in the inbox. Being in a “Primary” inbox is totally different than being in a “Promotions” tab or a “Spam” tab. An inbox placement scan provides you with:

Test your e-mail with various services (such as Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook).
Check where your messages are being delivered: the main inbox, promotional tab, or spam.
Determine where you are applying filters in your messages.

By understanding where your messages end up, you can enhance sender settings, content, and subject lines for greater visibility.

How You Can Minimize Headaches and Capture Your Target Audience

Following are some simple guidelines for evading frequent pitfalls when making contact:

1. Start with a clear opt-in list.

Ensure you only mail valid, active mailboxes. Do not also purchase lists since, in many cases, these lists are filled with spam traps as well as outdated data.

2. Check for email blacklists daily.

You must also constantly verify mail blacklists in your outreach strategy. This easy step keeps you informed about any reputation issues prior to when your campaigns are impacted.

3. Verify Inbox Placement

First, check your stuff with an inbox placement scan for where your test messages end up. Adjust accordingly so your messages end up more in the inbox than in the spam boxes.

4. Work with a service you can trust.

Opt for mail programs that are sender-reputation centered. Such programs provide features for SPF, DKIM, and DMARC validation. Such options help demonstrate you are trustworthy to filtering programs.

5. Maintain a Good Sender Reputation

Never mail a huge bulk simultaneously. Expedite unsubscribe requests rapidly, and ensure people remain active with your emails. Email service providers favor mailers with consistent, healthy interaction rates.

6. Keep testing and refining.

Do not rely on assumptions. Experiment with various subject lines, email copy, and calls to action. One group may perform well, yet the next group may fail.

Ultimately the Summary

Beginning a business can be difficult. It can often sound like you are yelling in a vacant room, and technical hiccups can suddenly leave you extremely demotivated. Yet, with the proper tools and a measured approach, you can uncover latent issues that are restraining you and your budding business.

Verifying an email blacklist and examining where emails end up in inboxes are not quick fixes—but are crucial steps for any business relying on email marketing for growth. By uncovering these hidden issues, small business marketers can compete more effectively and know their email campaigns are performing. You must develop a good pitch, but you also must get someone else to see it.

This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.

More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.