← All topicsDeliverability Overview › Overview of Deliverability Factors
Accuracy / correctness · 3
accuracyM3AAWG-safe check passed: script never promises inbox placement, never names a specific blocklist (the tool is referred to generically as 'Blocklist Checker'), and frames authentication as proving identity ('did this really come from who it claims'), NOT as guaranteeing the inbox. Matches article + aiSummary.
accuracyaiSummary adds specifics my script keeps generic: 'DMARC alignment' and 'complaint rate' as an engagement signal. My Beat 3 lists SPF/DKIM/DMARC and engagement without the alignment nuance. Correct to defer alignment (that's an authentication-video concept), but flagging that the article-level answer stays generic here too, so no drift.
accuracyArticle's Promotions tab is mentioned as a landing spot alongside spam. My Beat 2 includes it. Good, but per the misleading-framings rule I avoided implying Promotions = bad; it's listed neutrally as a non-inbox placement, not a punishment. Consistent with spec.
Would elevate the video · 1
elevateThe article gives a concrete symptom to watch for: 'If your open rates have been declining and you haven't changed your content, or a campaign that usually performs well suddenly didn't, inbox placement is worth investigating.' I compressed this into Beat 4 and the description but the specific 'usually-good campaign suddenly underperformed' example is a strong, relatable diagnostic cue. Consider giving it a spoken line in Beat 4 so viewers self-diagnose.
Considered, left out · 2
skipArticle links out to 'What is a mailbox provider?' inline. Kept as one-line context ('think Gmail or Outlook') rather than half-explaining it. Rightly deferred, it's its own video and would derail the four-check beat.
skipaiHelpPrompt diagnostic questionnaire (SPF/DKIM/DMARC status, complaint rate, ESP, volume) omitted. Correct, that's interactive-tool material, not video narration.
What is email deliverability? Landing in the inbox, not just being sent
Question: 002.001.001 · What is email deliverability? · ~3:00 · single-question video
COLD OPEN
Sent isn't the same as seen.

Your email left the dock. Your sending tool says "delivered." So why did nobody reply? Because "sent" and "actually seen" are two different things, and the gap between them has a name: deliverability.

⬡ split-compare, LEFT "Server accepted it" (checkmark) vs RIGHT "Human actually saw it" (question mark)
BEAT 1, the one-line answer

Deliverability is whether your emails land in the inbox where a real person sees them. Not whether they were sent. Not whether the receiving server said "yeah, I'll take that." Whether the person you're trying to reach actually lays eyes on it.

⬡ journey-flow, envelope travels: your server, mailbox provider filter, then a fork to Inbox vs Spam
BEAT 2, why sending and delivering aren't the same

Here's the part that trips people up. An email can leave your server, clear your sending tool's queue, and still end up in the spam folder, in a Promotions tab, or just quietly vanish. Delivery is the full voyage, from your setup, through the mailbox provider's filtering, to where it finally drops anchor.

⬡ journey-flow, one envelope splits into three landings: inbox, spam, gone
BEAT 3, the four things providers check

So how does a mailbox provider, think Gmail or Outlook, decide where you land? They check four things. One, authentication: did this really come from who it claims? That's SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Two, reputation: does this sender have a history of sending mail people wanted? Three, filtering: does the content or structure look spammy? Four, engagement: do recipients open and click, or ignore and delete?

⬡ checklist, four items light up in order: Authentication · Reputation · Filtering · Engagement
BEAT 4, the quiet part

And here's the catch that costs people weeks. If any of those four are off, you usually don't get a bounce. Nobody emails you an error. You just get quietly routed to spam. No alarm, no red flag, just silence and a slowly sinking open rate.

⬡ gauge-meter, needle drifts from "inbox" toward "spam" with no warning light
TAKEAWAY
⬡ title-card

So deliverability isn't "did it send." It's "did it land where a human sees it." Sent is easy. Landing is the whole game.

NEXT / SUBSCRIBE

If this cleared it up, subscribe, there's a whole deliverability series behind this one. Next up: the main factors that actually decide where you land.

⬡ end-card, Subscribe + Next: "The main factors that affect deliverability" (002.001.002)
DESCRIPTION

Email deliverability is whether your message reaches the inbox, not just whether your server sent it. In three minutes: why "delivered" and "seen" are different, the four things mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook check before routing you to inbox or spam (authentication, reputation, filtering, engagement), and why deliverability problems stay invisible until they're serious (you rarely get a bounce, you just get quietly filtered).

Chapters:

0:00 Sent isn't seen

0:20 The one-line answer

0:45 Why sending and delivering differ

1:15 The four things providers check

2:00 The quiet part: no bounce, just spam

2:35 Takeaway

If your open rates have slipped and your content hasn't changed, placement is worth a look. The free Blocklist Checker is a quick starting point → reviewmyemails.com/tools/blocklist-checker

Next: The main factors that affect deliverability → [link 002.001.002]

Full written guide → reviewmyemails.com/emailalmanac/deliverability/overview-and-fundamentals/what-is-email-deliverability

#email #deliverability #inboxplacement

CONNECTIONS
• next: 002.001.002 What are the main factors that affect email deliverability?
• related: 016.001.001 What is inbox placement? · 002.003.001 What is sender reputation?
• prerequisite (deep): 003.001.001 What is SPF?
• vocab: deliverability, mailbox provider, inbox placement, authentication (SPF/DKIM/DMARC), sender reputation, engagement