Understanding Email Deliverability: Getting Your Messages to Parents' Inboxes

What Does "Good Deliverability" Really Mean?

You've sent emails to prospective families, and everything looks fine in your dashboard. But are those messages actually reaching parents' inboxes? Let's clear up a common misconception.

Delivered vs. Deliverability: They're Not the Same Thing

Delivered

This is the stat you see in your Mailgun dashboard or Enrollio campaign reports — along with opens, clicks, bounces, and complaints.

[SCREENSHOT: Mailgun dashboard showing delivery statistics] [SCREENSHOT: Enrollio email campaign showing delivery rate]

Delivered just means the email reached the recipient's mail server — somewhere. It could be in the inbox, spam folder, promotions tab, or another folder entirely. You won't know which.

Think of it like a package marked "delivered" by the postal carrier, but when you check your mailbox, it's nowhere to be found. Delivered doesn't tell you where it ended up.

A good delivery rate is 98%+

Anything less means emails are bouncing or getting rejected by mail servers before they even arrive — not what you want when you're trying to fill enrollment spots.

Why Enrollio shows delivery rates: Unlike many email platforms that hide this metric, Enrollio gives you full visibility into every stat. When you use Mailgun with Enrollio, you see exactly what's happening with your emails — no guessing games.

Deliverability

Deliverability = Inbox Placement. This tells you how many emails actually land in parents' primary inboxes versus spam folders, promotions tabs, or other less-visible places.

Here's the catch: email providers don't report this stat. They only tell you if an email was delivered — not which folder it landed in.

A good deliverability rate would be 100%, but that's impossible to achieve every time. Understanding what affects deliverability helps you get as close as possible.

What Affects Your Email Deliverability?

1. IP and Domain Reputation

Your reputation is everything. Two major factors determine it:

• Volume and consistency: How much you send and how often
• Engagement: Opens, clicks, replies, bounces, complaints, and unsubscribes

Mail providers watch these metrics closely. High engagement signals you're sending valuable content. High complaint rates? That's a red flag.

2. Email Provider Filtering

Google, Yahoo, Outlook, and other email providers each have their own filtering rules. What lands in the inbox with Gmail might hit the spam folder in Outlook.

There's no master rulebook — these companies keep their filtering logic private.

3. Authentication Records

Those DNS records — SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX — need to be configured correctly. If they're not, your emails can land in spam or fail to deliver entirely.

[SCREENSHOT: DNS records configuration screen in Enrollio]

4. Domain Age

Whether you're using a root domain or subdomain, age matters. A new domain has no history and no reputation.

Treat a new domain like a first date — start slow, don't rush things, and focus on making a good impression. Send small volumes at first and gradually increase as you build reputation.

5. Domain Suffix

Some domain endings start with a bad reputation. The most trustworthy are:

• .com
• .co
• .net
• .org
• .edu and .gov (if you qualify)

Other suffixes might work fine, while some can send you straight to spam. Check your domain suffix reputation here.

6. Subject Lines and Email Copy

What you say matters. Certain words and phrases trigger spam filters:

• "Click here"
• "Opportunity"
• "Free"
• "100%"
• "Act now"

In one test, removing the word "FREE" from a subject line improved deliverability by 7%.

For childcare emails: Focus on authentic, helpful language. "Open house this Saturday" performs better than "FREE tour — limited spots!"

7. Blacklists

Landing on a blacklist can severely impact deliverability. There are different types of blacklists, and some are worse than others.

Check if your domain or IP is blacklisted here.

8. Links in Your Emails

Every link you include affects deliverability:

• Link reputation: If a link is associated with spam or blacklists, your email is guilty by association
• Number of links: Too many can look suspicious
• Link length: Shortened URLs can trigger filters

Even email signature tools can impact deliverability if they include problematic links.

9. Text to HTML Ratio

Fancy HTML email templates have their place, but plain text often performs better for deliverability.

The general rule: 60% text, 40% HTML.

Your relationship with families matters here. If parents know and trust you, you can use more HTML. If you're reaching cold prospects, keep it simple.

Test your emails: Sometimes a heavier HTML email with lower deliverability still converts better than plain text. Test both approaches with small groups first.

10. Sending Volume and Consistency

How much you send, how fast, and how often — all affect your reputation.

Spammers blast large volumes all at once, caring only about getting emails out the door. Don't follow that pattern.

Instead:

• Send consistently (regular newsletters perform better than sporadic blasts)
• Increase volume gradually
• Space out large sends
• Focus on quality over quantity

11. How Parents Interact with Their Email

This often-overlooked factor matters more than most realize. How a parent manages their inbox affects where your emails land.

If someone constantly moves emails to spam or ignores certain senders, future emails from similar sources might skip the inbox entirely.

The solution? Send emails parents actually want to receive. Relevant content about their child's enrollment, upcoming tours, or helpful resources will keep your emails out of spam.

What You Can Control

You can't control every factor affecting deliverability, but you can control these:

• Your domain setup: Proper authentication records
• Your content: Helpful subject lines and valuable email copy
• Your sending patterns: Consistent volume and timing
• Your links: Only include trusted, relevant URLs
• Your list quality: Remove bounced emails and inactive contacts

Focus on what you can control, and your emails will reach more parents.

Need Help with Email Deliverability?

This article covers the basics, but email deliverability is complex. Every childcare center's situation is unique, and troubleshooting requires thorough analysis.

Proper setup gets your emails to the inbox. Smart sending practices keep them in the inbox.

If you're struggling to reach parents' inboxes or want to improve your email marketing results, book a call with Krystin at Email2Inbox — a deliverability expert who helps businesses like yours get better email results.

Remember: Enrollio gives you the tools and visibility to manage your email deliverability. Combined with Mailgun, you have more control than most email platforms offer. Use it wisely.