Deliverability
Your Reply Rate Isn't Low — You're in Spam
5 min read · Deliverability
Introduction
When reply rates are low, the instinct is to rewrite the copy. Often that's the wrong fix. A low reply rate is frequently a deliverability problem, not a messaging problem — your emails are landing in spam, and no rewrite can save an email nobody sees.
The pre-send checklist
- SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configured
- Send from a secondary domain, never your primary
- Warm inboxes for 2-3 weeks before real volume
- Cap ~30-50 sends per inbox per day
- No links or images in the first email
Why this comes first
Perfect copy in the spam folder converts at zero. Every hour spent A/B testing subject lines is wasted if the message never reaches a human inbox. Deliverability is the gate everything else passes through.
Closing
Fix the infrastructure, then optimize the words — in that order. An OpenerForge audit checks both deliverability and copy, so you know which one is actually costing you replies.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I know if my cold email is landing in spam?
- Run a seed-list / inbox-placement test across Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo before a campaign. If placement is poor, fix SPF/DKIM/DMARC and warming before touching copy.