How I hack deliverability

👋 GM and Happy New Year. Paperboy here.

Today’s Golden Nugget: Shoppable Footers

Not every email will resonate with every reader. And that’s ok.

Some subscribers will skim your email, not care about the main content, but still be in a shopping mood.

That's where shoppable footers come in.

These simple navigation bars at the bottom of your emails give customers a direct path to categories they care about.

Examples:

Today's Issue: How I Hack Deliverability (in the short and long-term)

Let's be honest - we all went a little crazy with emails last month.

Your subscribers are still recovering from being bombarded by sale emails.

And your deliverability? It’s probably feeling the impact too.

That's why I invented deliverability bait.

The concept is simple: send emails that bait your customer into clicking or replying. Sounds evil I know, but I promise it’s not.

Before I explain, here are two quick examples:

Example 1 - The Feedback Request (text-only)

Subject: I need your opinion, Tim

Hi Tim,
Ron here, founder of Widget Co.
We're launching new Widget colors and I'd love your input since you recently bought one.
What color should we launch next? We might go with green or white, but I'd love to hear what you think first.
Just reply to this email with your ideas. And if we pick your color, you'll be entered to win one of 20 free Widgets when they launch.
Thanks!
Ron from Widget Co

Example 2 - The Mystery Offer (source)

Think of these emails as starting a conversation with your customer. The best ones follow a simple recipe:

Keep it focused on one clear action - whether that's hitting reply or clicking a button. Leave the 20-question survey for another time.

Make it easy. Like, really easy. Your reader should be able to read and engage in seconds, not minutes.

While it should be effortless for them to engage, make sure there's something worthwhile on the other end. Maybe it's a discount, getting featured on your social, or early access to a new product.

Your subject line and content need to spark emotion - curiosity, excitement, even FOMO can work. Just make it impossible not to open and click.

And for text-only emails, get personal. Having it come from your founder or a key team member makes it feel like a real conversation, not just another marketing email.

Important: This isn't just about boosting deliverability. It's a chance to build real connections with your customers. When you deliver on your promises and provide genuine value, they're more likely to open and engage with future emails too.

Examples of deliverability bait

• What color should we launch next?

• Vote on our next product launch

• Help name this product

• Weird question about your X habits

• Our customer just went viral sharing this (click to watch)

• This customer story made our whole team cry

• We’re giving away a $100 gift card

• Forward to your friend, get paid $25 when they purchase

• Click to reveal a mystery offer

Make it evergreen with flows

Beyond campaigns, I like to slot deliverability bait into welcome, abandoned checkout and post-purchase flows.

I’ll match the objective of the flow with one of the examples above to drive long-term deliverability improvement.

AB Test

If you have a bigger list (20k+ subscribers), test different formats with each send.

These emails are quick to create, so you can rapidly learn which deliverability bait style works best and reuse winning concepts around key promotional periods.

Meme of the Day

That’s all for now!
Paperboy 🗞️

p.s. Did you like the newsletter? Hate it? Reply and tell me why! I read and reply to every message.

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