Now that summer is officially over, the sports fans among us can all heave a collective sigh of relief that our long, football-less drought has ended. Saturdays and Sundays (and Mondays, Thursdays, and occasional Fridays) are now filled with the sounds of play calling, armchair quarterbacking, copious snacking, and the occasional head trauma. On the field, teams rely on every player to fill a specific role – the quarterback leads the team, the running back keeps the defense on their toes, the wide receivers run their routes with precision, and the defensive backs keep the other team from breaking a big play. But what about the kicker?

Long the butt of jokes and now memes, kickers are often seen as nearly an afterthought, and certainly nobody thinks of them when trying to draft a successful team. Nobody cares about their team’s kicker – until he misses. And that’s exactly how many senders think about deliverability.

Crafting engaging content, targeting the right users, and driving subscriber acquisition are often seen as the stars of email marketing: they generate all the revenue and keep your campaigns on the winning side of the scoreboard. But what happens when your marketing stalls out? When only half of your recipients are seeing your email in their inbox?

Your team is supremely talented when it comes to marketing your brand or organization, but trying to solve deliverability problems on your own is like asking your defensive lineman to kick a field goal (in case you’re not a football fan, let’s just say ‘ain’t gonna happen’). You need a deliverability expert on your team to navigate these issues when they arise. Whether it’s a dedicated internal employee, the team provided by your ESP, or an outside consultant, having a specialist available will help ensure you’re able to drive home your messaging.

If a football team ignores their kicker until they desperately need him, chances are they’ll fall short. Don’t ignore your deliverability and let your marketing campaigns suffer the same fate. And if you’re in need of deliverability help, shoot me an email and I’ll be happy to help.

– BG