Email Best Practices – Make Sure Your Subscribers Recognize You

When you send emails on behalf of your brand, your goal is simple: get them opened and read.

For that to happen, two things must be true:

Your emails need to be successfully delivered
Your recipients need to instantly recognize who the email is from

While great content matters, recognition and trust come first. If your email doesn’t clearly look like it’s coming from the brand your subscriber signed up for, there’s a high risk it will be ignored – or worse, marked as spam.

This article outlines best practices to help you align your emails with your brand and protect your deliverability.

Before You Start Sending Emails

Before sending any email, make sure your recipients have explicitly opted in to hear from you.

✅ Allowed:

People who signed up through your forms
Customers who actively requested communication

❌ Not allowed:

Purchased or rented email lists
Third-party contact lists
Cold emailing without consent

Sending emails to people who did not explicitly subscribe can:

Damage your sender reputation
Cause your emails to be flagged as spam
Lead to restrictions on your account

Align Your Emails With Your Brand

If someone signs up to hear from your brand, your emails should clearly reflect that brand in every detail.

Here’s what to check:

1. Use a Branded “From” Address

Your sender email should match your domain.

Example: hello@yourbrand.com

This helps recipients immediately recognize you.

2. Use a Clear “From” Name

The sender name shown in the inbox should clearly match your brand.

Example:

Good: Your Brand Team

Bad: Marketing Team / Admin / Support

3. Add a Valid Physical Company Address

Your emails must include a valid physical company address. This is not only a best practice – it is also required under regulations such as the CAN-SPAM Act.

Make sure your address includes:

Street address
Postcode/ZIP code
Country
State/region (if applicable)

This information is added here Marketing > Email Settings > Brand Details

Make sure to include both your physical address and a working unsubscribe link in the footer of all your emails. This can easily be done by adding a footer block in your emails – your address from the brand details and the unsubscribe link will then be included automatically.

Including a complete address and unsubscribe option:

Builds trust with your recipients
Helps verify your business as legitimate
Reduces the risk of your emails being automatically flagged as spam
Ensures compliance with email marketing regulations

Missing or incomplete physical address details or not including an unsubscribe link can negatively impact your deliverability and may cause your emails to be filtered, blocked, or reported as spam.

4. Make Your Branding Obvious

Your email should look like it’s coming from your brand at a glance.

Best practices:

Include your logo at the top
Use your brand colors and style
Keep consistent formatting

Don’t rely only on a small company name in the footer – most people won’t notice it.

5. Remind Subscribers Why They’re Receiving the Email

Always include a short reminder explaining why they’re on your list.

Example:

“You’re receiving this email because you signed up on [yourwebsite.com].”

This reduces confusion and lowers the risk of spam reports.

Common Mistakes (and How to Fix Them)

Example 1: Emails Sent on Behalf of Partners

Scenario:

A user signs up on your website, but receives emails branded as a partner or service provider.

Problem:

The recipient doesn’t recognize the sender and may think it’s spam – even if they technically gave consent.

Solution:

Always send emails from your own brand
Present partner offers within your email
Make it clear the message comes from you

👉 The recipient should always feel:

“I signed up for this, and I know who this is from.”

Example 2: Emails Branded as Product Companies

Scenario:

You run a store with multiple brands. A customer signs up for offers, but receives emails branded as one specific product company.

Problem:

The recipient expects emails from your store – not from individual brands.

Solution:

Send emails from your store’s brand
Introduce products within your message

Example:

“We think you’ll love this offer from Brand X”

This keeps the relationship clear and trusted.

Best Practices vs. Legal Permission

Even if your signup form includes language allowing partners or third parties to send emails, that doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.

Why?

Because:

Recipients often don’t remember giving that permission
Emails from unfamiliar brands feel like spam
Spam complaints and low engagement hurt deliverability

To maintain high-quality email delivery for everyone, emails must clearly come from the brand the user signed up for.

Summary

To protect your deliverability and build trust, always keep things aligned:

Only email people who opted in
Use a recognizable sender name and email address
Clearly brand every email
Remind users why they’re receiving it
Send emails from your brand – not partners or third parties

When everything is aligned, your emails feel expected, relevant, and trustworthy – and that’s what keeps your audience engaged.