Don't Put All Your Email Eggs in One Basket

Many organizations treat email as just another task on the to-do list, rather than a strategic communication channel that demands care and precision. Too often, different departments operate in silos, each with their own approach to email, resulting in deliverability issues that can negatively affect the entire organization.

There’s a tendency to focus on execution (“We need to send this email”) instead of outcomes (“What can we do to ensure this email actually reaches the inbox?”). And while email may seem simple because we all use it, achieving consistent inbox placement is anything but; it’s increasingly complex and nuanced.

One Organization, One Domain... Many Conflicting Interests

It’s common to see different teams -- like marketing, operations, IT, and support -- all sending email independently, often using the same domain. And that’s where trouble begins. One department’s poorly executed campaign can affect deliverability for everyone else. Yet, when you raise concerns, you often hear, “That’s not my problem.”

One of the most important factors in deliverability is sender reputation. This includes domain and IP reputation, content quality, engagement signals, and even factors tied to your domain registrar and top-level domain (TLD). Building and maintaining a strong reputation takes effort and it's a shared asset. If any team skips best practices, it can harm everyone.

Do We Need a Chief Email Officer?

Siloed email strategies don’t just impact deliverability; they cost organizations time and money. Many assume IT oversees all email activity, but that’s rarely the case. In fact, IT teams often lack specific deliverability expertise.

So, do we need a new role -- Chief Email Officer (CEO) -- to unify strategy, enforce standards, and protect domain reputation? It’s worth considering.

The Case for Separating Email Streams

Most businesses send four main types of email:

• One-to-One: Day-to-day internal and external business communications (usually via Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace).
• Marketing: Newsletters, campaigns, and promotional emails, typically sent via an ESP or marketing automation platform.
• Transactional: Triggered by user actions order confirmations, password resets, MFA codes, etc.
• Operational: Account-related notices, reports, invoices, or important updates.

These often flow through different platforms but under the same domain. That’s a problem.

When marketing emails (which generally have lower engagement) are sent from the same “pipe” as transactional messages, it can drag down your sender reputation. The result? Even your most critical emails -- password resets or receipts -- could land in spam or quarantine.

Best Practice: Separate Your Email Streams

To improve clarity, compliance, and deliverability, treat each email type as its own stream, with its own infrastructure. Here's how:

• Use subdomains:
  • marketing.domain.com
  • transact.domain.com
  • ops.domain.com
  • Keep domain.com for one-to-one communication.
• Assign dedicated IPs and MTAs (Mail Transfer Agents) to each subdomain, ensuring distinct reputation profiles.

This allows each email type to “earn” its own reputation -- and avoids cross-contamination from less engaged or poorly targeted messages.

Enhanced Deliverability Starts Here

Mailbox providers (like Gmail and Microsoft) evaluate sender reputation based on user engagement, spam complaints, and technical signals. Transactional emails usually perform best -- they’re expected, timely, and useful. But if they share infrastructure with low-performing marketing emails, their deliverability suffers.

By separating streams, you help mailbox providers understand your intent and preserve access to the inbox for your most vital messages.

Respecting the Inbox Hierarchy

Users treat different emails with different levels of urgency. Transactional = immediate action. Marketing = browse later (if ever). When emails serve clear, consistent purposes -- and come from dedicated sources -- users are more likely to trust and engage with them.

This separation can also help marketers:

• Transactional/operational emails are more likely to land in the Primary or Updates tab.
• Marketing emails will still go to Promotions, but that’s expected -- and fine, if your list is engaged.

Better User Experience, Better Compliance

Keeping marketing emails separate improves transparency and trust. Customers can unsubscribe from promotions without losing access to vital service communications. This improves compliance, honors consent preferences, and ultimately boosts engagement.

Final Thought

If you're serious about email, start treating it as a strategic asset. Align internal stakeholders. Map customer journeys. Categorize every message. Use the right infrastructure for the right message and protect your domain’s reputation like your business depends on it.

Because it does.