Playbooks

Email Deliverability

Keep deliverability healthy with ongoing habits and best practices.

Foundation: Technical Setup

Domain Authentication

Configure these three records for every sending domain:

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

Authorises which servers can send email from your domain

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

Adds a digital signature to verify emails haven't been tampered with

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)

Tells receiving servers what to do with emails that fail SPF/DKIM

v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:[email protected]

Verify setup: Use tools like MXToolbox or mail-tester.com

Domain Strategy

  • Never send cold email from your primary domain
  • Purchase 2-5 secondary domains (trycompany.com, getcompany.io)
  • Use 1-2 email accounts per domain (max 50-75 emails/day per account)
  • Rotate domains if one gets burned
  • Keep your primary domain pristine for transactional and customer emails

Warming New Domains & Inboxes

The Warming Process

Week 1-2: Warmup phase

  • Use a warmup tool (Warmbox, Lemwarm, Mailreach)
  • Send 10-20 emails/day to warmup network
  • Ensure high open and reply rates (warmup tools simulate this)

Week 3: Gradual ramp

  • Start sending 20-30 real emails/day
  • Continue warmup in background (50% warmup, 50% real)
  • Monitor bounce rates closely

Week 4+: Full volume

  • Ramp to 50-75 emails/day per inbox
  • Keep warmup running at 20-30% volume
  • Monitor deliverability metrics weekly

Daily Habits for Healthy Deliverability

List Hygiene

  • Verify every email before sending: Use NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, or similar
  • Target <3% bounce rate: Higher than this damages reputation
  • Remove hard bounces immediately: Never email them again
  • Clean soft bounces after 2-3 attempts: Could be temporary issues
  • Remove unsubscribes and complaints instantly: Required by law

Content Best Practices

Avoid spam triggers:

  • No ALL CAPS or excessive punctuation!!!
  • Limit links to 1-2 per email
  • Avoid spam words: "free," "guarantee," "act now"
  • No images in cold emails (or very minimal)
  • Plain text often outperforms HTML
  • Personalise—generic templates get flagged

Sending Patterns

  • Max 50-75 emails/day per inbox: Going higher risks reputation
  • Spread sends throughout the day: Don't blast all at once
  • Send during business hours: 8am-6pm in recipient's timezone
  • Avoid Mondays and Fridays: Tuesday-Thursday typically perform best
  • Add random delays between sends: 30-90 seconds minimum

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

Key Metrics to Track

Bounce rate <3%
Open rate 50%+
Spam complaint rate <0.1%
Reply rate 5%+ (varies)

Warning Signs

  • Sudden drop in open rates: Emails going to spam
  • Bounce rate spikes: Bad list data or blacklisting
  • Replies complaining about spam: Immediate red flag
  • Emails appearing in spam folder: Test regularly

Recovery Steps

If deliverability tanks:

  1. Stop sending immediately from affected domain
  2. Check blacklists (MXToolbox, Spamhaus)
  3. Request removal if blacklisted
  4. Re-warm the domain for 1-2 weeks
  5. Start with very low volume and monitor closely
  6. If unrecoverable, move to a fresh domain

Weekly Deliverability Checklist

  • ☐ Check bounce rates across all domains
  • ☐ Review spam complaint reports
  • ☐ Send test emails to check inbox placement
  • ☐ Clean bounced emails from lists
  • ☐ Verify warmup tools are running
  • ☐ Check domain blacklist status
  • ☐ Review sending volume per inbox
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