Email Deliverability Guide: Best Practices and Warm-Up

Who Is This Guide For?

This guide is essential for anyone sending emails through the CRM, but it is specifically tailored for users of the platform's built-in email service. If you are using a third-party email provider connected via custom SMTP settings, you will need to consult that provider directly for their specific deliverability recommendations, as support for those configurations is limited.

Email Best Practices

Following these foundational steps is critical to ensure your emails reach the inbox and avoid spam filters.

1. Use a Dedicated Email Sending Domain

A dedicated sending domain is a private domain you use exclusively for your email communications, rather than sharing a domain with other users. This gives you complete control over your sender reputation. It is highly recommended to set one up directly within the CRM's email settings. If an existing domain has a poor reputation, it is often better to create a new subdomain than to attempt to repair it.

2. Consider a Dedicated Sending IP Address

A dedicated IP address is a unique internet address used only for your emails. While a dedicated domain is shared, the IP address can also be shared with other users. A dedicated IP isolates your sending reputation entirely, which is particularly important for high-volume senders. This is a premium feature with a monthly fee that can be configured for billing to your agency or passed on to sub-accounts.

3. Enable Email Validation

Email validation automatically checks if an email address is valid and deliverable before you send to it. Sending to invalid addresses causes bounces, which damages your sender reputation. You can enable validation for the first email sent to a new contact, as well as set up automatic re-validation of your entire list every 90 days. This service is billed per validation.

4. Add a DMARC Record

DMARC is a DNS record that tells receiving email servers what to do with messages from your domain that fail authentication checks (SPF and DKIM). A properly configured DMARC policy, set to "reject," significantly improves your domain's trustworthiness. You need to add a specific TXT record to your domain's DNS settings. You can verify your setup using online DMARC checker tools.

5. Use a Proper "From" Email Address

The "From" address your recipients see must align correctly with your sending domain. For best deliverability, use a "From" address that is on the same organizational root domain as your dedicated sending domain. For example, if your sending domain is a subdomain like mail.yourcompany.com, your "From" address can be name@yourcompany.com or name@mail.yourcompany.com. Using an address from a completely different domain is not recommended and can cause deliverability issues.

6. Always Include an Unsubscribe Link

Including a clear, functioning unsubscribe link is not just a best practice—it's a legal requirement in many regions and is critical for maintaining good sender reputation. Failing to include one will severely harm your deliverability. You can easily add a default unsubscribe link using the footer element in the CRM's email builder, or configure a custom link if needed.

Email Warm-Up

Email warm-up is the process of gradually increasing your sending volume from a new domain or IP address to establish a positive reputation with Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Why Warm Up?

ISPs treat new senders with caution. If you immediately start sending high volumes of email, you are likely to be flagged as a spammer. A warm-up schedule mimics the behavior of a legitimate, gradual sender, building trust over time.

Recommended Warm-Up Schedule

A typical warm-up period lasts 4-8 weeks. Start by sending only to your most engaged contacts (those who have recently opened or clicked your emails). Begin with a very low daily volume (e.g., 50-100 emails per day) and increase it steadily by about 20% each week, monitoring your deliverability rates closely. Consistency in sending during this period is key.

Troubleshooting

If your emails are going to spam despite following best practices, check the following:

• Domain & DNS Settings: Double-check that your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are published correctly in your DNS. Use online validation tools.
• List Quality: Ensure you are not sending to old, unengaged, or purchased lists. Clean your list using the email validation feature.
• Content: Avoid spam-trigger words, excessive use of images, and misleading subject lines. Ensure a good text-to-image ratio.
• Engagement: Low open and click rates signal to ISPs that recipients don't want your mail. Focus on sending relevant content to engaged segments of your list.

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I warm up a new dedicated IP?

Yes. A new dedicated IP has no sending history, so it must be warmed up just like a new domain to build a positive reputation.

Can I repair a damaged domain reputation?

It is possible but difficult and time-consuming. It often involves a period of significantly reduced sending, focusing only on highly engaged recipients, and ensuring all technical settings are perfect. In many cases, setting up a new subdomain for sending is a faster and more reliable solution.

What if I'm using a custom SMTP?

Your deliverability is primarily managed by your third-party email service provider (like SendGrid, Mailgun, etc.). You must follow their specific warm-up and best practice guidelines. The CRM's built-in validation and domain features do not apply to external SMTP connections.