Email Deliverability

Good deliverability ensures your emails reach the inbox instead of the spam folder. This guide explains the key authentication protocols, how to monitor your sending reputation, and best practices for maintaining high deliverability.

Email Authentication Protocols

SPF (Sender Policy Framework)

SPF tells receiving mail servers which IP addresses are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain.

How to set up:

1. Add a TXT record to your domain’s DNS.
2. The record specifies which mail servers can send as your domain.
3. Example: v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com include:amazonses.com ~all

Common issues:

• Multiple SPF records on the same domain (you can only have one)
• Missing the sending provider’s include statement
• Using -all (hard fail) before you are confident in your setup

DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)

DKIM adds a digital signature to every email, proving the message was not tampered with in transit.

How to set up:

1. When you verify a domain in ScendCore, DKIM records are generated automatically.
2. Add the CNAME records provided to your domain’s DNS.
3. Wait for DNS propagation (up to 48 hours).

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication)

DMARC tells receiving servers what to do when SPF or DKIM checks fail. It also provides reporting.

Recommended DMARC record:

v=DMARC1; p=quarantine; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.com; pct=100

Recommended approach:

1. Start with p=none to monitor without blocking
2. Review DMARC reports for a few weeks
3. Move to p=quarantine once SPF and DKIM are consistently passing
4. Optionally move to p=reject for maximum protection

Domain Health Dashboard

Navigate to Settings > Deliverability to view your domain health:

Key Metrics

Per-Sender Breakdown

The deliverability dashboard shows metrics broken down by sender profile, so you can identify if a specific sender has issues.

Recent Bounces

A log of recent bounce events with:

• Contact email and name
• Bounce type (hard or soft)
• Bounce reason (e.g., “mailbox does not exist”)
• Provider and timestamp

Email Warm-up

If you are sending from a new domain or sender, use ScendCore’s warm-up mode:

1. Go to Settings > Autonomy & Action Policy.
2. Set Email Sending Mode to Warmup.
3. In warm-up mode, all AI-drafted emails go to the Approval Queue for human review.
4. Gradually increase sending volume over 2-4 weeks.
5. Switch to Normal mode once your domain reputation is established.

Warm-up Best Practices

• Start with 10-20 emails per day
• Gradually increase by 10-20% every few days
• Focus on engaged contacts who are likely to open and reply
• Monitor bounce and complaint rates daily
• Set a daily email cap in Autonomy settings to control volume

Avoiding the Spam Folder

Content Best Practices

• Avoid spam trigger words in subject lines (FREE, ACT NOW, etc.)
• Keep a good text-to-link ratio (avoid link-heavy emails)
• Include an unsubscribe link in marketing emails
• Personalize emails with the recipient’s name and company
• Avoid ALL CAPS in subject lines or body text

List Hygiene

• Remove hard-bounced contacts immediately (ScendCore does this automatically)
• Remove contacts who have not engaged in 90+ days
• Never purchase email lists
• Honor unsubscribe requests promptly

Sending Patterns

• Send during business hours (configured in your working hours settings)
• Spread sends throughout the day rather than blasting all at once
• Maintain consistent sending volumes day to day

Troubleshooting

High bounce rate

• Run your contact list through an email verification service before importing
• Check for common typos in email domains (gmial.com, yaho.com, etc.)
• Review the recent bounces log for patterns

Emails going to spam

• Verify SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are all passing (use mail-tester.com to check)
• Review your email content for spam triggers
• Check if your sending domain or IP is on a blocklist (mxtoolbox.com/blacklists)
• Consider using a subdomain for outreach (e.g., send.yourdomain.com) to protect your primary domain

Complaint rate too high

• Ensure you are only emailing people who expect to hear from you
• Make the unsubscribe link easy to find
• Review your email frequency — too many emails lead to complaints