Email deliverability checklist before your first campaign

Deliverability problems are almost always self-inflicted and almost always preventable. Work through this list before your first send.

1. Authenticate the sending domain

Set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC for the domain you will send from, and verify the sending identity in the platform. AutoProspector blocks campaigns from unverified identities on purpose.

2. Decide which domain sends

Many teams send outbound from a secondary domain so that a reputation problem never touches their primary business email. Whichever you choose, keep it consistent.

3. Warm up gradually

New domains and new mailboxes should ramp volume over weeks, not hours. Automated warm-up caps limit daily sends so the ramp happens without you tracking it manually.

4. Verify the list

Undeliverable addresses drive hard bounces, which is the fastest way to damage reputation. Verify formatting, domain status and mail-server availability, and drop the failures rather than "trying anyway".

5. Remove anyone who opted out

Suppression must apply across every channel — email, funnels and calling. A contact who unsubscribed from a campaign should never reappear through a new import.

6. Make unsubscribing easy

Every message needs a working one-click unsubscribe. Hidden opt-outs generate spam complaints, which are far more damaging than an unsubscribe.

7. Write like a person

Deliverability is also a content problem. Avoid heavy image-only emails, misleading subject lines, link shorteners and long walls of tracking links.

8. Watch the early signals

For the first two weeks, review bounces, complaints and replies daily. If bounce rate rises, pause and re-verify before continuing.

9. Keep records

Log consent, sends, opens, replies, bounces and unsubscribes. If a provider ever questions your sending, evidence resolves it quickly.