Email Deliverability

17 items · Technical · Medium difficulty · 1 hour

Set up SPF, DKIM, DMARC, BIMI, warmup, and monitoring for reliable inbox delivery.

• Publish SPF record

  Add a TXT DNS record listing authorized sending hosts and include mechanisms for services.

• Include all sending services in SPF

  Add include: entries for ESPs, marketing platforms, and third-party senders.

• Consolidate to a single SPF record

  Combine mechanisms and avoid multiple SPF TXT records for the same domain.

• Generate DKIM key pair

  Create 1024- or 2048-bit keys and store your private key securely.

• Publish DKIM DNS TXT record

  Add the public key as selector._domainkey TXT for each selector used.

• Enable DKIM signing in the sending service

  Turn on signing and verify the selector and alignment in test messages.

• Create a DMARC record at p=none

  Publish _dmarc TXT with rua/ruf reporting to collect alignment data first.

• Monitor DMARC reports daily

  Use a report parser to identify SPF/DKIM failures and unauthorized sources.

• Move DMARC to p=quarantine after 7–14 days

  Switch policy only if failures are low and authorized senders are verified.

• Shift DMARC to p=reject after continued monitoring

  Enforce reject for unauthenticated mail once data shows stable alignment.

• Publish BIMI record with verified logo

  Add BIMI TXT pointing to a hosted SVG logo; consider a VMC for wider support.

• Plan dedicated sending IP warmup schedule

  Map daily volume increases over 2–4 weeks with clear targets and thresholds.

• Warm up dedicated sending IP per schedule

  Start with low volume, monitor metrics, and increase volumes gradually each day.

• Implement bounce and complaint handling

  Process bounces immediately, suppress hard bounces, and route complaints to suppression lists.

• Monitor bounce and complaint rates weekly

  Track rates and investigate spikes; aim to keep complaints and hard bounces minimal.

• Perform list hygiene and unsubscribe handling

  Remove inactive addresses, honor opt-outs promptly, and suppress repeated bounces.

• Run inbox placement and spam tests with seed lists

  Use testing tools to check placement across major ISPs before large sends.

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