Deliverability Advice
Stop Deliverability Drops from Shared Tracking Domains for Email Teams
Set up a custom tracking domain that protects deliverability. Clear DNS steps, verification checks, governance tips, and when to call Digistrat.
The blog
Email problems, explained plainly.
Practical guides on deliverability, sending infrastructure, and keeping your email programme healthy. Written for any team where email drives revenue or retention.
Latest
Recover Outlook deliverability in 48–72 hours for Microsoft 365
Microsoft-focused playbook to stop Outlook and Microsoft 365 mail hitting Junk. Authenticate DNS, read anti-spam headers, then recover in 48–72 hours.
Latest writing
Authentication
Email Admins: 90 Day Path to DMARC Reject, Audit Checklist
Audit ready checklist for email admins to move streams from DMARC quarantine to p=reject safely. Follow a 90 day, report driven rollout with pct, sp and...
Deliverability Advice
Fix Inbox Placement First: Best Software for Email Marketing
For medium and large senders, dashboards won't fix inbox placement. Start with a forensic deliverability audit and a free health check to restore inbox rat
Strategy
Keep Spam Rate Under 0.10%: Gmail Promotions Tab for Users and Marketers
Understand why mail lands in Gmail's Promotions tab and get practical steps for users and email marketers to restore visibility. Includes deliverability...
Authentication
IT Admins: Move Your Domain to DMARC Reject Without Breaking Email
Practical checklist for IT and security teams to move domains to DMARC p=reject safely. Includes DNS examples, rollout steps, parsing tips and rollback...
Authentication
DMARC p=reject with pct=100: BIMI requirements for UK implementers
Step-by-step BIMI requirements for UK implementers. Get DMARC enforcement, SVG Tiny PS hosting, VMC/CMC guidance and a practical test checklist.
List quality
Dead Since June 2026: SORBS Delisting Is a Config Fix for Email Admins
Proofpoint shut SORBS in June 2024. If bounces still cite SORBS, remove all sorbs.net entries, verify with dig/postconf, and monitor DNS queries.
Strategy
5 iCloud Mail Fixes to Protect Revenue for Email and Marketing Teams
A five-step operational playbook for email teams: fix SPF/DKIM/DMARC, ensure PTR, suppress bounces, register Private Email Relay, and run iCloud seed...
Strategy
Developers: Avoid a 1–2 week IP warm up with the right email API
Developer focused shortlist and practical checks for Resend, Postmark, Mailgun and Mailtrap. Learn staging tests, SPF/DKIM/DMARC steps, integration traps,.
Deliverability Advice
Save Your Domain: Why Cold Email Risks a 4–8 Week Recovery
Practical metric first advice for technical and commercial leaders. Learn which bounce, complaint and reply thresholds predict inbox damage, four to eight.
List quality
Get Delisted From Spamhaus on Your First Request for Email Admins
Playbook for email admins to verify Spamhaus listings, prove ownership, and submit a removal that passes review on the first try.
Deliverability Advice
IP Warming: A 45 Day ISP Aligned Playbook for Email Teams
Practical IP warming playbook for email teams: verify SPF, DKIM and DMARC, follow an ISP aligned 45 day ramp, and monitor daily thresholds and recovery ste
Authentication
90 Day DMARC sp Tag Plan for UK Email Teams
Implementation first guide to the DMARC sp tag for UK email teams: RFC behaviour, diagnostics and a 90 day operational checklist to deploy sp safely.
List quality
Soft vs Hard Bounce: Five Automation Categories for Email Teams
Automation guide for email teams: read 4xx and 5xx SMTP codes, map them to five action categories, use retry and suppress rules, and protect sender...
Deliverability Advice
1.5x Ramp Plan to Warm a Domain for UK Senders, ISP Aligned
A UK practitioner playbook to warm a sending domain: scale by 1.5x per stage, expect 4–8 weeks, and pause if spam rises above 0.08% or bounces 2%.
Sender reputation
Audit Findings That Tell When to Use Shared or Dedicated IPs
Audit signals to choose shared vs dedicated IPs. Why roughly 100,000 sends per month, warm up and monitoring decide inbox placement.
Deliverability Advice
Keep Gmail Spam Rate Under 0.10%: Remediation Plan for Marketing Teams
A revenue focused plan for marketers to stop Gmail routing legitimate mail to Spam by prioritising SPF, DKIM, DMARC and Postmaster checks.
Strategy
Restore Mail in 90 Minutes: Proofpoint Blocks Playbook for UK Admins
UK admin playbook to stop Proofpoint blocking emails: a 10-point checklist for the first 90 minutes, pdr_safe local bypass, delisting steps, and lasting...
Deliverability Advice
Prioritize SPF, DKIM and DMARC: Office 365 Spam Filtering for Admins
Office 365 admin playbook: fix authentication first (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), use the Standard preset, pilot policy changes, and run header diagnostics.
Authentication
5,000/day Gmail sends? Klaviyo domain authentication for UK teams
Step-by-step Klaviyo domain authentication, DNS troubleshooting and a UK-focused 90 Day DMARC path to meet Google’s bulk-sender rules and restore inbox...
Deliverability Advice
Office 365 blocking emails: how to diagnose and fix it fast
Is Office 365 blocking your emails? Diagnose and fix it quickly by identifying key issues like NDR codes and sender status.
Sender reputation
Why is Mimecast blocking emails, and how do you fix it fast?
Discover why Mimecast is blocking emails and learn how to quickly resolve the issue by checking settings and fixing authentication errors.
Deliverability Advice
What Email Deliverability Monitoring Actually Looks Like
Your ESP dashboard shows delivery, not placement. Here is what email deliverability monitoring actually covers, what the numbers mean, and what to do when one moves.
List quality
Why Are My Emails Going to Spam If Everyone Opted In?
Your list opted in and emails still land in spam? Permission is a compliance matter, not a delivery signal. Here is what inbox providers really watch, and how to find your actual cause.
Strategy
How to Separate Transactional and Marketing Email Sends
A promotional send that generates complaints can quietly drag down deliverability for the password reset email going out the same afternoon. Here's how to stop marketing and transactional mail sharing a reputation they were never built to share.
Deliverability Advice
What to Do When You Inherit an Email Programme with Problems
Inherited an email programme with problems you can't see yet? Here's where to check first, before they become yours
Deliverability Advice
How to Fix Email Deliverability Issues
Most deliverability fixes fail because the diagnosis was incomplete. Here is how to fix email deliverability in the right order, so it actually holds
Deliverability Advice
Email Deliverability Consultant: What They Actually Check
What an email deliverability consultant actually checks, and how to tell whether your email is really reaching the inbox.
Strategy
Your 99% Delivery Rate Is Hiding a Revenue Problem
A 99% delivery rate does not mean your emails reach the inbox. Here is how to run a proper email deliverability check and find the revenue quietly leaking to spam
Strategy
How Dormant Subscribers Damage Your Whole Sending Programme
Dormant subscribers are not harmless. Inbox providers score your whole list as a cohort, which means inactive contacts quietly suppress placement for your best subscribers.
Authentication
DMARC done right in 90 days: a plain-English plan for UK teams
Follow a 90-day DMARC implementation plan for UK senders. Learn how to align SPF, DKIM, and subdomains and move safely from none to reject.
Sender reputation
What Your Spam Complaint Rate Is Actually Telling You
Your spam complaint rate is not a content problem. It is a list quality signal, and you need three providers, not one, to see it clearly.
Sender reputation
Transactional Email Deliverability: Why It Fails Silently and What to Do About It
Transactional email deliverability problems rarely announce themselves. Here is why your most important emails are quietly failing, and how to find out before it costs you.
Strategy
What Is Email Deliverability and Why Does It Affect Your Revenue?
What is email deliverability and why does it matter? The difference between delivered and landed in the inbox, and what's quietly costing your business.
Sender reputation
How Inbox Providers Actually Decide Where Your Email Lands
Inbox providers use far more than spam filters to decide where your email lands. Here is what we know they look at, what we suspect, and how Google is changing the game with AI
Sender reputation
Email Blocklist - How to Check If Your Domain Is on one
Email Blocklist as a concept is often forgotten about by those outside of deliverability. If your emails have started landing in spam, or your open rates have dropped without an obvious explanation, one of the first things to check is whether your domain or sending IP is on an email blocklist. It is not always [...]
Authentication
SPF, DKIM and DMARC Explained (And Why Getting Them Wrong Is Costly)
Most marketing teams have heard of SPF, DKIM and DMARC. Fewer know what they actually do, how they work together, or what happens when they are not set up correctly. That matters, because misconfigured authentication is one of the most common causes of deliverability problems. Emails that should reach the inbox end up in spam. [...]
Sender reputation
What Is Sender Reputation and How Do You Protect It?
If your emails are going to spam, or your open rates have been quietly declining, sender reputation is usually the first thing worth looking at. It is one of the most important factors in deliverability, and genuinely one of the least talked about in practical terms. Most teams know it exists. Fewer know what actually [...]
Strategy
Why Have My Email Open Rates Dropped Suddenly?
If your email open rates have dropped and you're not sure why, you're not alone. It's one of the most common questions UK marketing teams search for, and the answer is rarely simple. The frustrating part is that a drop in open rates can mean several different things. Some of them are serious. Some of [...]
Strategy
Why Are My Emails Going to Spam? (The Real Reasons)
Emails going to spam? The real causes are usually authentication, sender reputation or list quality - not your subject line. Here's what to investigate.
Strategy
Email Security Compliance in 2025: The Complete Guide for UK Fintech and SaaS Leaders
Executive Summary The Bottom Line: Email Security Compliance and authentication moved from "best practice" to mandatory requirement in 2025. UK fintech and SaaS companies face regulatory deadlines, compliance penalties up to £100K+, and significant security risks without proper DMARC implementation. Introduction: The Email Security Turning Point Please note this blog entry is information presented based [...]
Strategy
How do I Check My Deliverability (and What to Do If It's Off Track)
If you're sending emails and wondering whether they're actually landing in inboxes, you're asking the right question: how do I check my deliverability? In 2025, with mailbox providers enforcing tougher sender requirements, deliverability is no longer just a technical metric: it's a revenue lever. Poor deliverability means you're effectively invisible, no matter how good your [...]
Authentication
Email Deliverability: The Impact of Sending Architecture & Authentication
Learn how solid sending architecture, email domain authentication and email dns configuration with SPF, DKIM and DMARC improve inbox deliverability.
Series
The deliverability fundamentals
A six-part series that covers everything a CRM manager or marketing ops lead should understand about how email actually reaches the inbox. Read in order, or jump to the part you need.
The notebook, in your inbox
One short note. Roughly every other week.
New writing, the occasional case note, and a heads-up when something material changes in how the major inbox providers are treating UK senders. No promotion, no filler.
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