You have written the email, checked the links, chosen the audience and pressed send. The mailing report says it has gone out.
But did it actually reach people?
For charities, membership organisations and community groups, email is still one of the most useful ways to keep supporters informed. It helps you share updates, promote events, raise funds, renew memberships and stay connected with people who care about your work.
If your open rates are falling, your emails are going to junk, or engagement feels lower than expected, it may be time to look beyond the subject line. Email deliverability depends on a mix of technical setup, mailing quality and list health.
Here are three practical areas to review.
1. Check your DNS setup
Mailbox providers need to know that your emails are genuine. That means your domain needs to be correctly set up for email sending.
The three key records to check are:
DMARC
Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and Conformance tells receiving mail servers what to do when an email does not pass authentication checks.
SPF
Sender Policy Framework helps confirm which systems are allowed to send email on behalf of your domain.
DKIM
DomainKeys Identified Mail adds a digital signature to your emails, helping receiving mail servers check that the message has not been changed.
This matters because many organisations send email from more than one place. Your CRM, website, finance system, events platform and email marketing tool may all send messages using your domain.
If those systems are not correctly authorised, genuine emails can look suspicious. You can start by asking whoever manages your domain to check that SPF, DKIM and DMARC are correctly configured for every system that sends email on your behalf.
2. Send mailings people want to receive
Deliverability is not only technical. Engagement matters.
When people open, click and interact with your emails, that helps build a better sending reputation. When emails are ignored, deleted, unsubscribed from or marked as spam, that can have the opposite effect.
This does not mean every email needs to be exciting. It means your emails should be relevant, expected and useful.
Before sending, ask:
- Who is this email for?
- Why will they care?
- What do we want them to do next?
- Is this audience too broad?
- Could this be better targeted?
A smaller, better targeted mailing will often perform better than a large mailing sent to everyone.
Good emails are usually clear, timely and easy to act on. They have a recognisable sender, a subject line that matches the content, and a clear next step.
Before you send your next mailing review it first. If the message is not relevant to the whole list, segment it.
3. Keep your lists healthy
Email lists naturally become less reliable over time.
People change jobs. Organisations close. Domains expire. Email addresses are mistyped. Bots submit forms. Old addresses stop being used. Some poor quality addresses can even harm your sender reputation.
Common warning signs include:
- bounces
- obvious email typos
- suspicious domains
- old addresses with no recent engagement
- contacts added through unprotected forms
- large lists with very low opens or clicks
Healthy lists need regular maintenance. That means protecting web forms, using clear opt-in processes, making unsubscribes easy, managing bounces quickly and cleaning invalid email addresses.
You should also think about inactive contacts. If someone has not opened, clicked, donated, booked, renewed or otherwise engaged for a long time, consider putting them on hold rather than continuing to send them every general mailing.
You can check a record by seeing if it is listed in StopForumSpam, this is free.
Email deliverability is not a one-off task. It is ongoing maintenance. With the right technical foundations, better targeting and cleaner data, your organisation gives its emails a stronger chance of reaching the people who need to see them.
If you are concerned about falling open rates, bounces or mailing performance, Circle Interactive can help review your setup and identify practical next steps. Speak to us about the tools we offer to help fix these problems.
More Deliverable Mail: CiviCRM extension to identify spam listed addresses before you send.
Email Validation Module: Blocks fake or dead addresses at the point of entry on web forms.
Deliverability Audit: A technical deep dive into your SPF and DKIM setup and mailing habits.
