Performing a quick health check on your Smartlead workspace or mailbox helps ensure your email setup is optimized for deliverability and operational success. This checklist covers key areas: verifying domain and mailbox DNS records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX), maintaining mailbox connectivity, monitoring blacklist status, and keeping your warmup process active and gradual. It also highlights campaign best practices, bounce and reply management, and ongoing diagnostics. Immediate action is recommended if warmup emails aren’t sending, new bounces or authentication issues arise, or DNS changes have been made recently.
Keep DNS clean: valid SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX. Recheck after any ESP change or new sender. Fix lookup overflow in SPF and ensure DKIM aligns with From domain.
Maintain connectivity: Ensure OAuth or SMTP and IMAP are connected, and the inbox can receive mail. Resolve any auth failures promptly.
Check for blacklisting on your domains and IPs.
Keep warmup active and within limits: Confirm warmup sent in the last 24–48 hours, reply rate in range, and no blocked state.
Ramp volume gradually: Avoid sudden jumps in daily sends or link-heavy emails right after warmup. Use plain text and minimal links for early sequences.
Content quality: Keep copy conversational, avoid spammy phrases, track link reputation, include a text version, and ensure links aren’t broken.
Bounce and reply management: Review bounce reasons, fix source data, and ensure replies stop follow‑ups to protect reputation.
Run periodic health checks using Smartdelivery auto or manual test.
Track trends: Watch open, reply, and bounce trends weekly. Investigate sudden changes before scaling spend or volume.
Warmup shows no sends today or yesterday on an enabled mailbox
New bounces or auth failures appear
DNS changes were made recently
Keep DNS clean: After any ESP change or new sender addition, immediately verify your DNS records to avoid delivery problems.
Gradually ramp sending volume: Sudden spikes can trigger spam filters—ramp up your daily sends step-by-step, especially after warmup.
Use plain text emails early: Early sequences should minimize links and rich content to improve inbox placement.
Monitor trends regularly: Track open, reply, and bounce rates weekly; sudden changes often indicate issues needing prompt action.
Q1: How often should I perform an account health check?
A: It’s best to run a health check weekly or after any major changes, like DNS updates or adding new senders, to maintain optimal deliverability.
Q2: What are the key DNS records I need to verify?
A: Ensure SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and MX records are correctly set up and aligned with your sending domain.
Q3: How can I tell if my mailbox connectivity is working properly?
A: Verify that OAuth or SMTP/IMAP connections are active and test sending/receiving emails without errors.
Q4: What should I do if I find my domain or IP on a blacklist?
A: Investigate the cause of blacklisting, remove any sources of spam or abuse, and request delisting from the blacklist providers.
Q5: What causes a warmup to fail or get blocked?
A: Failed warmup usually results from DNS misconfigurations, mailbox connectivity issues, or exceeding provider limits.
Q6: How should I manage bounce and reply handling?
A: Regularly review bounce reports, correct problematic email addresses, and stop follow-up sequences to recipients who reply or bounce.
How To Run a Manual Deliverability Test Using SmartDelivery?
Advanced Troubleshooting: SPF, DKIM, DMARC & DNS Propagation
