Email Marketing Checklist
Email Deliverability Checklist
An email deliverability checklist for improving sender reputation, authentication, list hygiene, engagement, and inbox placement.
Interactive Checklist
Track Your Progress
Check items off as you complete them. Your progress is saved in this browser so you can return to the checklist later.
Authentication
Verify authentication for every service sending on the domain.
Inventory senders before changing DNS, then validate SPF, DKIM and DMARC configuration and alignment using current provider guidance. Coordinate changes with the domain owner so legitimate senders are not interrupted. Treat optional branding features as a later step, not a substitute for authentication.
Sender Reputation
Build sending consistency around expected, wanted email.
Review complaint and bounce trends, permission sources and major volume changes together. Introduce new infrastructure deliberately and monitor results. A warm-up schedule alone cannot repair an uninterested or unconsented audience, and no fixed volume ramp fits every sender.
List Hygiene
Keep the audience current without ignoring customer intent.
Honor unsubscribes and hard-bounce handling promptly, and use a documented approach to inactive subscribers. Apply re-engagement only where appropriate and permitted. Review risky address patterns in context rather than deleting legitimate contacts solely because they belong to a broad category.
Content Quality
Send what subscribers were led to expect.
Use a recognizable sender, an accurate subject and a clear way to unsubscribe. Keep the message readable and the links relevant. There is no universal image-to-text ratio or magic list of words that guarantees inbox placement; audience expectations and sending practices matter.
Testing
Test both technical setup and actual message presentation.
Inspect authentication results, tracked links and rendering across relevant email clients. Use seed or inbox-placement tools as diagnostic signals, recognizing that test inboxes may not represent every recipient. Investigate warnings in context before making changes to the sending infrastructure.
Monitoring
Review deliverability as an ongoing operational signal.
Track bounces, complaints, engagement and infrastructure changes together. Compare the platform's reports with current mailbox-provider requirements. When delivery declines, identify the affected domain, segment and period before changing multiple variables or attributing the problem to a single subject line.
Official References
Use the current documentation for platform-specific settings and requirements.
Need Help Completing This Checklist?
Need help completing this email marketing checklist? Request a practical audit and prioritized action plan.
Request an Audit