Trying to figure out why an email didn’t get to one (or a bunch) of your members is usually confusing and frustrating. While there are many factors that can result in your email messages not making it to your members, there are several reasons that seem most common to our customers. See Email Delivery Failure Code Explanations for more information.
Because of Spam, many ISPs (Internet Service Providers - i.e. Charter, RoadRunner, AOL, Yahoo, etc.) have begun performing a type of SPAM check, called a reverse domain lookup (also called an "SPF lookup") to verify that the sending IP address of a mail server is authorized to send email from your domain.
In plain language – the member’s email provider is asking, "Is this email message coming from an authorized sender?" If the answer is "no" they will either reject it or filter it to your member’s SPAM folder.
This is important for ChamberMaster users because when you send emails to your members from within the software we list your email address as the sender but route the message through our bulk email servers.
These servers are specifically designed to help ensure the highest possible email delivery rate, but if a member’s email provider performs an SPF lookup and your chamber’s record does not list the ChamberMaster & GrowthZone email server as an approved sender, the message will most likely not get to the member.
Solution: Setup the SPF Record
See Setup Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Record
You Are Sending From A Commercial Domain
Most recipient mail servers check the SPF record for the sending domain to see if the IP address of that server is authorized to send on behalf of the domain. If the IP address of the database is not included, mail will likely be rejected. Commercial domains, such as gmail.com, outlook.com, yahoo.com, aol.com, sbglobal.net, comcast.net, etc. do not provide access to the DNS control panel for those domains. Without access to the DNS control panel, you cannot to add the necessary authorization in the SPF record for the database to send on behalf of the domain and as a result, emails sent through the database will more than likely be blocked or sent to spam.
Solution: Use a domain that you own and update the Sender Policy Framework (SPF) Record in DNS for that domain.
If you haven't already, purchase email hosting for your domain, update the SPF record in DNS for that domain and use it to send communications through the database.
Issues with Recipient’s Mailbox
Your member’s email message box may be full, the email address may be incorrect, or it may not even exist anymore.
Solution: Contact the recipient
Contact the specific recipient to verify the email address or let them know that their email doesn’t seem to be working properly – they may not be aware of it and you could be the "hero" who helped them not miss that important business deal because their inbox was full!
Your Domain May be "Blacklisted"
To fight spam, many ISPs limit the number of emails coming from one sender in a given time period. If you exceed this limit your domain may be "blacklisted" and you will have a difficult time getting messages through to anybody.
Solution: Contact the organization that have you blacklisted
Contact any ISPs which have "blacklisted" your domain and request that they add you to their list of safe senders or "white list". Click here to determine if the domain you use for email is blacklisted by any of the major email servers. You may see some of them return a "timed out message" – this response is normal.
Are there any systems in place to help ensure the delivery of my emails?
Yes. StrongMail Systems, Inc., already included in the software, provides you with a proven email delivery technology to ensure your emails reach their destination. Using domain throttling, StrongMail maximizes deliverability by tailoring email delivery to match the technical specification and policy of ISPs and corporate networks and easily controls sending speeds, number of connections, time-outs, and other parameters on a per-domain level. Among other features, StrongMail also provides default settings for the most common ISPs to ensure optimal delivery and receiver compliance