Deliverability Best Practices

Good deliverability means your emails reach the inbox instead of the spam folder. Follow these practices to maintain a strong sender reputation.

Verify your domain

Set up DKIM, SPF, and DMARC records for every domain you send from. Taifa Mail provides the exact DNS records at Settings → Domains → Verify.

Without proper authentication, receiving servers are far more likely to flag your emails as spam or reject them outright.

Include both HTML and plain text

Always provide a plain text version alongside HTML. Some recipients use text-only clients, and spam filters score emails higher when both versions are present.

In the API, set both the html and text fields. In the dashboard composer, fill in both the HTML and Plain Text tabs.

Keep subjects under 60 characters

Short subject lines display fully on mobile devices and desktop clients. Long subjects get truncated, reducing open rates.

Good: Your order has shipped Bad: Important update regarding the status of your recent order #12345 from our store

Include an unsubscribe link

For marketing email, always give recipients a clear way to opt out. Include an unsubscribe link in your HTML body, and set a List-Unsubscribe header via the headers field on the send API.

Monitor your bounce rate

Keep your bounce rate below 5%. A high bounce rate signals to ISPs that you are sending to invalid addresses, which damages your reputation.

Check your bounce rate at Analytics → Overview. If it exceeds 5%:

1. Remove hard-bounced addresses from your lists. Taifa Mail automatically marks them, but review the Suppression List at Settings → Suppression to confirm.
2. Stop sending to addresses that have soft-bounced more than three times.
3. Review your list acquisition methods.

Do not send to purchased lists

Purchased email lists contain outdated, invalid, and spam-trap addresses. Sending to them will:

• Spike your bounce rate.
• Get your domain blocklisted.
• Violate Taifa Mail's acceptable use policy, which may result in account suspension.

Build your lists organically using subscription forms and confirmed opt-in.

Use double opt-in

Double opt-in requires subscribers to confirm their email address by clicking a link in a confirmation email before they are added to your list.

Enable it at Audiences → select a list → Settings → Require double opt-in.

Benefits:

• Eliminates typos and fake addresses.
• Proves explicit consent.
• Reduces spam complaints.

Check the suppression list regularly

The suppression list at Settings → Suppression contains addresses that should never receive email: hard bounces, spam complaints, and manual unsubscribes.

Taifa Mail enforces the suppression list automatically, but review it periodically to understand patterns. A sudden spike in suppressions may indicate a problem with a specific list or campaign.

Test before bulk sending

Before sending to your full list, send a test to a single address you control first and verify rendering, links, and tracking. The validate endpoint (POST /v1/emails/validate) is also useful here: it confirms your sender, domain, and plan limits would allow the send without actually delivering anything.

Check the test email in multiple clients (Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, mobile) to catch rendering issues.