Email deliverability basics

Whether your email lands in inbox or spam depends mostly on three things: domain authentication, sending reputation, and content.

Domain authentication (one-time setup)

When you connect SendGrid, Tormano provides DNS records to add at your registrar:

• DKIM — proves the email was actually signed by your domain.
• SPF — lists which servers are allowed to send from your domain.
• DMARC — your policy for handling messages that fail DKIM or SPF.

Add the records, wait an hour for DNS propagation, then click Verify in Settings > Integrations > SendGrid. All three should turn green.

Without these, providers like Gmail and Outlook flag your emails as suspicious.

Sending reputation

Builds over time. New sending domains start in the "neutral" tier and earn trust by sending to engaged recipients who open and click. Sending to dormant lists or buying lists tanks your reputation fast.

Content gotchas

• All-caps subject lines.
• Excessive exclamation marks.
• "FREE" "URGENT" "ACT NOW" trigger words.
• Single huge image with no text.
• No physical mailing address in the footer (CAN-SPAM violation).
• Broken or excessive HTML.

What to do if you land in spam

1. Check that DKIM/SPF/DMARC are passing.
2. Send a test to mail-tester.com — it scores your email and points out issues.
3. Clean your list — remove anyone who hasn't opened in 6 months.
4. Reduce send frequency.
5. If you bought a list at any point, your reputation is likely poisoned. Switch to a fresh sending subdomain (e.g. emails.yournonprofit.org instead of yournonprofit.org).