Curious why your email isn’t sending? What might start as a minor inconvenience could become an emergency or disaster. Your customers need to receive their emails—whether it’s a promotional discount, password reset, receipt, appointment confirmation, or scheduling change.
Any of these failing to reach your customers’ inboxes could mean missed opportunities and strained relationships (or worse).
Fortunately, there’s bound to be a reason for your email not sending, and when there’s a reason, there’s usually a solution. We’re here to help you find answers.
From the simple slip-ups to the more complex technical glitches, we’ll guide you through common causes and provide actionable solutions to get your email communications back on track.
How email delivery works
Email doesn’t get the credit it deserves. Sure, it’s a trusted method of communication, but it’s also an online identity. Think about it.
You likely use your email address to log in to various websites and applications. Perhaps everything from your organization’s systems, social media accounts, and banking services.
Email is the reliable postman of the Internet—always there, rain or shine. Let’s take a look at what’s happening behind the scenes to get your desired message from Point A to Point B, and we’ll relate it to real-life mail to better paint the picture:
- Typing it out: It all starts with you composing an email. This step is like writing a letter, but it’s on your computer or phone instead of paper.
- Hitting send: Once you hit send, your email starts its digital journey. It’s like putting your letter in the inbox, but in this case, it’s digital.
- Through the outgoing server: Your email first travels to an outgoing mail server, often called SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server. Think of this as the local post office sorting your mail.
- Finding the address: The SMTP server then looks up the domain of the recipient’s email address (like @valimail.com) to find out where to deliver your message.
- Journey across the internet: Your email travels through the Internet.
- Incoming server: Once it reaches the recipient’s email domain, it’s handed off to their incoming mail server, known as the IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) or POP3 (Post Office Protocol) server. This is like your letter reaching the recipient’s local post office.
- Inbox delivery: Finally, the email lands in the recipient’s inbox, ready to be opened and read. Mission accomplished.
Commons reasons why your email isn’t sending
Zeroing in on why your email isn’t sending can sometimes be as tricky as figuring out why you have a fever. It could be a virus, bacteria, fatigue, food poisoning, infection, pregnancy, heat, inflammation, cancer, or medication…
Fortunately, pinpointing the reason why your email isn’t sending is a little bit easier (in our opinion). Let’s start with the most common reasons:
1. Incorrect email address
One common reason for email non-delivery is simple human error in typing email addresses. Typos or mistakes in the domain part of the email (like accidentally typing ‘.con’ instead of ‘.com’) can prevent the email from reaching its intended destination.
2. Internet connectivity issues
A stable internet connection is essential for sending emails. If your internet connection is weak or unstable, it can disrupt the email-sending process, causing emails to get stuck in the outbox.
3. Server problems
Email delivery can also be affected by email server issues, whether the sender’s or the recipient’s. Problems like server downtime or maintenance can result in emails being delayed or not delivered at all. Monitoring server status (particularly during critical communication periods) is important to ensure consistent email delivery.
4. Full inbox or storage quotas
Email delivery can fail if the recipient’s inbox is full or if they have reached their storage quota. This situation prevents new emails from being delivered. Regular inbox management and monitoring of storage limits can help avoid such issues, ensuring that important emails aren’t bounced back due to lack of space.
5. Email size limits
Most email providers impose limits on the size of emails, including attachments. If an email exceeds these size limits, it won’t be delivered. Being aware of your email provider’s size limits and compressing large files before sending them can prevent these issues
6. Poor reputation
Your email-sending reputation is a score that email services assign to your domain based on factors like the volume of emails you send, how many bounce, and whether your emails are marked as spam. A good reputation means your emails are more likely to be delivered successfully, while a poor one can lead to your emails being blocked or landing in the spam folder.
Technical impacts on your email sending
Beyond some of the more common reasons your email might get hung up, there are also behind-the-scenes technical reasons your email isn’t delivering. Let’s take a look at them:
Spam filters and email authentication
Spam filters protect inboxes from unwanted emails. However, these filters can sometimes be overzealous, mistakenly flagging legitimate emails as spam. They’re not perfect.
This is where email authentication protocols like SPF (Sender Policy Framework), DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance) come in handy.
They verify that the email is from a legitimate source, helping your emails get the green light from spam filters. Stay up-to-date with these authentication methods to ensure your emails reach their intended destination.
IP address reputation
Your IP address is like your email’s home address on the Internet. A good reputation of this address is vital for email deliverability. If your IP address is associated with spamming or other dubious activities, it can harm your ability to send emails effectively.
Maintaining a clean IP reputation involves monitoring for any spammy behavior and ensuring your email practices align with best practices. Following good-sending habits makes your emails less likely to be rejected or marked as spam.
Configuration errors in email settings
The backbone of email sending lies in the configuration of SMTP, POP3, and IMAP settings. A small mistake in these configurations can lead to big problems in email delivery. Common errors include incorrect server addresses, port numbers, or authentication details.
Check and update these settings to avoid pitfalls and keep your email communication smooth and uninterrupted.
Changes in email sender requirements
Sometimes, email inbox providers make big changes to the messages (and senders) they’ll allow to reach clients using their inbox services.
For example, with Gmail and Yahoo’s new sender requirement that went into effect in 2024, senders must follow a new list of requirements to ensure these email inbox providers deliver their trusted messages:
- Authenticate all messages with DMARC (technically, authenticate all messages with SPF or DKIM aligned with the From domain)
- Send from a domain with a DMARC policy of at least p=none
- Have valid forward and reverse DNS that match each other
- Use the one-click unsubscribe header and an unsubscribe link in the footer
- Maintain a low spam rate of < 0.1%
- Encrypt your email (technically, require TLS)
If you don’t follow these requirements, you could receive errors that your DMARC is failing.
How to fix your emails not sending
If there’s a reason your email isn’t sending, there’s a solution. Here, we’ll go over a list of common ways to get your email out the door and into your customers’ inboxes.
1. Authenticate your emails
Email authentication involves setting up protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols validate your emails, ensuring they’re seen as trustworthy by email servers, reducing the likelihood of them being marked as spam.
Not authenticated yet? We can help.
Valimail accelerates your path to DMARC enforcement without any manual SPF or DKIM configuration.
2. Verify email addresses
Before you hit send, verify the accuracy of the email addresses on your list. Manually checking the validity of all your addresses can be a headache, and that’s why we recommend using an email validation tool—it’ll check email addresses in real time to help you never send messages to non-existent or incorrect addresses.
This saves time and resources and protects your sending reputation by reducing bounce rates.
3. Test internet connectivity
If you encounter issues, test your connection’s speed and stability. Sometimes, restarting your router can solve these problems. Persistent issues might require contacting your internet service provider.
4. Adjust email size and format
Double-check that your email size doesn’t exceed the limits set by email providers. Compress files (using cloud-based links for large attachments) or adjust the email format to help with delivery.
5. Talk to your IT department or email service provider
If basic troubleshooting doesn’t resolve the issue, it’s time to contact your email service provider or your IT department. They can delve deeper into potential server-side problems, configuration errors, or other technical difficulties affecting your email delivery.
6. Ensure email compliance
Stay up to date with the latest email security requirements and ensure you’re compliant. If you’re a financial institution that handles banking information? You need DMARC as part of the updated PCI compliance requirements. If you’re a bulk sender, you must meet Google and Yahoo’s email authentication requirements.
Proactive ways to prevent future sending issues
Just because you don’t have email-sending issues now doesn’t guarantee you won’t have them later. It’s a good idea to cover all your bases in advance by following these proactive measures to prevent future sending issues:
- Check email settings: Like a regular health check-up for your email system, updating your email configurations ensures everything runs smoothly (from server details to security settings).
- Implement DMARC: Implementing DMARC is like having a digital seal of approval on your emails. It verifies the authenticity of your emails to improve deliverability and protect your domain from misuse.
- Monitor IP reputation: Keep a close eye on your IP reputation—it’s like your business’s credit score in the email world. A good reputation means your emails will consistently reach inboxes.
- Stay informed on email provider policies: Stay updated with the latest changes from email providers like Google and Yahoo. Adapt to these updates to comply with new standards and keep your email strategy effective.
Boost your email deliverability with Valimail
Landing your emails in the inbox is both an art and a science. There’s a lot going on under the hood, though, which means sometimes your emails won’t reach their destination.
Fortunately, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. We’re here to help.
Valimail (and our team of experts) eat, sleep, and breathe email. Our easy-to-use platform simplifies the complexities of email authentication and makes it accessible for businesses of all sizes. We can help you consistently protect your brand with DMARC, and we can even get your brand’s logo showing up in inboxes with BIMI (Brand Indicators for Message Identification).
Whether you want to enhance your email deliverability, safeguard your domain, or stay compliant with the latest email standards, we’re here to help. Schedule a demo now to learn how we can better protect your domain and brand.
