Summary: This comprehensive guide outlines the most common reasons for email delivery failure in Tithely, detailing essential troubleshooting steps for both recipients and administrators, including verifying message status, understanding server blocking issues, and improving long-term deliverability by authenticating your domain.
Before You Begin
- Recipient Action is Key: The most common fix is asking the recipient to check their spam folder and add your sender address to their safe sender list.
- Tithely's Mail Service: Tithely uses SendGrid's servers for email delivery.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Admin Verification of Message Status
- Navigate to the recipient’s profile.
- Open the Activity tab to confirm if the email was successfully sent from within Tithely.
- If no email appears in the Activity tab, it indicates the email was not correctly sent (recipient was removed from the list, was never included, or unsubscribed).
2. Recipient Action and Whitelisting
- Ask the recipient to check their junk or spam folder.
- Instruct the recipient to mark the email as "Not Spam" and add the sender's address to their contacts/safe sender list.
- To Whitelist in Gmail (Advanced):
- Go to Settings - See all settings - Filters and Blocked Addresses - Create a new filter.
- Enter the sender's email or domain (e.g., @mail.breezechms.com) in the From section.
- Check the box next to Never send it to Spam and click Create filter.
3. Improve Deliverability (Advanced Admin Actions)
| Issue | Cause | Solution |
|---|---|---|
| Blocking by Recipient Server | Filters (Gmail Promotions), poor authentication, or recipient rules. | Ask recipients to mark as "Not Spam" and add sender address to contacts. |
| Free Email Policy (Yahoo, AOL) | Stringent policies block emails not originating directly from their system. | Encourage users to send from a verified private domain name (e.g., name@firstbaptistchurch.com). |
| Unverified Personal Email (@gmail.com) | Not authenticated in Tithely’s system, increasing block likelihood. | Encourage users to send from a verified email address set up in Tithely's Communications Settings. |
| Domain Authentication | Lack of trust or sender reputation issues. | Fully authenticate your domain (add CNAME records) to authorize Tithely to send emails on your behalf. Share the IT guide with your technical admin. |
Deliverability Failure Reasons
- Previously Reported as Spam: Recipient previously marked a message as spam. Navigate to User Settings > History > Email, find the email, select Failed, and click unblock to remove the restriction.
- Unsubscribed Address: Recipient clicked an unsubscribe link. Tithely automatically stops future emails. The user must email support@tithe.ly from the blocked address to be added back in.
- Bounced Address: Recipient email account does not exist (hard bounce) or server rejected the email as potential spam. Double-check the address spelling and consider the Improving Deliverability options.
- Emails With No Text/Only Graphics: The message failed because it did not include any text. Always include at least some text with graphics.