Strong email deliverability requires attention to multiple factors: proper DNS configuration, following email best practices, and using verified email addresses.

This comprehensive guide covers everything you need to ensure your emails reach your contacts' inboxes rather than their spam folders.

Upon receiving your unique nameservers to use your domain with BoldTrail, you will need to update your nameserver settings within your domain registrar. The nameservers will need to replace the existing values.

Every registrar is slightly different. Refer to these articles to learn how to change your nameservers:

SPF records are essential for email delivery best practices and help verify that emails are sent from authorized servers.

If your domain has an existing SPF record → Update the value to also contain include:sendgrid.net ip4:198.202.27.0/24

If no SPF record currently exists → Add a new DNS record as follows:

DMARC is a critical factor in deliverability from a domain and will negatively impact email delivery if not present. We recommend configuring the following DMARC record if you do not yet have one added:

The BoldTrail Support team will need to configure a unique DKIM value for each independently managed domain. Please complete the DKIM Request Form to request a unique DKIM value if you are managing your own domain with BoldTrail.

There are several common reasons why emails sent from BoldTrail might land in the spam folder:

Send targeted content (such as newsletters and marketing emails) only to users who have consented to receive it. Purchasing email lists or manually adding leads to send marketing emails without permission will result in more negative engagement than positive. Contacts will likely unsubscribe, mark emails as spam, and block the sender.

High amounts of unsubscribes and spam reports negatively impact email deliverability, as email providers use this data to automatically send future emails to the spam folder. We recommend ensuring that new contacts register on the website so they can provide direct consent to receive marketing content.

Email providers regularly review open rates and how many emails are deleted without being opened. Emails with low open rates and read rates are at higher risk of being flagged as spam.

Email providers consider the ratio of active to inactive email accounts. An inactive email account is one that has not been used for a very long time or is rarely used. If you regularly email a large number of contacts who have not been opening your emails, that may be a red flag to spam filters. To combat this, remove any currently running Smart Campaigns from users who have not engaged with your email content in a significant period of time.

The CAN-SPAM Act states that it is against the law to intentionally mislead someone with your subject line in order to provoke an emotional response, thereby coercing them into opening and viewing the email.

Many spam filters are triggered by specific words in the subject line or email body. Resources to help:

Using a generic email address (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook, etc.) rather than a domain email address can negatively impact deliverability.

Generic email addresses are free email addresses created on email clients:

Domain email addresses display a personalized domain name:

To ensure email deliverability, it's recommended to use email addresses tied to a custom domain.

Emails with broken HTML formatting are characteristic of high-volume email spammers. To prevent issues:

If a particular contact reports that your emails are ending up in spam or other unwanted folders, recommend that they whitelist your emails.

Google automatically sorts emails into inbox categories (Primary, Social, Promotions, Updates, Forums). If customers are not receiving your emails, have them check each folder and click and drag your emails into the main Inbox. Over time, this "trains" the inbox to send your emails to the correct location.

As of February 2024, Google requires all bulk senders using Gmail to authenticate their emails to allow for easy unsubscription and stay under a reported spam threshold. To help meet these requirements, BoldTrail automatically assigns verified relay email addresses to users with generic email addresses.

If you are using a generic email address for your BoldTrail account, Inside Real Estate will automatically assign a verified relay email address to you. All campaigns and listing emails sent from BoldTrail will show as being "From" yourname@realestatealerts.com.

Your new verified relay email will be: agentname@realestatealerts.com

This can be found in the Contact Info section of your Agent profile, directly under your BoldTrail email address in the field titled Verified Relay Email.

When a lead receives an email from you through BoldTrail, your verified relay email address will display in the "From" field. However, your leads' email replies will still be sent to your generic account email address (such as Gmail, Yahoo, etc.).

If you'd like to change the name of your verified relay email address, you can simply replace it with a different prefix in your profile at any time.

While not required, you can set up a new vanity email address with a custom domain to use in your account. After purchasing your custom domain, you can enter it into your user profile within the Vanity Email Address field.

Use "Vanity Email Address" for email replies:

When an email is sent from BoldTrail, the system follows this logic:

The following domains are considered generic email addresses:

If a particular contact has reported that your emails are ending up in spam or other unwanted folders, you can recommend that they whitelist your emails. Whitelisting ensures that emails from your address are always delivered to the inbox.

Depending on the context of the email, Google will automatically sort emails into inbox categories:

If your customers are not receiving your emails, have them check each of these folders. They will need to click and drag to move your emails into the main Inbox, which will, over time, "train" the inbox to start sending your emails to the correct location.

Still worried that your emails might go to spam? If you follow all of the above tips and you're still having problems with emails getting sent to spam, here are some spam checkers that you can use to test your emails for issues.

Litmus is a suite of email optimization tools that includes a spam checker. Here's how it helps you keep emails out of spam:

Mail-Tester is a free spam checking tool that gives you an easy-to-understand score out of 10 on a scale of spamminess. You'll have to check each email manually, but it checks to see if you're blacklisted, DKIM, and the quality of your message, as well as doing a SpamAssassin check.

IsNotSpam.com is a free spam checker that you can try if you don't have the budget for Litmus.

You'll have to check each mail manually, and it doesn't have a comprehensive testing capability, but it will check your Sender Policy Framework, SenderID, and DKIM to make sure they are set up properly, and it will do a SpamAssassin check to score your email content.

Why are my emails going to spam?
There are multiple factors that can cause emails to land in spam: emailing without permission, low engagement rates, inactive email lists, misleading subject lines, spam trigger words, using generic email addresses, poor HTML formatting, or missing DNS authentication records (SPF, DMARC, DKIM).

What's the most important thing I can do to improve deliverability?
Use a custom domain email address (name@yourwebsite.com) rather than a generic email address (name@gmail.com), and ensure proper DNS records (SPF, DMARC, DKIM) are configured. Having Inside Real Estate manage your DNS is the best way to ensure optimal configuration.

How long does it take for email deliverability improvements to take effect?
Some changes (like DNS updates) can take 24-48 hours to propagate. Reputation-based improvements from better engagement practices can take weeks or months as email providers monitor your sending patterns over time.

Should I let Inside Real Estate manage my DNS?
Yes, it's strongly recommended that IRE manages your DNS to avoid emails from going to spam. They will configure all necessary records correctly and keep them updated according to best practices.

What action is required of me regarding the verified relay email?
No action is required. If you use a generic free email address, the system will automatically change your "From" email address to the new verified relay address (agentname@realestatealerts.com).

Will my original email address still be accessible?
Yes! Your original email address (like bobtheagent@gmail.com) will still be accessible, and your ability to receive emails remains unchanged. It's still the email address on your marketing materials and the one your clients know. Only the sending address used by BoldTrail changes to improve deliverability.

Will my leads see the verified relay email address?
Yes, contacts will see the new "from" email (agentname@realestatealerts.com) when they receive emails from BoldTrail, but their replies will still be sent to your original email address (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.).

Can I change my verified relay email address?
Yes, you can change the prefix (the part before @realestatealerts.com) in your profile at any time. However, all verified relay email addresses must be unique, and you should avoid including numbers or special characters as this can cause functionality errors and increase spam likelihood.

Are email responses only available via BoldTrail?
No, you will continue to have access to your emails and replies both within the BoldTrail system and using the email provider you typically use (Gmail, Yahoo, Outlook).

What if I don't want to use the @realestatealerts.com email address?
If you prefer not to use the verified relay address, you will need to update your account email address (login email) to a non-generic address with a custom domain (like name@yourwebsite.com).

What are SPF, DMARC, and DKIM records?
These are DNS authentication records that verify your emails are legitimate:

Do I need all three (SPF, DMARC, DKIM)?
Yes, all three are recommended for optimal email deliverability. Missing any of these can negatively impact whether your emails reach inboxes.

How do I get a DKIM value?
The BoldTrail Support team needs to configure a unique DKIM value for each independently managed domain. Complete the DKIM Request Form to request one.

I'm managing my own DNS. What records do I need?
If managing your own DNS, you need to configure SPF, DMARC, and DKIM records as detailed in Part 1 of this guide. However, it's strongly recommended to let Inside Real Estate manage your DNS instead.

How do I know if a word is a spam trigger?
Check HubSpot's comprehensive list of spam trigger words. Common triggers include words like "free," "guarantee," "act now," excessive capitalization, and too many exclamation marks.
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What's the ideal image-to-text ratio for emails?
Keep your image-to-text ratio low. Too many images without corresponding text can trigger spam filters, and images may not load for some users, leading them to mark your email as spam.

How often should I clean my email list?
Regularly remove contacts who haven't engaged with your emails in a significant period. Remove Smart Campaign recipients who haven't opened emails in 3-6 months to maintain good engagement rates.

Can I buy email lists?
No, purchasing email lists is not recommended. This results in emailing people without their consent, leading to high unsubscribe rates, spam reports, and damaged sender reputation.

My emails are still going to spam after making changes. What should I do?
Use spam testing tools (Litmus, Mail-Tester, or IsNotSpam.com) to identify specific issues. Check that your DNS records are properly configured, review your email content for spam triggers, and verify your sending reputation isn't on any blacklists.

How can I test my emails before sending them?
Use tools like Litmus, Mail-Tester, or IsNotSpam.com to test your emails for spam filter issues, authentication problems, and deliverability scores.

What if my domain is blacklisted?
Use tools like Mail-Tester or Litmus to check if your domain appears on any blacklists. If blacklisted, you'll need to follow the specific delisting process for each blacklist, which typically involves improving your sending practices and requesting removal.

My contacts say they're not receiving emails. What should I tell them?
Ask them to:

What is a vanity email address?
A vanity email address is a custom domain email you can optionally set up (like name@yourwebsite.com) to use in your BoldTrail account instead of the verified relay address.

Is a vanity email required?
No, vanity email addresses are optional. The verified relay system works fine for users with generic email addresses.

How does the system decide which email address to use when sending?
The system follows this priority:

Where do replies go if I use a vanity email address?
You can choose: Check the box "Use Vanity Email Address for email replies" to receive replies there, or uncheck it to receive replies to your account email address.

Have more questions? Please reach out to Customer Support via the blue chat bubble or by emailing support@boldtrail.com!