Email deliverability basics: the records and habits that matter

A plain-English starting point for SPF, DKIM, DMARC, consent, and list hygiene.

9 min readUpdated August 20, 2026Independent methodology

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Deliverability is a shared responsibility between your sending platform, your domain setup, and the behaviour of your audience. Technical records help, but they cannot rescue irrelevant or unpermissioned mail.

Authenticate your domain

SPF and DKIM help receiving systems connect a message to an authorised sender. DMARC gives you a policy and reporting layer over those signals.

Start DMARC carefully

A monitoring policy can help you see legitimate senders before you ask receiving systems to quarantine or reject messages. Use a reporting inbox you control.

Keep the list healthy

Permission, relevance, a visible unsubscribe path, and regular suppression of hard bounces are as important as DNS records.