When replies dry up, the usual reaction is to change everything at once — new copy, new list, warm-up switched back on, a couple of settings edited from memory.
Sometimes it recovers and nobody learns why, so it happens again in three months. More often it gets worse, because two of those changes were wrong and now they are tangled together. There are only about nine real causes, and they leave different fingerprints.
What usually goes wrong
The settings are wrong
One of your DNS records is missing, expired or does not match. Very common, and the easiest to fix once found.
Your domain got a bad name
Too much volume too fast, or a bad list. Reputation takes weeks to recover, and some domains do not.
Something is blocking you
Many companies run a filter in front of their email. It blocks differently from Gmail, and it needs a different fix.
How I find it
In this order, because each answer rules out the next set of possibilities.
1. Check the settings first
This is both the most common cause and the fastest to verify. I check every sending domain you have, not just the one you mentioned.
The most frequent fault: your emails pass every individual check and still get rejected, because the checks are passing for the wrong domain. There are only two ways to fix that, and I’ll know which one you need.
2. Read a real email
If you send me the raw details of a message that landed in spam, it tells me what Gmail or Outlook actually decided — not what your dashboard claims. This is the single most useful thing you can give me.
Most people do not know this information exists. It takes about a minute to export from any email client, and I’ll show you how.
3. Check your reputation
Some blocklists genuinely stop your mail. Most do not, and services that panic you about a list nobody uses are selling worry.
I check the ones that matter, file removal requests where they apply, and tell you plainly if a domain is too damaged to save.
- Whether you’re on a list that actually affects delivery
- Whether your sending volume outran what your accounts can handle
- Whether a filter is sitting in front of your recipients
- Which domains are worth keeping and which are not
4. Fix it, and write it down
Most of it is repairable — settings corrected, removals filed, volume brought back under a safe level, warm-up restarted properly.
Some of it is not. A domain with a genuinely bad reputation gets replaced rather than rescued, and I’d rather tell you that in week one than bill you for three months of trying.
How long it takes
What I need from you
Three things, and the second one is worth more than everything else combined.
Your domains
A list of every domain you send from, not just the one that seems broken.
A bad email
The raw details of two or three messages that landed in spam. I’ll show you how to export them — it takes a minute.
Access, or permission
Logins for your domain settings and sending tool, or approval to make the changes with you on a call.
What changed recently
New tool, new list, volume increase, someone edited a setting. Often the answer is in here.
Is this right for you?
This is a good fit
- Your reply rate dropped and nobody can explain it
- A domain suddenly got blocked or blacklisted
- You’re about to scale and want the setup checked first
- You’ve been told it’s fixed twice and it keeps coming back
Look elsewhere
- You want a guaranteed inbox rate — nobody can honestly promise that
- The problem is that nobody wants your offer
- You want it fixed today and reputation damage is involved
What it costs
Priced per job, based on how many domains are involved and whether it turns out to be a fix or a rebuild. Small audits are genuinely small.
Check it yourself first
These are free and run in your browser. If they answer your question, you don’t need me.
Common questions
How fast can this be fixed?
Setting faults are usually corrected the same day. Reputation damage recovers on its own clock — expect two to four weeks of careful sending before placement genuinely improves.
Can a burned domain be recovered?
Sometimes. It depends how bad and for how long. A domain that spiked once usually comes back. One that has been sending badly for months generally does not, and replacing it is faster and cheaper.
What do you need to start?
Your domains, access to your sending tool, and two or three raw messages that landed in spam. That last one is the most useful thing you can send.
What if my setup turns out to be fine?
Then I tell you, and you haven’t paid for a rebuild you didn’t need. Sometimes the answer is the list or the offer, and ruling that out is worth knowing.
Last reviewed
Other things I do
Bring a domain and tell me what’s happening
Thirty minutes, free. We run the checks together and you’ll know what’s wrong by the end of the call.
What happens on the call
We look at your setup together, I tell you what’s wrong and what it takes to fix. If you can do it yourself, I’ll say so — that happens fairly often, and it’s fine.