C5 - Deliverability

5.1 Connecting a mailbox

Where 14 settings mailbox Go to Settings → Mailbox and add a mailbox. Supported providers - Google (Gmail / Google Workspace) — OAuth sign-in. - Microsoft Exchange - Microsoft 365 - Yahoo - AOL - GMX - Namecheap - IMAP — generic connection for other providers; you'll supply server details and credentials. After connecting Each mailbox has its own settings screen: - Name — label shown across the app. - CRM email to bcc — BCC address for CRM activity logging. - Daily Sending Limit — hard cap on sends per day from this mailbox. - Signature — plus include toggle. - Opt-out statement — plus include toggle; clicking the link marks the prospect opted_out. First sends Send a test email to yourself. Check the From name, signature, and opt-out footer render correctly before any campaign uses the mailbox. Then ramp volume gradually — see Daily sending limits.

5.2 SPF and DKIM authentication

Why authentication matters 14 settings mailbox Receiving servers check whether your domain authorizes the server sending on its behalf. Without proper authentication, even well-written cold email lands in spam or gets rejected. SPF SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS TXT record on your domain listing the servers allowed to send its mail. If your mailbox provider also sends automated email on your behalf (as PersistIQ does when connected), the provider's sending source must be included in your SPF record. DKIM DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a cryptographic signature to each email, verified against a public key in your DNS. It proves the message wasn't altered in transit and ties it to your domain. Setting them up 1. Identify your DNS host (where your domain's records live). 2. Get the required SPF/DKIM values from your mailbox provider's admin documentation. 3. Add the records and wait for DNS propagation. 4. Validate with a mail-tester tool or by checking headers on a received test email. Caution: a domain can have only one SPF record — merge includes into the existing record rather than adding a second one. DMARC (recommended) Once SPF and DKIM pass, publish a DMARC policy record so inboxes have explicit guidance on handling failures. Start with a monitoring policy (p=none) before enforcing. [CONFIRM: whether PersistIQ provides specific SPF include / DKIM values in-app]

5.3 Daily sending limits

Where it's set 14 settings mailbox Each mailbox's Daily Sending Limit lives in its settings under Settings → Mailbox. It's the maximum number of emails PersistIQ will send from that mailbox in a day — across all campaigns combined. Two layers of throttling - Campaign level: Daily Prospect Start (default 50) controls how many prospects enter each campaign per day. - Mailbox level: Daily Sending Limit caps total sends from the mailbox no matter how many campaigns are running. Choosing your numbers - New mailbox: start at 10–30/day and increase gradually over several weeks. - Established mailbox: 50–100/day is a sustainable cold-email range for most providers. - Never max out your provider's hard limit (e.g. a 2,000/day Gmail allowance is not a cold-email target). Consistent moderate volume beats bursts. Symptoms your limit is too high - Rising bounce rates. - Emails landing in spam (watch replies and open rates in Reporting). - Provider warnings or temporary blocks on the mailbox itself. If you see these, cut volume immediately and see Avoiding spam folders.

5.4 Signatures and opt-out statements

Both live in mailbox settings 14 settings mailbox Under Settings → Mailbox, each mailbox carries: - Signature — with an include toggle. - Opt-out statement — with an include toggle. Every campaign email sent from that mailbox automatically includes whichever toggles are on. Templates stay clean — no need to paste these into template bodies. The opt-out statement The opt-out statement includes a clickable link. When a prospect clicks it, PersistIQ automatically marks that prospect opted_out. From that point, the prospect is excluded from further automated sends. Compliance note: in most jurisdictions (CAN-SPAM, CASL, GDPR regimes), a clear unsubscribe mechanism is required for commercial email. Leave the opt-out toggle on for all cold sending. The signature Keep it short — name, role, company, and one link at most. Bloated signatures with images and long disclaimers add weight to every email and can hurt deliverability. CRM BCC (related setting) The same settings screen includes CRM email to bcc — set it to your CRM's logging address so every send creates an activity record in your CRM. See the Integrations collection.

5.5 Avoiding spam folders

The short version 14 settings mailbox Deliverability is a reputation system. You earn inbox placement with authenticated domains, moderate steady volume, real replies, and low complaint rates. You lose it with bursts, bounces, and spammy copy. Foundation - Authenticate — SPF and DKIM set up correctly. See SPF and DKIM authentication. - Warm up gradually — start new mailboxes at low volume and ramp. - Set sane limits — Daily Sending Limit per mailbox, Daily Prospect Start per campaign. - Use sending windows — spread sends across business hours instead of dumping at 9:00:00. List hygiene - Never buy lists of unknown quality — unknown recipients bounce and mark you as spam. - Remove hard bounces promptly; monitor the Bounced filter in Prospects. - Honor opt-outs — PersistIQ does this automatically, don't override it manually. Content - One link maximum in cold emails; no link shorteners. - Minimal images and no attachments on first touch. - Pass the SEVEN SECOND TEST — long, image-heavy emails read as marketing blasts. Monitor Watch open and reply rates in Reporting. A sudden open-rate drop across the board is usually a deliverability event, not a copy problem — pause, diagnose, resume. See Why campaigns pause in Troubleshooting.

5.6 Understanding bounces and auto-replies

Bounces 09 outbox A bounce is a failed delivery. Two kinds: - Hard bounce — the address doesn't exist. Remove these prospects; retrying only harms your reputation. - Soft bounce — temporary (full mailbox, server busy). May succeed on retry, but repeated soft bounces deserve investigation. PersistIQ marks the prospect as bounced so you can filter for them in Prospects. A bounce rate above a few percent means list quality needs work — and is itself a spam signal to receiving servers. Auto-replies An auto-reply is an automated response — out-of-office, "I'm no longer at this company", mailbox-full notices. They aren't human replies, so they shouldn't advance your sequence. PersistIQ's default triggers treat auto-replies sensibly: an auto-reply pauses the campaign for that prospect rather than counting it as a real reply. See The seven default triggers in the Triggers & Automation collection. The special case: "left the company" Auto-replies that say the person has moved are lead-gen gold — a new contact at the same company. Work them manually: look up the successor, add them as a prospect, and reference the departed colleague. Distinguishing replies from auto-replies In practice: human replies are specific to your message; auto-replies are generic and time-stamped patterns. PersistIQ's trigger automation handles the routine separation so your sequences don't break on vacation season.