How can I improve SPF alignment and email deliverability when using Hubspot?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that using a dedicated IP address for sending emails can improve your sender reputation and deliverability, as it allows you to control your sending practices and build a positive reputation with ISPs.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that when using HubSpot, ensure your SPF record includes HubSpot's sending IP addresses. Neglecting this can cause SPF alignment failures and impact deliverability. Double-check HubSpot's documentation for the correct SPF syntax.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that when you see SPF alignment issues with Hubspot in DMARC reports, it is likely that Hubspot is not using your domain as the 'Mail From' address (Return-Path) for the email. This can happen if you haven't fully configured your sending domain in Hubspot or if Hubspot uses its own domain for bounce handling. To resolve this, ensure that you are using a custom sending domain in Hubspot and that your SPF record authorizes Hubspot's servers to send emails on behalf of your domain.
Email marketer from Sender Score shares that monitoring your sender reputation and taking corrective actions based on feedback from ISPs can improve your email deliverability. Address any issues identified in your reports promptly.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog shares that focusing on sending relevant and engaging content to your audience can significantly improve email deliverability, as it encourages positive interactions and reduces the likelihood of being marked as spam.
Email marketer from GMass shares that warming up your IP address by gradually increasing sending volume can improve your sender reputation and email deliverability, especially when using a dedicated IP. This helps build trust with ISPs.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential for email authentication and improving deliverability. These protocols help verify that your emails are legitimate and reduce the chances of being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that ensuring your email content passes spam filter checks is important. Test your emails using tools like Litmus before sending to identify and resolve any potential issues that could trigger spam filters.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that SPF alignment means the SPF domain aligns with your header-from domain, which it doesn’t in Hubspot. That’s why the DMARC report says SPF is not aligned, even though your SPF auth passes.
Email marketer from SparkPost shares that maintaining a clean and engaged email list is crucial for email deliverability. Regularly remove inactive subscribers and focus on sending emails to those who actively engage with your content.
What the experts say8Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if you're on a shared IP, the IP reputation is wholly a factor of who you're sharing it with and if you're only sending 1000 emails a week, you have almost no impact on IP reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that you can't have everything aligned on Hubspot and that you don't need to include hubspot in your SPF text record because that's not the domain being used for SPF.
Expert from Email Geeks responds that sending mail people have asked you to send and that they want to receive is the only factor impacting email deliverability.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that people have gotten sued and banned from ever emailing any microsoft domain for using tools that responds and interacts with the sender to improve the reputation of the IP and that it is frowned upon by the ISPs as you're taking action to subvert their filters.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if Hubspot uses a custom domain, they're going to want to use a dedicated subdomain for SPF so that delayed bounces go to the right place and they STILL want to remove the hubspot include from their straight domain.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that maintaining a clean sender reputation is crucial when using HubSpot. Monitor your bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement metrics. High bounce rates or spam complaints can negatively impact your deliverability. Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive or problematic subscribers. By ensuring you're sending emails to engaged recipients, you can improve your sender reputation and overall deliverability.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that warmup is just about introducing yourself to your recipients (and their mail filters) to let the mail filters associate your identity with how those recipients want the mail.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that to improve SPF alignment with HubSpot, ensure your SPF record includes HubSpot's sending infrastructure. This typically involves adding an 'include:' mechanism that points to HubSpot's SPF record. Consult HubSpot's documentation for the exact SPF include string to use. Proper SPF configuration validates that HubSpot is authorized to send emails on your domain's behalf, which enhances deliverability.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC explains that the SPF syntax requires correct formatting and includes. Ensure your SPF record is valid and includes all necessary sending sources, such as HubSpot's servers. Invalid syntax can lead to deliverability problems.
Documentation from dmarcian explains that SPF alignment issues often arise when the domain used in the 'Mail From' address (Return-Path) doesn't match the domain in the 'From' address. Review and correct your SPF records to ensure proper alignment.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that implementing DMARC policies, especially with a 'reject' or 'quarantine' policy, can significantly improve email deliverability by instructing recipient mail servers on how to handle unauthenticated emails from your domain.
Documentation from HubSpot explains that connecting your email sending domain to HubSpot involves configuring DNS records, which is crucial for SPF alignment. Ensure you've properly set up the required records to authenticate your email sending.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that properly configuring your SPF record to include all authorized sending sources, including HubSpot, is crucial. An incorrect or incomplete SPF record can lead to deliverability issues.