This recovery plan is co-authored by my soul-sister and thought partner, Dayana Kibilds.

Train yourself or your team to become email experts like us by investing in the Mailed It! online course. Explore more resources at emailbook.co.

If your emails have suddenly stopped reaching inboxes, you may be dealing with a damaged sender reputation. The good news? Reputation can be rebuilt. The process is called IP warming, and when done intentionally, it re-trains inbox providers to see your domain as trustworthy again.

This 12-step guide outlines a practical, realistic recovery plan for marketers who need to move carefully and confidently back into the inbox.

Step 1: Confirm you have a reputation problem

Before you change anything, verify the diagnosis.

Start by identifying the IP address associated with your sending domain, then check it using a tool like SenderScore.org.

Use these benchmarks:

• 90+ = excellent
• 80–89 = good
• 70–79 = fair
• 69 or below = problem

If your score is below 70, you’re likely dealing with inbox filtering, throttling, or blocks. It’s time to act.

Step 2: Pause broad sending

This is the part that makes leaders nervous, but it’s essential. Continuing to blast large, low-engagement lists only deepens the damage.

Pause all mass sends from the affected domain. Every ignored email teaches Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo that your messages don’t belong in the inbox. The pause is temporary and honestly, most of these people aren’t seeing your emails anyway.

Step 3: Lock down authentication

You cannot rehab your sender IP successfully without a solid technical foundation.

Confirm that:

• SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are properly configured
• All authentication records align with your sending domain
• There are no warnings in your ESP or DNS

Think of this as fixing the pipes before turning the water back on.

Step 4: Clean your list

A bad list will sabotage every warming attempt.

Immediately remove:

• Hard bounces
• Anyone who has complained about spam
• Long-term non-openers and non-clickers
• Old imports or lists with unclear origins

Yes, your audience will shrink on purpose. You are choosing quality and reach over vanity metrics.

Step 5: Build your “warm-up segment”

You don’t rebuild trust with 50,000 strangers. You rebuild it with your fans.

Create a tight segment of contacts who:

• Opened or clicked recently
• Never filed a spam complaint
• Took meaningful actions (registered, donated, purchased, replied)

These are the people who will signal to inbox providers that you are wanted.

Step 6: Start small

Your first sends should feel almost symbolic.

• Begin with 10 contacts at a time
• Send a helpful, expected message
• Avoid solicitations or hard sells

The goal is simple. Give inbox providers an easy win. We’re looking for people who happily open and click.

Step 7: Watch your metrics

After every send, review:

• Bounce rate
• Spam complaints
• Opens
• Clicks

If engagement is strong, continue. If anything drops sharply, stop and resolve the issue before continuing to grow your warm-up segment.

Step 8: Increase volume slowly

Warming is about control, not speed.

• Add about 10 more engaged contacts per send
• Keep a predictable cadence
• Avoid doubling the volume overnight

If metrics wobble, pause and adjust content or segmentation.

Step 9: Send engagement-first content

During recovery, every email should:

• Clearly explain why it matters
• Be easy to scan
• Include a strong reason to click

Engagement is the medicine. Opens, clicks, and replies are what heal a reputation.

Step 10: Reintroduce less-engaged segments carefully

Once performance is stable:

• Add small batches (around 500 at a time)
• Continue suppressing past complainers
• Avoid dumping in your entire database

If metrics tank, roll back immediately and slow down.

Step 11: Expand while watching signals

As you grow:

• Track every send
• Look for sudden drops
• Don’t be afraid to pause again

Recovery is a conversation with inbox providers, not a one-time fix.

Step 12: Protect what you rebuilt

Deliverability is a habit, not a project.

Maintain trust by:

• Sending on a consistent rhythm
• Practicing regular list hygiene
• Prioritizing relevance over volume
• Removing the unengaged

You are teaching inboxes a new story. “This sender is predictable, trustworthy, and wanted.”

A realistic 6-week Schedule

Here’s how this might look for a 50,000-contact list using the same monthly newsletter content.

Weeks 1–2: Highly engaged (≈3,000)

Start tiny and grow daily:
10 → 10 → 20 → 30 → 40 → 60 → 80 → 100 → 150 → 200 → 250 → 400 → 650 → 1,000

Weeks 3–4: Engaged (≈12,000)

Expand carefully within trusted contacts:
200 → 300 → 500 → 1,000 per day through Day 28

Weeks 5–6: Moderately engaged (≈45,000)

Broader but controlled:
1,000 → 2,000 → 3,000/day → then 4,000 → 5,000 by Day 42

The key principle: send the same email to different groups over time instead of one massive blast.

Final thoughts

IP warming doesn’t erase the past, but it does replace bad history with a fresh trail of positive engagement.

Done right, you recover and return with a stronger, healthier relationship with your audience and the inbox provider. And that’s where sustainable email marketing begins.

Get the book → Mailed It! A Guide for Crafting Emails That Build Relationships and Get Results

Last week, I had the chance to speak at the AFP AI Bootcamp at Bentley University. It was one of those events that reminded me how fast this technology is moving and how much these tools will change our work.

My workshop focused on building custom GPTs to support fundraising, marketing, and prospect research. We talked about how custom tools can make work more efficient without losing our voice or human touch.

If you want to see what I shared, I’m linking my slides and a custom GPT instruction template you can use to start building your own.

Download the slides and GPT template ⬇️

After more than a decade helping mission-driven organizations with their communications, we know how frustrating it can feel to pour time into emails that don’t get opened or acted on.

That’s why Day Kibilds and I built something new: The Advancement Email Strategy, Writing, and Metrics course. 🎉

Visit the course website

It’s designed for higher ed and nonprofit marketing pros who want to:

• Write emails that actually connect your community and supporters
• Use plug-and-play frameworks for appeals, newsletters, and event promotions
• Track the right metrics (without wasting hours in spreadsheets)

This week, we’re opening enrollment to our community first. You’ll receive 25% off (founding cohort pricing) if you join by Sunday at 11:59 p.m. ET.

Spots are limited, and this is the lowest price the course will ever be.

We’d love for you to be part of this first group. Together, we’ll make email the channel you can trust to drive real results.

Key strategies for effective email communication

Today’s nonprofits, rely on email to connect with donors, members, and stakeholders. But, with inboxes becoming more and more crowded, how can your messages stand out and nurture meaningful relationships? Drawing from insights in Mailed It!, this article offers strategies to enhance your email communication and create real connections.

Understanding reader behavior

Research indicates that readers spend seconds glancing at each email before deciding to read or delete it. This fleeting attention span stresses the need for clarity and brevity in your messages. By understanding and anticipating reader behavior, you can design emails that capture attention and communicate your message effectively.

Strategies for effective email communication

1. Craft clear and concise messages: Ensure your emails are straightforward, avoiding jargon and lengthy paragraphs. Aim to communicate your main point in the first sentence.
2. Design for readability: Use headings, bullet points, and short paragraphs to make your content scannable. This approach caters to 70% of readers who may only skim your email.
3. Personalize your content: Strike a personal tone. Address recipients by name and tailor content to their interests or past interactions with your organization. Personalization increases engagement rates.
4. Include a clear call-to-action (CTA): Whether it’s donating, registering for an event, or reading a story on your website, make sure your CTA is prominent and easy to follow.
5. Test and optimize: Regularly analyze your email performance metrics, including open and click-through rates, to identify areas for improvement. A/B testing different subject lines and content formats can provide valuable insights.

Implementing these strategies as a north star can help nonprofit marketers improve email outreach and cultivate stronger relationships with readers. As we say in Mailed It!, effective emails aren’t about gimmicks but investing in straightforward, honest, and purposeful communication. Start refining your email strategy to see tangible results in your membership and donor engagement.

For more in-depth insights and practical templates, get the book Mailed It!: A Guide to Crafting Emails That Build Relationships and Get Results. Looking for hands-on training? Explore our upcoming workshops designed to help nonprofit professionals master the art of email communication.

Ashley Budd is a bestselling author, senior marketing director, and nonprofit consultant.

Define your team identity to support decision-making and collaboration

• Pre-selected core values list (provided in pre-work)
• Sticky notes or a digital collaboration tool (Miro, MURAL, or a shared document)
• Flip chart or whiteboard for capturing key themes
• Timer to keep discussions focused

1. Provide team members 20–30 potential values (e.g., integrity, excellence, flexibility, innovation, collaboration). Use this simple card-sorting tool to make pre-work easy and enjoyable!
2. Ask each person to select the five values that best represent the team’s identity and how they hope to work together.
3. Collect responses and look for shared values. Group similar values into nested themes (e.g., Honesty could nest under integrity, decisiveness could nest under leadership, etc.).

1. Set the stage: Explain that this session is about defining the team’s identity and ensuring that values drive decision-making and collaboration.
2. Present the top values/themes collected from pre-work. Display them visually.

• “Do these themes resonate with how we see ourselves as a team?”
• “Are there any missing elements that should be considered?”

• “Where do you see these values showing up in our work?”
• “Can you share an example of a time when we embodied these values?”
• “What challenges do we face in consistently living these values?”

• “How should these values guide our decision-making as a team?”
• “How should our values guide collaboration with others?”

• “What’s one thing you will do differently after this discussion?”
• “How can we hold each other accountable for our values in action?”