Improve email deliverability

Job alert emails are your board's primary re-engagement channel. When alerts land in the inbox instead of spam, subscribers return to your board regularly. A few steps can make a real difference.

How Cavuno sends emails

Cavuno handles email infrastructure for you:

• SPF and DKIM authentication: emails are cryptographically signed to prove they come from a legitimate sender
• Dedicated sending infrastructure: job alerts are sent through authenticated email servers
• Double opt-in: subscribers confirm their email address before receiving alerts, reducing spam complaints

You do not need to configure DNS records or manage email servers.

Help subscribers receive alerts

Even with proper authentication, individual email providers may filter automated emails. Here's how to reduce filtering:

Ask subscribers to allowlist your sender

Include a note on your subscribe confirmation page or in your first alert email:

To make sure you receive job alerts, add [your sending address] to your contacts.

This is the single most effective step for inbox placement.

Encourage engagement

Email providers track whether recipients open and click emails. High engagement signals that your emails are wanted:

• Write clear subject lines that match subscriber expectations (e.g., "5 new marketing jobs this week")
• Send relevant jobs. Well-configured alert filters mean subscribers only receive jobs they care about.
• Keep a consistent schedule. Predictable email timing builds recipient trust.

Clean your subscriber list

Inactive subscribers who never open emails hurt your sender reputation:

1. Go to Job Alerts in the sidebar
2. Review subscribers who have been inactive for an extended period
3. Consider removing subscribers who haven't engaged. This improves deliverability for everyone else

Diagnose delivery issues

If subscribers report missing alerts:

1. Check subscriber status. Go to Job Alerts and search for their email. Confirm status is "Active" (not "Unconfirmed" or "Unsubscribed").
2. Ask them to check spam and promotions folders. Gmail in particular routes automated emails to the Promotions tab.
3. Verify matching criteria. Alerts only send when new jobs match the subscriber's preferences. If no jobs match, no email is sent.
4. Ask them to re-subscribe. If the confirmation email was lost, re-entering their email on your board triggers a new confirmation.

See also: How job alerts work, Manage subscribers

Best practices

• Don't buy email lists. Importing purchased lists leads to high bounce rates and spam complaints, which damage sender reputation for all your subscribers.
• Honor unsubscribes immediately. Every alert email includes an unsubscribe link. Cavuno processes these automatically.
• Monitor your subscriber count. A steadily growing, engaged list is a better signal than a large, inactive one.
• Be consistent. Subscribers who expect weekly alerts and receive them weekly are less likely to mark emails as spam than those who receive unpredictable bursts.