You fire off a promotional email to a list of ten clients and every reply lands in their spam folders. You check the message, it looks fine, but the inbox never sees it. The frustration is real, and the problem is often rooted in a handful of easy-to-miss issues: missing authentication records, use of a free-tier sending address, and a tarnished sending IP.
Missing SPF, DKIM, or DMARC
Receiving mail servers look for SPF, DKIM and DMARC records before they trust a message. If any of them are absent or mis-configured, the server tags the mail as suspicious.
SPF is a TXT record that lists the sources allowed to send for your domain. Use the exact SPF value shown under the Email tab in your TrueCore portal — it's generated for your domain via PurelyMail, so copy it verbatim rather than typing one from a blog. Without a valid SPF record, the recipient sees an unknown source and may drop the message.
DKIM adds a cryptographic signature to each outbound email. The private key signs the body and selected headers; the public key sits in a DNS TXT record. When the signature verifies, the receiver knows the message really came from your server.
DMARC ties SPF and DKIM together and tells the receiver what to do when either fails. A simple starter record looks like this:
v=DMARC1; p=none; rua=mailto:dmarc@yourdomain.comSetting p=none lets you collect reports without affecting delivery. After you see a clean report, you can tighten the policy to quarantine or reject.
We configure SPF and DKIM automatically when you enable email on a TrueCore account. The keys are generated when the mailbox is created and the DNS entries are added to your zone via our flame-dnsd daemon. DMARC still needs your hand, but the record is a single line of text.
Free-Tier Sending and Shared IP Reputation
If you send mail from a free Gmail, Outlook, or a generic ISP address, many receivers apply a stricter spam filter. The domain in the From line does not match the sending IP, and the SPF check fails. The same thing happens when you use a cheap bulk-mail service that shares IPs with spammy accounts.
Your IP reputation is a score that accrues over weeks of sending. TrueCore runs Purelymail on shared infrastructure, so the IP you use is shared among multiple customers. Most of our users see decent placement because we keep the sending volume low and monitor abuse. However, if your own traffic includes hard bounces or spam complaints, the shared IP score can drop and affect all users on that node.
The quick fix is to avoid free-tier senders for business mail. Use the mailbox supplied by TrueCore or a dedicated SMTP provider that offers a clean IP. If you need high volume, consider a service that gives you a dedicated sending IP and publishes its own SPF record.
Quick Wins You Can Apply Today
- Add the SPF record for your domain, copying the exact value from the Email tab in your TrueCore portal. Use
dig txt yourdomain.comto verify it propagates within a few minutes thanks to our flame-dnsd daemon.
- Enable DKIM in the TrueCore panel. A button click generates the private key, updates the DNS, and restarts the mail daemon.
- Create a basic DMARC record with
p=none. Watch the daily XML reports in the email address you specify; they tell you which sources are sending on your behalf.
- Stop using free email addresses for outbound business mail. Switch to
you@yourdomain.comand configure the sending client with the SMTP server, port and security settings shown under the Email tab in your TrueCore portal.
- Clean your contact list. Remove addresses that bounce repeatedly. Hard bounces trigger complaints and lower the IP's reputation.
These steps cost nothing but a few minutes and often move your messages from spam to inbox.
What TrueCore Hosting Fixes Automatically
When you enable email, we handle the groundwork without you needing to lift a finger:
- Generate a DKIM key pair and publish the public key.
- Add an SPF TXT record that authorises our PurelyMail sending infrastructure.
- Provide a DNS API that updates changes instantly across our three-node fleet (ember, spark, litespeed).
Our monitoring daemon flame-watchman checks the health of the mail service every five minutes, and flame-sentinel pings the service each minute to alert us of downtime. If a problem appears, we act before it affects delivery.
When You Need to Look Beyond Hosting
Even with perfect authentication, a few factors remain in your control:
- Sending practices - avoid large bursts, respect unsubscribe requests, and honour bounces.
- Content quality - spam filters flag excessive links, all-caps subject lines, and suspicious attachments.
- Reputation management - use a consistent From address, and never send from a free tier address on behalf of your domain.
If you have exhausted these steps and still see poor placement, the problem may be the shared IP pool. In that case, a dedicated SMTP service or a third-party email platform with its own IP reputation can solve the issue.
Email deliverability is a mix of proper configuration and responsible sending. TrueCore handles the technical groundwork, but the final piece is your habit of sending clean, authenticated mail. Fix the DNS records, ditch the free-tier sender, and keep your list tidy - and you'll see your small-business messages land where they belong: the inbox.