Why an email may not arrive

First, check the numbers

Open History in the Email Studio and select the blast. The counts tell you a lot:

• Suppressed at queue time — the address is on the do-not-send list (unsubscribed, previously bounced, or complained). The email was never attempted. See Recipient lists and the suppression list.
• Failed — we attempted delivery and the receiving server refused it, or the send errored. For team blasts, the most common failure reason is simply "No valid email address" on the team's record.
• Sent — we handed the message to the recipient's mail provider successfully. If it still isn't in their inbox, the cause is on the receiving side (read on).

"Sent" but not in the inbox

When a message shows as sent yet the recipient can't find it, work through this list:

1. Spam or junk folder. By far the most common cause. Ask the recipient to check spam and, if it's there, mark it "Not spam" — that trains their provider for future sends.
2. Promotions tab. Gmail often files marketing-style email under Promotions rather than the primary inbox. It arrived; it's just filed differently.
3. Typo in the address. One transposed letter and the mail goes to a stranger (or bounces later). Verify the address character by character.
4. Corporate filtering. Workplace and school mail systems sometimes quarantine bulk mail before it ever reaches the mailbox. The recipient's IT department can release it and allow future messages.
5. Delay. Receiving servers occasionally defer bulk mail for minutes or hours before accepting it. Give it a little time before re-sending.

Improving inbox placement

You can meaningfully influence how providers treat your mail:

• Write like a person. ALL-CAPS subjects, excessive exclamation marks, and pushy urgency language are classic spam-filter triggers.
• Balance images and text. An email that is one giant image with no real text scores poorly. Use text blocks for your actual message.
• Keep your list clean. High bounce rates on stale lists damage sender reputation for future blasts. Upload current lists.
• Ask supporters to add your sender to their contacts. A single "add to contacts" hugely improves future placement for that recipient.
• Don't fight unsubscribes. A working unsubscribe path means unhappy recipients leave quietly instead of pressing the spam button — which is far more damaging.

Tip: Before a big blast, send the email to yourself and a colleague on a different provider (e.g., one Gmail, one Outlook). Two minutes of testing catches most placement surprises.

When to contact us

If a blast shows an unusual failure count, if the same valid address fails repeatedly, or if a supporter insists they never unsubscribed yet receives nothing, contact the Pledgix team with the blast's subject, send time, and the affected address — we can check the detailed delivery log on our side.

Related articles

• Recipient lists and the suppression list
• When your emails actually go out
• Troubleshooting failed sends