PR email deliverability depends on the sender’s domain, infrastructure, contact data, message, volume, and recipient response. Configure the domain correctly, send from an account you control, verify contacts, and investigate failures before sending again.
Authenticate the sending domain
Set up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC with the domain and email provider responsible for your mail.
Google’s current email sender guidelines require all senders to Gmail accounts to use SPF or DKIM. They require senders above Google’s bulk threshold to use SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, along with domain alignment and other controls. Google recommends authentication for every sending domain.
Authentication has separate jobs:
- SPF lists systems allowed to send for a domain.
- DKIM adds a verifiable signature to the message.
- DMARC defines how receiving systems evaluate alignment and failures, and it can produce reports.
Use the instructions from your email provider and DNS host. Test the resulting records before outreach. Do not copy another organization’s values.
Send through the account recipients should reply to
PitchFriendly sends through connected Gmail, Outlook.com, or custom SMTP/IMAP accounts. Replies remain with the sender, and the sent message remains part of the working mailbox.
Using your own account does not guarantee placement. The domain and account still carry the effects of authentication, volume, bounces, complaints, and recipient engagement.
Verify the list before sending
For each contact:
- Confirm the journalist’s current publication and role
- Use a public professional contact route
- Review validation status and confidence
- Remove known invalid or bounced addresses
- Remove contacts whose recent work does not fit the story
- Check team history for duplicate outreach
An address can be technically deliverable and editorially wrong. Both checks matter.
PitchFriendly can show validation signals and preserve contact corrections, but the sender must confirm whether a contact is current and belongs on the pitch.
Control volume and timing
Avoid sudden volume spikes. Google advises senders to increase volume gradually, avoid bursts, monitor server responses, and reduce volume when bounces or deferrals rise.
For media outreach:
- Send to a reviewed list rather than a broad export
- Stagger delivery when the list is large enough to create a spike
- Pause when bounce or deferral patterns change
- Keep distinct message purposes and sender identities clear
- Avoid repeatedly sending to nonresponsive or unsuitable contacts
PitchFriendly’s scheduling workflow sends through the connected account and lets the sender review the queue first.
Use standards-compliant messages
Google requires messages to follow the Internet Message Format standard. RFC 5322 defines the underlying message format.
Use:
- A valid From address and reply route
- A specific subject
- Plain, readable HTML or text
- Working HTTPS links
- A complete signature
- Attachments only when useful and expected
Avoid link shorteners, deceptive display names, misleading reply prefixes, and image-only messages.
Review bounces by category
Do not treat every failure as the same event.
| Signal | Working response |
|---|---|
| Invalid mailbox | Remove or replace the address after verification |
| Invalid domain | Correct the domain only from a reliable source |
| Temporary deferral | Slow sending and review provider guidance |
| Authentication failure | Stop and repair SPF, DKIM, or DMARC configuration |
| Spam or policy rejection | Review content, list source, volume, and domain reputation |
| Recipient decline | Record the preference and stop outreach on that story |
Keep the original server response. It is more useful than a generic “failed” label.
Monitor the domain outside the campaign tool
Use provider diagnostics and DMARC reports. Google recommends Postmaster Tools for eligible senders to review authentication, delivery errors, spam reports, and compliance signals.
Legal requirements vary by jurisdiction and message type. Confirm them with qualified counsel. Technical delivery and legal permission are separate questions.