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Why Subscribers Are Not Receiving Emails

Diagnose why subscribers are not receiving notifications or campaigns, resolve deliverability issues, and check server logs.

If your subscribers report that they are not receiving your post notifications, newsletters, or confirmation emails, follow this diagnostic checklist to identify and resolve the root cause.

1. Check Spam and Junk Folders

The most common reason emails appear missing is that recipient mailbox providers have filtered them into Spam or Junk folders.

To prevent your emails from being flagged as spam:

  • Use a Domain-Matched From Address: Avoid free webmail addresses (like @gmail.com or @yahoo.com) in your From address. Always use an address matching your verified website domain (e.g., newsletter@yourdomain.com).
  • Authenticate Your Domain: Ensure your domain has valid SPF, DKIM, and DMARC DNS records configured.
  • Avoid URL Shorteners: Mailbox spam filters frequently block messages containing shortened links (e.g., bit.ly).
  • Use a Dedicated Mailer: We strongly recommend sending via an authenticated SMTP or API service (such as Amazon SES, Mailgun, Postmark, or SendGrid) rather than your web host’s default PHP mailer.

2. Verify Campaign and Post Settings

If automated post notification emails are not being sent when you publish a new article:

  1. Category Targeting: Navigate to Icegram Express → Campaigns and edit your Post Notification campaign. Under the campaign settings, verify that the category of your newly published post is checked. If the category is unchecked, Icegram Express intentionally skips the post.
  2. Review Campaign Status: Ensure your campaign is set to Active and not paused.
  3. For full post notification configuration instructions, see Create and Send Post Notifications.

3. Verify Contact Subscription Status

Icegram Express only dispatches campaign emails to contacts who hold the Subscribed status:

  1. Navigate to Icegram Express → Audience.
  2. Search for the affected contact’s email address.
  3. Check their status indicator:
    • Subscribed (Green): Eligible to receive emails.
    • Unconfirmed (Yellow): Has not completed double opt-in verification. Resend the confirmation email or manually change their status to Subscribed.
    • Unsubscribed (Red): The contact opted out.
    • Bounced: Previous delivery attempts failed.

4. Check Sending Method and Cron Configuration

If you have a large subscriber list, sending too many emails simultaneously through standard WordPress triggers can exceed host resource limits or execution timeouts:

  1. Send via a Dedicated Mailer: Navigate to Icegram Express → Settings → Email Sending and configure an external transactional mailer or SMTP service.
  2. Enable Cron Scheduling: Ensure WordPress cron or system cron is running reliably to dispatch emails in manageable batches without timing out. See How to Schedule Cron Emails.
  3. Verify Host Sending Limits: Check with your hosting provider regarding hourly or daily email dispatch limits.

5. Review Icegram Express Logs

  1. In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Icegram Express → Reports (or Logs).
  2. Review the send history for the specific campaign.
  3. If an email shows as dispatched from Icegram Express but never reaches the recipient, the message was successfully handed over to your server/mailer, and any subsequent block occurred at the mail transfer agent or recipient mail server.