Email Deliverability Audit: Pre-Send and Inbox Drops
Audits a marketing email and its sending setup for inbox risk, returns a ranked fix list and send verdict, and diagnoses sudden drops.
Before & after
Same prompt, same agent — the only difference is the skill.
Let me look at your email for you. I'll check it for common issues that might make it spam or look unprofessional. The main things to watch for are spam words, layout problems, and authentication headers. You should also make sure your links work and that the email looks good on mobile. It's helpful to test it in a few email clients if possible. If everything looks okay, you should be good to send. Let me review it and get back to you with any issues I spot.
DELIVERABILITY AUDIT
SPAM TRIGGER SCAN
⚠ HIGH RISK: "Limited time offer" (appears 3x)→ tone down to 1 mention
⚠ MEDIUM RISK: 4 links above fold → move 1 to footer
✓ Low risk: CTA button text OK ("Learn more" is soft)
✓ Sender address authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC all pass)
BRAND VOICE CHECK
✓ Matches your established tone (conversational, helpful)
✓ No template language detected
✗ One subject line phrase contradicts previous email voice (generic vs personal)
→ Recommendation: "Hi Sarah, quick update on dashboard features" (instead of "Dashboard Update")
TECHNICAL COMPLIANCE
✓ From address: noreply@yourdomain.com (list authenticated)
✓ List-Unsubscribe header: present
✓ ALT text: all images tagged
✓ Mobile rendering: 6/10 (text cramped on iPhone SE)
→ Fix: increase font size from 12px to 14px minimum
ESPREDICTION
• Estimated inbox placement: 94% (deliverability score)
• ISP confidence: Gmail 98%, Outlook 89%, Yahoo 92%
• Recommendation: Send sample to 3 test addresses before bulk sendAbout this skill
Your open rate fell off a cliff, or you are about to hit send to 40,000 people and you are not sure the email will reach the inbox. Most spam checkers only flag words like FREE and exclamation points, but those barely matter now. Inbox placement mostly depends on authentication, who you send to, your links, and how the email is built. This skill audits all of that, ranks each problem by how much it actually hurts you, and tells you whether to send, fix first, or hold.
What it does
- Checks SPF, DKIM, and DMARC alignment, plus the Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook bulk-sender rules, including one-click unsubscribe headers and complaint-rate limits
- Flags audience risks that outweigh any copy problem: stale segments, volume spikes, and lists that were not opted in
- Inspects links and HTML for patterns filters penalize: URL shorteners, link text that does not match the destination, image-only layouts, Gmail clipping, and unrendered merge tags
- Separates real blockers from low-weight wording issues, so you do not cut your copy over myths
- Diagnoses a drop by mailbox provider using bounce codes, Postmaster data, and click rates, and accounts for Apple Mail inflating opens
- Covers compliance basics: unsubscribe, postal address, honest subject lines, and consent
What you get
A send verdict (SEND, FIX THEN SEND, or HOLD) and a fix list ranked by severity. Each item quotes the evidence and gives the exact fix, including DNS records or rewritten lines where needed.
Best for
Creators, newsletter operators, ecommerce brands, and small marketing teams who send their own campaigns through an email platform and have no deliverability specialist on staff.
SKILL.md preview
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name: email-deliverability-audit
description: Audits a marketing, newsletter, or lifecycle email and its sending setup for inbox-placement risk. It checks, in order of impact, authentication, audience, sending pattern, links, HTML build, compliance, and wording, then returns a ranked fix list with a send verdict. It also diagnoses sudden deliverability or engagement drops. Use when the user says "check this email for spam before I send", "why are my emails going to spam", "my open rate suddenly tanked", "is my SPF/DKIM/DMARC set up right", "will this promo land in the inbox", "Gmail keeps putting my newsletter in spam", or "pre-flight this campaign".
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