==[[PhplistDocumentation Phplist Documentation]] » [[PhplistInstallation Installation]] » [[PhpListConfiguration Configuring]] » ==
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====Tasks to do before you send your first email====


Great! You've [[PhplistInstallation installed]] and [[PhpListConfiguration configured]] phpList, you've created a List, Imported some Users, added a Template, and written your first Message. Now, how to get out the door and past the spam filters?

==Installation & Setup Check List==

	- Have you setup an "**abuse**//@mydomain.com//" account? (This helps recipients' email systems know you aren't a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-mail_spam spammer]])
	- Have you setup a "**postmaster**//@mydomain.com//" account? (Ditto.)
	- Did you verify your (reverse)[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domain_Name_System DNS]]? A badly configured DNS is likely to look suspicious to spam filters. You can use a some of the available [[http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Protocols/DNS/Web_Tools/ DNS tools]] to check your DNS. Or consult [[http://forums.phplist.com/viewtopic.php?t=21772 this forum thread]] for more DNS tools you could use.
	- Added a [[http://www.openspf.org/ SPF record]]? (debate continues on how crucial this is, or even whether it's even a good idea. [[http://postmaster.aol.com/spf/ AOL]] seems to be throwing their weight behind "yes, do this") 
	- Does your email/site hosting company limit the number of emails per hour you may send? Are you sure? If so, have you set phpList's "sending speed"? If not, check-out [[PhpListConfigSendRate Configuring the Send-Speed]]
	- Have you included and tested the unsubscribe link?
	- Did you include a note in your email asking people to "safe list" your sending-from email address, "//my-phplist-account@mydomain.com//"?
	- Did you check your bounced mail account setup? phpList requires the IMAP PHP extension. It also requires a valid email account logon, see [[PhpListConfigBounces Configuring Bounce Handling]]. 
	- On the [[ConfigurePhplistInfo configure page]] you've set your domain correctly?

==Message Sending Check List==

	- You've added  Users (recipients) to your target List (seems obvious, lots of people remember to add Users, but not make them Members of a List)? 
	- Have you sent a test message? Which desktop mail client and webmail have you viewed it in? Have you test-mailed  popular webmail providers like AOL? Yahoo? GMail? Hotmail? ""HelloKitty.com""?
	- Did proofread and spell-checked your HTML __AND__ Text-only email? Even if you're sending all HTML emails, 100%, no exceptions... check the text version of the message. phpList is smart. It will send multipart alternative emails: that is, it will send your HTML email and, in another hidden bucket inside that email will be the text-only version. Why? If the recipient's email client can't view HTML emails it will look for the text version. Fails politely. 
	- Did you verify the From email address. Does it match the one you told people to "safe list"?
	- Meaningful Subject line? 

Great. Hit Send, and then Process Queue... and then... **What went wrong?**
If you send your email and have no problems, fantastic. Wait. Did you say NO PROBLEMS? No bounces? No "out of office" auto-responses? Really? That's actually bad news... 

Check the email account you setup to capture all of the [[PHPlistConfigBounces bounces]]. It's rare for no bounces to occur. Check these:

	- Was everyone on your list confirmed? 
	- If you imported Users into your List from a file did you set them all as pre-confirmed? 
	- Maybe you exceeded your hosting company's limit? FTP in and, if you're able to find it, look in your mail directory. Look for sent, bad, etc. You may find a big pile of all of your emails. 
	- Did you inadvertently leave phplist in "Test mode"? In config.php check your value for this constant (0 is off, 1 is on): ##define ("TEST",0);##
	- Send a test mail. Perhaps you've a basic setup/configuration problem with mail account etc?
	- Check the [[PhplistFAQ FAQs]] and [[PhplistTroubleshooting Troubleshooting]] pages.
	- Still no ideas? Head over to the [[http://forums.phplist.com/ phpList forums]] and do a **search**. Odds are that someone has had a similar problem. Oh, if you do decide to post a new thread -- don't be an asshat. Ask a specif clear, meaningful, well constructed question, details and examples help and people will be more likely to reply. Give it a meaningful post name (not "Help me!!!!!!!! " or "Didn't work" or "this program sux") And, if you solve your problem, please, post the solution. For the next person, who is just exactly like you and me.
	- Also, don't forget your hosting company's support forum, knowledgebase, or other options. Might get help configuring there. 

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CategoryDocumentation