Poor Email Delivery

Poor Email Delivery

Our company used Zoho about 2 years ago and always had trouble understanding why a great deal of our emails from Zoho CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation ended up in the recipient's spam folder regardless of the email content and despite having our domain set up correctly in Zoho.

For the last 12 months, we have been using MailerLite as our email marketing which has a much higher delivery rate. At the time we migrated to MailerLite we also instantly saw a much higher open rate by roughly 15%. That's a huge jump!

Keep in mind, that when a recipient's email server indicates the email has been delivered, it does not mean the email was delivered directly to the inbox. Instead, it could have very well been delivered to the recipient's spam or promotions folder. So the open rate was a huge indicator that there was an issue within Zoho.

Unfortunately due to other issues with MailerLite, we decided to give Zoho another try recently.

After doing a bit more testing we have found that even though Zoho CRM and Zoho Marketing Automation claim your domain is verified, it still does not have the proper SPF alignment included in each email's header. Only Zoho Mail will have the proper DKIM and SPF signatures. Essentially what happens in each of Zoho's other apps is that your email claims it is being sent from one domain but the SPF record is signed by another. 

This misalignment causes your emails to have a lower security scoring and results in a higher likelihood of the emails being routed to the recipient's spam folder or potentially even being rejected completely.

In email marketing, this is a huge problem. Keep in mind that recipients won't go searching through their spam just to see if you happen to send them an email that day. Even worse if you've built Zoho Campaigns or Zoho Marketing Journeys that utilize email open conditions your journey efforts will be completely lost from the start.

I contacted support and was essentially told not to worry about it because when an email is sent from Zoho Transmail servers for any Zoho app other than Zoho Mail, only the DKIM signature matters. This is a completely false statement as mail services treat each incoming email the same. Trust me there's no mail server out there saying "Hey let's make an exception for Zoho." Quite the opposite as we have also discovered that Zoho is on at least one delivery blacklist. 

From the developer's aspect, I understand why Zoho has chosen to design their system this way. It's the easy way of development. But I also know that they need to be a bit more upfront about the issue rather than simply implying that the domain is highly deliverable and the SPF records don't matter.

For us, the only solution to fix Zoho's design shortcomings is to either purchase a dedicated IP from Zoho or find a new provider with a better design. 

If you're scratching your head about why your open rate is lower than you expect even when you keep your contact list clean and maintained, you can thank Zoho's design. 

 

    Access your files securely from anywhere







                          Zoho Developer Community






                                                • Desk Community Learning Series


                                                • Digest


                                                • Functions


                                                • Meetups


                                                • Kbase


                                                • Resources


                                                • Glossary


                                                • Desk Marketplace


                                                • MVP Corner


                                                • Word of the Day


                                                • Ask the Experts



                                                          • Sticky Posts

                                                          • How to Add Users to your Organization in ZohoMail?

                                                            A better clarity so you can create other users to start using Zoho Mail. You can directly Add Users from the Control Panel to your Organization. You can invite users with the existing email address. If the person (user) already uses ZohoCRM, then you can import users from Zoho CRM. You can also import them using a .csv file. (if you are planning to add them in Bulk)  In this topic, We will be discussing on how to Add and Invite users only.  The Import options are self explanatory. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


                                                          Manage your brands on social media



                                                                Zoho TeamInbox Resources



                                                                    Zoho CRM Plus Resources

                                                                      Zoho Books Resources


                                                                        Zoho Subscriptions Resources

                                                                          Zoho Projects Resources


                                                                            Zoho Sprints Resources


                                                                              Qntrl Resources


                                                                                Zoho Creator Resources



                                                                                    Zoho CRM Resources

                                                                                    • CRM Community Learning Series

                                                                                      CRM Community Learning Series


                                                                                    • Kaizen

                                                                                      Kaizen

                                                                                    • Functions

                                                                                      Functions

                                                                                    • Meetups

                                                                                      Meetups

                                                                                    • Kbase

                                                                                      Kbase

                                                                                    • Resources

                                                                                      Resources

                                                                                    • Digest

                                                                                      Digest

                                                                                    • CRM Marketplace

                                                                                      CRM Marketplace

                                                                                    • MVP Corner

                                                                                      MVP Corner







                                                                                        Design. Discuss. Deliver.

                                                                                        Create visually engaging stories with Zoho Show.

                                                                                        Get Started Now


                                                                                          Zoho Show Resources


                                                                                            Zoho Writer Writer

                                                                                            Get Started. Write Away!

                                                                                            Writer is a powerful online word processor, designed for collaborative work.

                                                                                              Zoho CRM コンテンツ





                                                                                                Nederlandse Hulpbronnen


                                                                                                    ご検討中の方




                                                                                                          • Recent Topics

                                                                                                          • Display All Custom Buttons Without Dropdown on Record Page

                                                                                                            In my org's workflow we usually want to do some kind of quick action off of an individual record - i.e. of an individual contact, or individual deal. What we have always found a hindrance is the location of all custom buttons being in the drop down on
                                                                                                          • Zoho Sales Team - Extremely Slow Response Times

                                                                                                            Hi everyone, Has anyone else experienced unusually slow response times from Zoho’s sales team? I sent an email last night, and it’s been nearly 24 hours with no reply. While I understand delays can happen, this seems longer than expected for a sales inquiry.
                                                                                                          • Yodlee Bank Feeds

                                                                                                            I'm well aware of the many bank feed issues out there that haven't been resolved, but I'm looking for information on Rules in relation to bank feeds. U.S based, Bank of America user and prior to Yodlee all of my banking feeds and Rules worked seamlessly.
                                                                                                          • Unable to create custom function

                                                                                                            Unable to create custom function - Please check the screenshot for the details HERE IS THE FUNCTION!! try { // 1. Fetch the details of the approved Bill using its ID billDetails = zoho.books.getRecordById("Bills", organization.get("organization_id"),
                                                                                                          • Need a feature which can validate PAN from Income Tax Portal

                                                                                                            Hello Zoho, We need a feature which can help us validate PAN which is being entered in AR/AP Profiles to check if it is valid and display the name as per Income Tax so as to get rid of incorrect PAN into the systems. Please do the needful Thanks
                                                                                                          • PAN - Aadhar Link Status

                                                                                                            Can Zohobooks also get latest PAN-Aadhar Linking Status from Income Tax Portal ?
                                                                                                          • Canvas translation

                                                                                                            We want to offer our CRM system to our users in English and Dutch. However, it seems that text in our deal Canvas isn't available for translation through the translation file. The same applies to the field tooltips. They don't appear in the translation
                                                                                                          • Are Cadences visible to anyone with Cadence permission?

                                                                                                            When setting up a new Cadence is it possible to restrict its use to a specific user? How can I prevent users from making modifications to existing Cadences?
                                                                                                          • Super Admin Logging in as another User

                                                                                                            How can a Super Admin login as another user. For example, I have a sales rep that is having issues with their Accounts and I want to view their Zoho Account with out having to do a GTM and sharing screens. Moderation Update (8th Aug 2025): We are working
                                                                                                          • Show my cost or profit while creating estimate

                                                                                                            Hi, While creating estimate it becomes very important to know exact profit or purchased price of the products at one side just for our reference so we can decide whether we can offer better disc or not .
                                                                                                          • Issue on Upload API and href image URL

                                                                                                            Here is my Full API Code , URL : URL: https://desk.zoho.com/api/v1/uploads/659563000000193003/content Headers* Authorization: 'Zoho-oauthtoken 1000.ed5ce2836bf5ba9b946f5ec9************88e73ff4883a3e9c58ffeb7870' orgId: 7586***** RESPONSE{ "errorCode":
                                                                                                          • Issue when downloading a Mail Merged Zoho Writer Document as .docx

                                                                                                            Hi, We are using within Zoho CRM mailmerge to create documents. This results in a Zoho Writer document. When we try to download as a Microsoft Docx file we get following error: "Word experienced an error trying to open the file. Try these suggestions.
                                                                                                          • 【Zoho CRM】ケイデンス機能のアップデート

                                                                                                            ユーザーの皆さま、こんにちは。コミュニティチームの中野です。 今回は「Zoho CRM アップデート情報」の中から、ケイデンス機能のアップデートをご紹介します。 ケイデンス機能の2つの強化されたことで、適用と解除のタイミングをより柔軟に管理できるようになり、 よりタイムリーで的確なコミュニケーションが実現できるようになりました。 目次: 1. ケイデンスの再開/最初からのやり直し 2. ケイデンスからのデータ解除タイミングの設定 1. ケイデンスの再開/最初からのやり直し 手動削除、完了、または適用解除条件が満たされた場合など、以前に適用解除されたデータをケイデンスに再適用できるようになりました。
                                                                                                          • Rescheduled US meetups: Zoho Desk user meetups are coming to seven U.S. cities in October and November, 2025

                                                                                                            Hello to our Zoho Desk users in the United States, We're excited to share the revised dates for the upcoming Zoho User Groups happening across the US this summer. Our product experts are heading to seven cities throughout the country, and for the first
                                                                                                          • Anyone get the OpenAI API to work in Zoho Meeting?

                                                                                                            Has anyone been able to get the OpenAI API to work in generating meeting summaries? I have been trying, but I get an error that says "OpenAI key notes request rate exceeded. Please try again later or upgrade your open AI account." I contacted Zoho support
                                                                                                          • Push Notifications Customization

                                                                                                            There is no way to customize the notifications we get. I would like to be able to get notifications based on if they are assigned directly to me, my team, my department, or perhaps tickets that match a specific criteria (a contact or account is a VIP
                                                                                                          • Announcing Early Access to the next generation of Zoho Desk UI

                                                                                                            Customer service is one of the categories where efficiency and quality of service have to run in parallel, and your team's experience with their helpdesk goes a long way ensuring these aspects are uncompromised. Introducing DOT Design for Zoho Desk -
                                                                                                          • Editing the record in report

                                                                                                            I have a use-case as below- User creates a assessment record by filling some fields. User assigns that record to portal user by using Assigned To dropdown (Assigned To is Users field in form with choices as customers). I have set the record owner of form
                                                                                                          • Unified WhatsApp Number Management in Zoho Desk and SalesIQ

                                                                                                            Dear Zoho Desk Support Team, We are currently utilizing both Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ for our customer support operations. While both platforms offer WhatsApp integration, we are facing challenges due to the requirement of separate WhatsApp numbers
                                                                                                          • Can we have Bills of Material Module ?

                                                                                                            Can we have Bills of Material Module ?
                                                                                                          • Main Ticket Page Customization

                                                                                                            We do not love the ticket list page (right after clicking Tickets menu item) would like options to customize it.
                                                                                                          • Communicating with emojis

                                                                                                            On July 17, we celebrate World Emoji Day! We're a bit late 😐 sharing insights about this day. But we just couldn't let it pass without a mention 😊 because emojis have a meaningful connection with customer service 💬 🤝. We do not want to miss out on
                                                                                                          • Agent Collision Missing from Mobile App

                                                                                                            Please add Agent Collision capabilities to the mobile app.
                                                                                                          • Zia Sentiment and Functionality on Mobile

                                                                                                            Please add Zia sentiment and generative responses to the mobile app. It would be nice to see the ticket sentiment and generate a response back to a user using Zia on my iPhone
                                                                                                          • View Account Attachments on iOS

                                                                                                            Please allow us to view account attachments on the mobile iOS app!
                                                                                                          • How do I run a PnL by Sales Person?

                                                                                                            I am trying to run a PnL by sales person but am not seeing the option do so. All I need to know (per salesperson) is revenue, cost of goods, gross profit.
                                                                                                          • View Contracts and Support Plans on Mobile

                                                                                                            We would like to be able to see contracts and support plans from the mobile app on iOS!
                                                                                                          • Why is Zoho Meeting quality so poor?

                                                                                                            I've just moved from Office 365 to Zoho Workplace and have been generally really positive about the new platform -- nicely integrated, nice GUI, good and easy-to-understand control and customisation, and at a reasonable price. However, what is going on
                                                                                                          • App like Miro

                                                                                                            Hi all, is there a way to have a interactive whiteboard like in Miro? We want to visualize our processes and workflows in an easy way.
                                                                                                          • Loan repayment Entry

                                                                                                            While receiving loan, i does following steps in My Zoho books. 1. Create "Loan & Advance " Account as Parent Account under Long Term Liabilities. 2. Create another account For Example "Mr. ABC's Loan as Child account under the parent account. Now: In
                                                                                                          • Quotes module send email reverted back into 2022??

                                                                                                            Our Zoho CRM PLUS quotes, sales orders, invoice modules is showing us an email composer from 2022. We cannot send emails and its been a real pain. I tried clicking the new version over there but it doesnt seem to do anything. Any help is welcome. th
                                                                                                          • Workflow Condition - how do check that a date / time value is in the past?

                                                                                                            Hello, I'm got a workflow that runs a function when records reach their 'Effective Date / Time', but sometimes records are created after the 'Effective Date / Time' so I have another workflow that checks for records which needs to be processed immediately.
                                                                                                          • Pre filling SignForm field values by URL field alias's in Zoho Sign

                                                                                                            Hi, Does anyone know if it's possible to pre fill the field values of the SignForm by using field alias's like you can in Zoho forms? To be more specific, I want to be able to change the SignForm URL to include some information like this: Before : https://sign.zoho.eu/signform?form_link=234b4d535f495623920c288fc8538cb9e6db03bbfd44499b63f3e5c48daf78f44bc47f333e2f5072cc1ee74b7332fe18b25c93fab10cb6243278d49c67eacbf30bbe5b6e1cc8c6b2#/
                                                                                                          • How to Split Payout in Zoho Books (Without Using Journal?)

                                                                                                            Hi, I'm trying to properly record payouts in Zoho Books. The issue is that each payout is a combination of sales and expenses (fees). When I try to categorise the payout transaction from the Banking tab, I can only split the transaction using income-type
                                                                                                          • Payment Schedule

                                                                                                            Please add the ability to create a payment schedule. The other options, like retainer invoices or two invoices, do not work for the customer.  We invoice a client and need to be able to show them everything they owe in one invoice, and when each payment
                                                                                                          • Which pricing system do you think would work best for us?

                                                                                                            Imagine we’re selling strictly wholesale. We’d rather not publish unit prices; instead, we quote customers case-by-case. To spur larger orders, we’re considering a transparent discount ladder—say: $0 – $999: 0 % $1,000 – $1,999: 5 % $2,000 – $4,999: 10
                                                                                                          • Can't Remove Payment Gateway

                                                                                                            I am getting the error "Settings cannot be cleared as some of the transactions are still in progress." when trying to remove the PayGate payment gateway which I was unable to get working. I am now using paystack and I want to remove Paygate.
                                                                                                          • Sync specific Zoho Inventory Warehouses to Zoho Commerce

                                                                                                            As said in the title, we would want to only sync stock from one warehouse of Zoho Inventory to the Zoho Commerce item stock. We have a 2 warehouses in different countries and the way that Zoho Commerce works (It takes stock from ALL WAREHOUSES EVERYWHERE
                                                                                                          • Weekly Tips : Automatically clean clutter with Junk cleanup interval

                                                                                                            If you regularly receive many unwanted or spam emails, your Spam folder can quickly fill up and start taking up valuable storage space in your Zoho Mail account. Instead of manually clearing it every few days, you might find it helpful to enable automatic
                                                                                                          • Any solution for getting portal users list in deluge or in widget

                                                                                                            Hi Team, Has anyone able to find the solution to get portal users list in deluge or in zoho creator widgets? Thanks, Payal
                                                                                                          • Next Page