From Spam to Inbox: Moxie’s Journey to 99% Email Deliverability

Customer presentation

Moxie – Restoring email deliverability for a national home services

Moxie is a home services company that uses email to send quotes, updates, and promotional campaigns. But when they reached out to us, their email deliverability was in critical condition.

Open rates had dropped to 5.8% on Gmail and just 1.8% on Hotmail. Spam placement was nearly total across Outlook, Yahoo, AOL, and Microsoft domains, with Gmail inbox placement at only 18.75%. Spam complaints had peaked at 17.6%, and their domain reputation was marked as poor by Google Postmaster Tools.

To address these challenges, we implemented a structured email deliverability strategy—optimizing their domain setup, improving authentication, cleaning their lists, and monitoring performance closely. The result: email became a reliable and scalable channel again, supporting Moxie’s customer engagement and acquisition efforts.

Key project information

Type of emails

Transactional & Marketing (Promotional campaigns, service updates, lead offers)

Budget

Between $1,500 and $2,500 per month

Monthly volume

Around 10,000 emails per month

Software use

Cinch

Length of the project

1 year

Growth opportunity

Severe spam placement across Gmail, Outlook, AOL, and Yahoo, with inbox rates as low as 18.75% on Gmail
Critically low engagement: open rates at 5.8% (Gmail) and 1.8% (Hotmail), with complaint rates up to 17.6%
Major deliverability blockers: domain reputation marked as poor, bounce rates exceeding 64% on Microsoft domains

Background and issues

An essential step: understanding what was hurting deliverability

Before partnering with MailSoar, Moxie was facing several structural email performance issues that made it increasingly difficult to reach their audience:

Low inbox placement: Spam filters were systematically blocking campaigns across major inbox providers like Outlook, Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL. Gmail inbox rates were as low as 18.75%.
High complaint and bounce rates: Complaint rates had surged to 17.6%, while bounce rates reached up to 64% on some Microsoft domains, limiting delivery success.
Poor domain reputation: According to Google Postmaster Tools, Moxie’s sending domain was rated as “poor”, preventing their messages from being trusted or prioritized by ISPs.

Initial performance metrics before MailSoar

Gmail open rate: 5.8%
Hotmail open rate: 1.8%
Click-through rate: under 0.5%, including 0.4% on promotional campaigns
Spam placement: near-total across Microsoft, AOL, Yahoo
Microsoft domains (e.g. ATT.net, SBCGlobal.net) partially blocked email traffic

Without a structured deliverability strategy, Moxie was at risk of losing email as a viable acquisition and communication channel.

Project Description

The project was structured into several key phases to restore inbox placement and rebuild sender reputation:

Infrastructure Setup & Authentication

We set up a dedicated sending domain (azs.moxieservices.com) and implemented complete email authentication protocols: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Active monitoring was configured via Google Postmaster Tools and DMARC Digest, giving the team real-time visibility on their domain health and deliverability metrics

Email List Cleaning & Segmentation

To improve engagement and reduce bounce rates, we ran a full clean-up of the email list using verification tools. High-risk and invalid addresses were removed, and we introduced segmentation based on engagement, differentiating active customers from less responsive leads.

Gradual Warm-Up & Sending Strategy

To regain trust with inbox providers, we launched a phased warm-up plan, starting with reduced volumes and gradually reintroducing sending activity. Microsoft domains, which had partially blocked Moxie's traffic, were handled cautiously to avoid further issues.

Solutions from our deliverability experts

Dedicated Sending Domain & Authentication Setup

We migrated Moxie’s email activity to a dedicated subdomain (azs.moxieservices.com) and configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication. This improved domain trust and built the foundation for sustainable inbox placement.

Gradual Warm-Up Strategy

To recover sender reputation, we rolled out a phased warm-up plan. We reduced sending volume to Microsoft domains, which had previously blocked emails, and progressively reintroduced healthy traffic to re-establish trust.

List Cleaning & Engagement Segmentation

Our team used an email verification tool to remove invalid and high-risk contacts from Moxie’s database. We then introduced segmentation by engagement, distinguishing active customers from recent leads to minimize complaints and improve campaign performance.

Real-Time Monitoring & Reputation Control

We activated monitoring tools like Google Postmaster Tools and DMARC Digest, giving Moxie visibility into their domain reputation, inbox rates, and spam complaints. This allowed for continuous adjustment based on real-time data.

Campaign Optimization & Template Compliance

We revamped Moxie’s email templates to improve clarity, compliance, and structure—including proper unsubscribe headers. We also tested new subject lines and calls to action, aiming to boost engagement while staying within ISP filtering thresholds.

Results obtained by our experts

MailSoar helped Moxie rebuild trust with inbox providers and significantly improve the performance of their email marketing program.

Email has once again become a reliable and scalable communication channel, supporting customer acquisition, retention, and long-term growth.

Open rate

+ 0 %

From 5.8% on Gmail to peaks of 47.1% after implementation

Bounce rate

- 0 %

Reduced from up to 64% (on Microsoft domains) to just 0.4%

Engagement rate

x 0

Moxie reported a 4x increase in engagement on their email traffic

Moxie reports on its experience with MailSoar

We were faced with deliverability issues. Our domain reputation was lacking significantly. MailSoar helped us to start a new domain, warm it up properly, and set up an ongoing plan for smart email practices that fit our growth goals. Our deliverability has been fantastic ever since. We’ve been able to generate a lot of revenue that we were missing out on previously by not doing much with email marketing.