Sender Health & Thresholds
Sequenzy monitors your email bounce and complaint rates to protect your sender reputation. We use volume-aware thresholds that become stricter as you send more emails.
Thresholds by Volume
We use tiered thresholds based on your total email volume (all-time, not time-windowed) to determine when to warn or pause sending.
| Total Emails Sent | Complaint Warn | Complaint Pause | Bounce Warn | Bounce Pause |
|---|
| < 100 | 3 complaints | 5 complaints | 10 bounces | 20 bounces |
| 100-499 | 0.3% | 0.5% | 5% | 10% |
| 500-1,999 | 0.1% | 0.2% | 3% | 5% |
| 2,000+ | 0.05% | 0.1% | 2% | 5% |
At low volumes (under 100 emails), we use fixed counts instead of percentages because a single bad event could skew your rate dramatically. For example, 1 complaint out of 3 emails would be a 33% complaint rate—clearly not representative of your actual sending quality.
How It Works
Warning Level
When your rates exceed the warning threshold:
- A yellow banner appears on your dashboard
- Telegram notification sent to admins
- Email sent to your account with tips to improve
No sending is blocked at this level. This is an early alert to review your email practices.
Pause Level
When your rates exceed the pause threshold:
- Sending is stopped for your account
- A red banner appears on your dashboard
- Telegram notification sent to admins (urgent)
- Email sent explaining the pause and next steps
To resume sending, contact support. We’ll help you identify the issue and ensure your list quality improves before resuming.
Why These Thresholds?
Email service providers like Gmail and Yahoo require complaint rates under 0.1% for good deliverability. AWS SES (which powers Sequenzy’s sending infrastructure) enforces similar limits.
Our tiered approach ensures:
- New senders aren’t unfairly penalized for a single bad email at low volume
- Growing senders are held to industry standards as their volume increases
- High-volume senders maintain excellent reputation with the strictest thresholds
Examples
| Scenario | Total Emails | Total Complaints | Rate | Action | Why |
|---|
| 3 emails, 1 complaint | 3 | 1 | 33% | None | < 100 tier: need 3 to warn |
| 50 emails, 3 complaints | 50 | 3 | 6% | Warning | < 100 tier: hits 3 warn count |
| 50 emails, 5 complaints | 50 | 5 | 10% | Paused | < 100 tier: hits 5 pause count |
| 200 emails, 1 complaint | 200 | 1 | 0.5% | Paused | 100-499 tier: hits 0.5% pause |
| 3,000 emails, 2 complaints | 3,000 | 2 | 0.067% | Warning | 2000+ tier: exceeds 0.05% |
| 3,000 emails, 4 complaints | 3,000 | 4 | 0.13% | Paused | 2000+ tier: exceeds 0.1% |
Improving Your Sender Health
If you’re seeing warnings or have been paused:
- Clean your list - Remove invalid addresses and unengaged subscribers
- Use double opt-in - Confirm subscribers before adding them to your list
- Make unsubscribing easy - A clear unsubscribe is better than a spam complaint
- Send relevant content - Segment your list and personalize your emails
- Maintain consistent sending - Sporadic sending can hurt engagement rates
FAQ
Why was my account paused with only a few complaints?
At low volumes (under 100 emails), we use fixed counts to protect your sender reputation early. While 5 complaints might seem small, it indicates a significant portion of recipients are marking your emails as spam. This early intervention prevents larger reputation damage.
How do I get unpaused?
Contact support at support@sequenzy.com. We’ll review your account, help identify the issue, and work with you to improve list quality before resuming sending.
Do these thresholds reset over time?
No, these are total metrics (all-time), not time-windowed. This ensures consistent accountability regardless of when issues occurred. However, as you send more legitimate email, your overall rate naturally improves.
What counts as a complaint?
A complaint is recorded when a recipient marks your email as spam using the “Report Spam” or similar button in their email client. This feedback is sent to us through feedback loops with major email providers.
What types of bounces affect my rate?
All bounce types (permanent, transient, and undetermined) count toward your bounce rate. Permanent bounces (invalid addresses) are the most concerning, but high transient bounce rates can also indicate issues.
Account Restrictions
If your company’s sending is paused multiple times, additional account-level restrictions apply to prevent abuse:
| Suspension Count | Effect |
|---|
| 1 | Warning only - sending resumes after review |
| 2+ | Cannot create new companies |
| 3+ | All sending blocked across all your companies |
Getting Unblocked
If your account has been restricted, contact support at nic@sequenzy.com with:
- Your account email address
- What steps you’ve taken to clean your email list
- What caused the bounce or complaint issues
We’ll review your account and help you resume sending once we’re confident the issues have been addressed.
