What does Optimized mean?

Optimized means SendFox is protecting your email deliverability by sending to your most engaged subscribers. Here's why optimization happens and how to send to everyone again.

What "Optimized" means

If a sent email on your Emails page shows an Optimized badge, SendFox sent it to your engaged subscribers — the contacts who opened one of your emails in the past 90 days — instead of your full list. As the badge's tooltip puts it: "To protect your sender reputation, SendFox sent this campaign to your engaged subscribers only."

If emails keep going out to subscribers who never open them, Gmail and other inbox providers start routing your emails to spam — and can flag your whole sending domain. Optimization keeps your open rates high and your sender reputation healthy, which is what keeps you out of the spam folder.

Why your account gets optimized

SendFox places an account into Optimization mode when a recent email's key metrics — open rate, click rate, unsubscribe rate, bounce rate, or spam-complaint rate — fall significantly below industry standards. When that happens:

• You receive an email notification telling you your account was placed into Optimization mode.
• Your future campaigns are sent only to engaged subscribers (opened in the past 90 days).
• Automation emails skip imported contacts who aren't engaged. Contacts who signed up through your forms or Smart Pages still receive them — see how automations work.

Your first large send

SendFox no longer throttles your first big campaign over several hours — that staged “warm-up” was retired. One limit remains for new senders: while your first email to 100 or more contacts is still going out, you can’t schedule another large campaign. If you try, you’ll see “Sorry, you’re unable to schedule another campaign until your current large send finishes.” Scheduling unlocks automatically once that first send completes.

Any send can still be stopped early if its results look harmful to your deliverability — when that happens the campaign shows a Limited badge instead of Sent. Hover over the badge for the exact reason (for example, a bounce rate several times higher than industry standards).

How to avoid (and exit) Optimization mode

• Send to people who want your emails. Double opt-in confirmed subscribers open more and complain less.
• Clean your list. Remove or stop emailing contacts who haven't opened in months.
• Check your content before sending. Tools like mail-tester.com score your email for common spam triggers.
• Write subject lines people open. Higher engagement is the single biggest deliverability lever.

Once your engagement metrics recover, contact the SendFox team at support@sendfox.com to have your account reviewed.

Troubleshooting

My email went to fewer people than expected

• Optimization is one of three common causes — the Engaged only checkbox and unconfirmed contacts are the others. See why are my emails not being sent to everyone?

My email shows "Limited"

• The send was stopped because of poor results — hover over the badge for the exact reason (for example, "Bounce rate is 3x higher than industry standards."). Clean your list, then email support@sendfox.com if you'd like a review.

I can't schedule my next email

• If your first large send (100 or more contacts) is still going out, you can’t schedule another large campaign until it finishes. Wait for that send to complete, then schedule the next one.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as an "engaged" subscriber?

A contact who opened one of your emails in the past 90 days.

Does SendFox slow down my first big send?

No — SendFox used to meter a new sender’s first large send over about a day, but that staged warm-up was retired. Your first send to 100 or more contacts now goes out normally; the only limit is that you can’t schedule a second large campaign until the first finishes. Account Optimization is separate and only happens when sending results fall well below industry standards.

Does Optimization affect automation emails?

Partly. Imported contacts who aren't engaged are skipped; contacts who joined through your forms and Smart Pages still receive automation emails. See do automation emails count towards the send limit?

Can I turn Optimization mode off myself?

No — improve your engagement metrics, then contact support@sendfox.com to have your account reviewed.