If an email doesn't send or isn't received as expected, start by identifying where the problem occurs.
The steps to check may depend on whether you're sending:
A one-time Email.
An email from a Sequence.
An Email Notification triggered by an event or activity.
Use the sections below to narrow down the problem and find the appropriate next step.
My Email didn't send to everyone I expected
If you're sending a one-time Email, first check the recipients selected for the message.
Kartra calculates the final group of contacts who are eligible to receive the Email before sending. Some contacts may be excluded because they can't receive commercial emails.
Check whether the missing contact:
Matches the targeting conditions you selected.
Is included in the audience you intended to target.
Can receive commercial emails.
Has been blocklisted because of an invalid address, hard bounce, or another email status.
Review the recipient summary when configuring your Email to see how many contacts Kartra will attempt to send to.
See Target recipients for Emails and Sequence emails for more information about selecting recipients and understanding the final audience.
My Sequence email didn't send
If a contact was supposed to receive an email from a Sequence, first check whether the contact is actually subscribed and progressing through the Sequence.
Open the contact's profile and review the Emails, Sequences, and Log tabs.
Check whether:
The contact was subscribed to the Sequence.
The Sequence is active.
The relevant steps are connected and active.
The contact has reached the email step.
The timing settings allow the step to run yet.
Any conditions on the path apply to the contact.
If a Sequence is paused, contacts who are already subscribed stop progressing until the Sequence is resumed.
Timing can also affect when an email is sent. A step may include both a delay and specific day or time settings, so reaching the step doesn't always mean the email will be sent immediately.
See Create and manage a Sequence for more information about subscriptions, steps, timing, and pausing a Sequence.
My Email Notification wasn't sent
Email Notifications are triggered by specific events or activities. If a Notification wasn't sent, first check whether the expected trigger actually occurred.
Then check whether:
The Notification is activated.
You're looking at the correct Notification for the event.
Any asset-specific Notification settings are configured as expected.
The recipient or sending rules are configured correctly (applicable to team members).
You can find account-wide Email Notifications under Settings > Email notifications. Some Notifications can also be configured within the Kartra asset they're related to.
For example, if you're expecting an appointment-related Notification, check the Notification settings associated with the relevant calendar and reproduce the booking action that should trigger it.
If you're not sure which Notification is responsible for an event, see Available Email Notifications.
To test the behavior yourself, use a test contact and perform the same action you expect a real contact to perform. See Test emails before sending for more information.
Kartra says the email was sent, but it isn't in the inbox
If Kartra shows that an email was sent but the recipient can't find it, the problem may be happening after the email leaves Kartra.
First, have the recipient check:
Their spam or junk folder.
Other inbox categories or filters.
That the email address associated with their contact is correct.
Next, check your sending setup.
If you use KartraMail with your own sending domain, make sure the domain is authenticated with DKIM. Sending from an unauthenticated domain can significantly affect email deliverability and sender reputation.
Go to Settings > Domains > DKIM and check the status of your sending domain. A successfully authenticated domain should show as Connected.
If you're using a third-party email delivery service, also check the configuration and authentication requirements for that service.
See:
My sender information isn't what I expected
The sender shown on an email depends on the email delivery service and sender settings used for that message.
Start by checking which email gateway is selected.
KartraMail is the initial default gateway unless you manually change the default. For emails where gateway selection is available, another configured gateway can be selected instead.
If you're using KartraMail with your own sender address, make sure the sender domain has been authenticated with DKIM.
Also check the configured:
Sender name.
Send-from email address.
Reply-to email address.
Important:
The mailing address from your profile will be shown in the email footer.
Account-wide Email Notifications always use your default email gateway.
See Intro to KartraMail for more information about gateways and sender details.
My variables aren't showing the information I expected
First, check whether you're looking at a test email or a live email.
When you use Send test email, variables are replaced with TEST. This is expected and doesn't indicate a problem with the variable.
To check real personalization, run a live test using a test contact.
If the problem occurs in a live email, check the type of variable you're using.
Some variables are linked to specific Kartra features and can only be used in Notifications from those features. For example, purchase variables are intended for purchase-related Notifications, while calendar variables are intended for appointment-related Notifications.
Regular Emails and Sequence emails use contact variables rather than variables linked to a specific Kartra feature.
Also make sure the relevant information exists for the contact. If the information isn't available, the variable may appear blank.
See:
The problem only happens with some contacts
If an email works for some contacts but not others, compare the affected contacts before changing your email setup.
Depending on the type of email, check for differences such as:
Whether each contact matches your Email targeting conditions.
Whether they can receive commercial emails.
Whether an email address has been blocklisted.
Whether each contact is subscribed to the relevant Sequence.
Whether each contact meets the conditions for a particular Sequence path.
Whether each contact performed the event required to trigger an Email Notification.
Looking at an affected contact's profile, email activity, Sequence activity, and log can help you identify where their experience differs.
Test the problem with a test contact
If you still aren't sure where the problem occurs, try reproducing it with a test contact before changing your live setup.
Choose the test that matches the problem:
Send a test email to check content, formatting, and links.
Send a one-time Email to a small test list to check the live sending experience.
Trigger an Email Notification by performing the action that should cause it to send.
Subscribe a test contact to a Sequence to follow its timing, conditions, and progression.
Reproducing the problem can help you determine whether the issue is with the email itself, the contact, the trigger, or the automated flow.
See Test emails before sending for detailed testing steps.
If you're still having trouble
Before contacting support, gather the details of the specific email and contact affected by the problem.
Useful information includes:
The type of email you're trying to send.
The name of the Email, Sequence, or Email Notification.
The affected contact or test contact.
When you expected the email to be sent.
What you expected to happen.
What happened instead.
For Sequence issues, also check the contact's Emails, Sequences, and Log tabs. This can help identify the point where the expected behavior changed, and make it easier to investigate the specific sending problem.