Good ol’ email remains a handy marketing tool. Even despite the fact that according to statistics, normal email recipients view no more than 15% of their inbox. Approximately every fifth message is blocked by the mail service or lost due to faulty addresses and clogged up user inboxes!

Much of the deliverability issue is related to routing. While this is not a common problem for outgoing messages, it is more challenging to organize flexible routing of incoming mail. As a result, up to 45% of incoming email traffic is identified as spam!

This is a serious deal-breaker for any company focused on aggressive marketing. Those that care about a stable connection with clients, users, etc. in general. Without this connection, even the most well-thought-out newsletter campaign loses its meaning. And the business is losing money. How to tackle this issue?

Your best bet is to start using a mail tester that allows you to dramatically improve email deliverability through a range of email routine optimization and monitoring tools. In this quick guide, we walk you through the steps you need to take to ensure that your customers do not miss out on all the email stuff you send them.

Configuring DNS Records for Email Server

In order for emails to reach the right mailboxes, proper authentication must be enabled in the domain from which they are sent.

This is a set of methods aimed at providing reliable information about the origin of messages by checking the ownership of a domain by Message Transfer Agents (MTAs). Unfortunately, the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) does not grant this feature, so fake sender addresses in emails are widely used in phishing.

To combat this, we recommend going to the DNS edit page in the control panel of the company to which the domain is trusted and configuring the following:
      1. Sender Policy Framework (SPF), also, add Domain Key Identified Mail
         (DKIM) to view Mail eXcanger (MX) records.
      2. DKIM signature ─ TXT record with a name (host, subdomain). With its help,
         the recipient can make sure that the letter came from a verified sender.
      3. Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting and
          Conformance (DMARC). This is a technical specification for combating
           spammers who spoof sender addresses.
      4. Compile a list of IP addresses and use record testing tools.

All these efforts also help maintain a solid online reputation for your company. And of course, you need to use a proven hosting, such as AWS or Cloudflare.

Your Email Test Service

Providers rank your online reputation by the number of user complaints that may indicate you as a spammer. Email deliverability speed depends on this, so it is important that your ESP supports feedback loops (FBLs).

By default, abuse reports (ARF) are sent automatically to the sender from many services, including Microsoft, Yahoo, AOL, and others. In Gmail’s email checker, this is only available for ESP, since this service does not support ARF. So be sure to analyze the following features of your ESP:
      1. Analyze the allocation of your mailbox and postmaster;
      2. Check where your emails are going via an email delivery test, IP information
           tracking, and blacklists checking;
      3. Use predictive analysis of your customers' spending patterns. Predicting
           behavior will also help retention;
      4. Schedule email sending, choose a sufficient number of emails and optimal time
          to send a newsletter (e.g., when your TA is most active).

Support appropriate dedicated IP allocation for inbound email

Adding a dedicated IP address is extremely necessary when the number of incoming messages is very high (say, if it exceeds 100 thousand per month). This is important for expanding your advertising campaigns, so we recommend maintaining an appropriately scaled email infrastructure.

On top of that, fix issues that are lowering your sender rating. To do this, make sure of the following:
• Your letters are desirable (legitimate) for both your email provider and your recipients;
• Your contacts are real;
• All the addresses are correct;
• Your content is in demand among potential recipients.

You need to make the provider's email test service filters believe that your IP address can be trusted. At the first sign of blockage or other issues, immediately demand clarifications and solutions. And better suspend any newsletter sending until the problem is solved. This way, you may stay transparent and legitimate with all your newsletter routines.

Better than email delivery test: building trust with SPF

It is highly unlikely that your emails will end up in spam after setting SPF. This record validates the sender's address by checking the "From" field and matching it against the address specified in the DNS record. Simply put, this is a security system that prevents scammers from sending emails on your behalf.

Thanks to this feature, the recipient's email checker (more precisely, their email server) can know for sure that this is your email and it is legit. SPF determines which IP addresses you have given permission to send emails. The receiving server recognizes them as allowed and does not refuse delivery.

All settings are made in the DNS of your domain. You need to create a text entry that looks something like this:
• Host/Name: @ (place a symbol below the host or name category);
• Value: v=spf1 a mx include:_spf.elasticemail.com ~all.

If the entry has not yet been installed after this, you will see a notification. SPF will help you deal with spam filters, get the necessary authorization and authority among the servers of your target clients. To improve deliverability, we also recommend setting up a PTR record for DNS reverse query.

Optimize Inbound Opt-in Process

Total email deliverability largely depends on the way you collect contacts and their interest or even dedication to your offers. There are usually two ways to set up an email contacts database:
• Single opt-in ─ subscription without confirmation. Subscribing recipients to your email newsletter without requiring their confirmation has but one drawback - non-existent, incorrectly typed, and random people's addresses, may get into the database.
• Double opt-in - subscription confirmation using a relevant link in the email. A more transparent and error-free approach is to subscribe only those truly interested to your newsletter by requiring their confirmation.

The double opt-in is a mandatory requirement of most email providers. This and a good spam checker can help you avoid sending emails to spam traps. Until the user clicks on the link, they will not be subscribed to the newsletter. Thus, the addresses of real people who have a desire to receive emails from you get into your database, boosting the overall deliverability percentage.

We recommend optimizing this process further. Double or triple (preferably regularly) check if your followers are committed to you and your content. This is the only way to ensure that your messages do not end up in the junk box and that you do not have problems with the provider's distrust.

Filter your email lists, check recipient details and customer base addresses. Otherwise, you may experience high bounce rates, which will result in your IP address being flagged as "naughty" and banned.

Send Quality Content

Focus on providing content that appeals to your target email readers and solves their problems in some way. Each of your messages should relate to the leads you are targeting.

When conducting an email delivery test, pay attention to formatting, because people appreciate beautiful layouts. At the same time, it is important to check the structural semantics of the HTML text. Spare your email from superfluous words. EPS usually checks for spam words automatically. So even if you come up with a genius promotional message but it contains a forbidden word, your campaign’s success will be undermined.

Make sure your HTML elements conform to accepted standards. The fact is that the correct structure of the text is very important, so check headings, lists, and other elements thoroughly. Also, do not insert oversized images inside your email copy to avoid upload issues. All in all, do not be intrusive, send content to those who wish to receive it and you should be gold.

Bottom Line

The above are only the basics of getting your email deliverability rates in hand. If you wish to go further and optimize your email success rates inside-out, turn to specialized professionals.

Folderly is a well-tried-and-tested email test service folderly.com that helps boost deliverability and optimize email campaigns via AI-powered tools.

Bozeman, MT - Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts announces The Bite of Bozeman is going on hiatus this year. Several reasons have contributed to the Festival’s decision, chief among them an inability to procure the number of food vendors needed to give the community the top-notch event they should expect from Sweet Pea. In its heyday, The Bite of Bozeman had 50 local restaurants and food vendors participating in the annual event. This year, the number of food vendors able to commit to the event was much lower. Of those who declined to participate, most cited a lack of staffing as the main reason for their inability to participate. Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts Executive Director Kris Olenicki states, “We will take this next year to reimagine and revamp The Bite of Bozeman. We believe this is a great opportunity to bring something new and exciting to Bozeman. Although it has been a much-anticipated summer event for many years, we are simply unable to host The Bite of Bozeman the community has come to know and love. We already have begun the process to create a new event for next year that is true to our mission—“where (food as) art and community meet.”  Vendors that did sign up to participate will receive a full refund, and the Downtown Bozeman Association has offered to try to fit any committed vendors into the August 4^th “Music on Main” event should they wish to participate.  

ABOUT SWEET PEA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS:

                The Sweet Pea Festival is a three-day festival of the arts held in Bozeman, Montana, since 1978. Festival dates are always the first full weekend in August with other events, such as Chalk on the Walk starting off the festivities of Sweet Pea Week.  The festival includes everything from music, theatre and dance, to children’s activities, an Artist Marketplace with vendors from Bozeman and around the country, and workshops. The Sweet Pea Festival is committed to its mission statement of “promoting and cultivating the arts.”

Hundreds of volunteers run and organize this annual event, a testament to the community’s desire for its ongoing success. All monies raised above what is needed to operate the festival are given back to the community in the form of grants for the arts, art education, and special projects in the Bozeman area. “Where art and community meet.”

A big part of our perception of fashion and style comes from what we see in the media. Instagram influencers, images on Pinterest, singers, and actors – all affect our taste and preferences, especially regarding clothes. So no wonder such a huge Ukrainian pop star like Nadya Dorofeeva is also looked up to in terms of stylish ideas. Besides being a singer and songwriter, she also is a designer herself, which makes her fashion choices even more thought through. Nadya, a Ukrainian star, has 5.3 million followers on Instagram which makes her a huge media influencer. And that’s why it is so valuable when people with this kind of coverage get to talk about important issues and spread awareness or knowledge about something. Especially in such tough times for Ukraine, it’s important that people can learn more about the country, its culture, state, and what it has to offer.

Nadya, being a true Ukrainian girl, is now doing a lot of things that help show her followers and the entire world what Ukraine is really like. The singer also takes an active part in numerous projects, one of them being ARMWOMENNOW. This initiative is dedicated to helping arm women in the Ukrainian forces and give them proper military uniforms. Dorofeeva also spreads awareness through her music. She actively shares both popular and traditional Ukrainian songs, which in these trying times helps a lot with uplifting the general spirit of people. As you can tell, the singer is now actively using her status and authority to popularize Ukrainian culture. However, it doesn’t come down only to Nadya’s singing and activist performance. As a designer, she also spreads the word about unique Ukrainian brands. 

Linen Dresses – a Go-to Outfits for This Summer

Recently Nadya posted a photo of herself wearing a gorgeous and interesting linen dress with sleeves. The gown is one of the designs of the famous Ukrainian brand Sleeper. The brand initially became known for its exceptional pajamas with feathers – an outfit that can take from the bed to a party in split seconds. However, having gained popularity, the brand decided to push its boundaries and introduce more diverse designs. That’s when Sleeper started making its elegant linen dresses, which soon became an epitome of effortless beauty. So, it’s no surprise that being a fashion-lover herself, Dorofeeva too became interested in this fashion label.


The design that caught Nadya’s eye is an Opera linen white dress by Sleeper. This loose-fit button-up gown can rightfully be said to bring out one’s natural beauty. If you look at a picture of Nadya wearing this outfit, you just can sense her Ukrainian free-spirited beauty being communicated through her look. The dress also features an embroidery-like detail on the tapered sleeves and along the length of the dress. This recalls the embroidery on Ukrainian traditional clothes, which could also be the factor that influenced Dorofeeva’s choice of this particular design. Undoubtedly, the dress became a perfect match for her. The puff-sleeves brought off the shoulders perfectly underlined her sensuality. When Nadya chose to wear this linen white dress by Sleeper, not only did she prove to have an amazing sense of style, but she also showed her support of Ukrainian fashion. This support is beneficial for several reasons, and we will explain why.

Nadya Dorofeeva and Sleeper: What Connects the Two?

As we have mentioned before, Drofeeva became one of those influencers who uses her powers and media coverage to spread awareness about important issues. She shares the news and helps with benevolent projects and start-ups. She also uses her amazing voice to help introduce people to Ukrainian culture. A gifted singer, Nadya turns her views into donations to the army and charities. And that’s where she and Sleeper find their touchpoint. As a fashion brand, Sleeper might not have gotten enough authority to spread information about the state of its country of origin. However, that didn’t stop it from thinking of ways to help those in need. And that’s how the fashion label decided to turn its profits into something more beneficial. So, Sleeper organized something like a fundraizer: it collected the proceeds from the sales and turned them into donations to help children in Ukraine. As well as Nadya Dorofeeva, the label chose its main focus and it became Okhmadyt – the biggest children’s hospital in Kyiv. So, when Nadya put on that linen dress with sleeves, she also showed her support for Sleeper’s initiative. In the end, what truly ties together both Sleeper and the Ukrainian singer is their big heart and strong social stance. They don’t skip a chance of being helpful. 

Nadya Dorofeeva – A Singer, Designer, and a Wholesome Soul

Dorofeeva is a woman who worked hard enough to get what she wanted. She was a part of a singing duo called “Vremia and Steklo”. Throughout her career, the Ukrainian singer proved times and times again to be an extremely talented artist and creator. Nadia’s artistic skills are also reflected in her other undertakings. In 2016 she opened her clothing line called «It's My DoDo». Moreover, the Ukrainian creator then also opened a store called «So DoDo» in Kyiv. There were gathered the greatest pieces from Korean brands as well as Dorofeeva’s clothing line itself. We may see more of Nadia’s collaborations with Ukrainian brands in the future too. Who knows, maybe someday you will see the beloved Sleeper’s pajamas with feathers hanging there as well. Nadya agreed that fashion, as well as singing, is one of her weaknesses. And that’s why she decided to start her brand.

No one can argue, that it’s a great opportunity to be represented by people like Nadia. Being a smart hard-working woman she continues to gain popularity and use it for the greater good. 

Bozeman, MT—For the first time in history, Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts is hosting a Dog Parade. This year’s Dog Parade will take place within the Festival’s annual parade, occurring Saturday morning during the Festival. The Parade follows the Sweet Pea Run and Children’s Run. Earlier this year, Sweet Pea representatives met with local company West Paw, to find out how best to incorporate Bozeman’s canine friends into the Festival. While understanding that dogs are not permitted at the Festival itself, West Paw suggested the inclusion of the dogs in the Parade and volunteered to sponsor it. The entry fee is $20 per dog with proceeds benefiting “Working Dogs for Conservation,” the world’s leading conservation detection dog organization. Sweet Pea encourages canine participants to come dressed in their most creative finery; donning the Festival’s namesake flower is a bonus. This year’s Dog Parade is a trial run. If successful, the Festival hopes to make the Dog Parade an annual event replete with prizes. Dogs must be well-behaved, able to withstand the stimulus of a large crowd, and tolerant of other dogs. For a complete list of rules and regulations, or to register your pooch for this year’s Dog Parade, please visit the Festival website at www.sweetpeafestival.org

ABOUT SWEET PEA FESTIVAL OF THE ARTS: The Sweet Pea Festival is a three-day festival of the arts held in Bozeman, Montana, since 1978. Festival dates are always the first full weekend in August with other events, such as Chalk on the Walk and The Bite of Bozeman starting off the festivities of Sweet Pea Week. The festival includes everything from music, theatre and dance, to children’s activities, arts and crafts vendors from Bozeman and around the country, and adult painting workshops. The Sweet Pea Festival is committed to its mission statement of “promoting and cultivating the arts.” Hundreds of volunteers run and organize this annual event, a testament to the community’s desire for its ongoing success. All monies raised above what is needed to operate the festival are given back to the community in the form of grants for the arts, art education, and special projects in the Bozeman area. “Where art and community meet.”

WILSALL – Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, in collaboration with the Custer Gallatin National Forest, will begin a project this month to conserve native Yellowstone cutthroat trout in the upper Shields River watershed.

This year’s phase of the project includes removing brook trout from several tributaries to the Shields River: Clear Creek, Scofield Creek, Turkey Creek and an unnamed tributary near Lodgepole Creek.

From July 18 through 22, the Custer Gallatin National Forest will have an area closure on the Upper Shields River Loop, just past the Sunlight Trailhead Junction for National Forest System Road No. 844 and all associated spur roads, recreation sites and amenities along the upper Shields River Loop. This includes Crandall Creek Cabin, Shields River dispersed camping sites and Turkey Creek Trailhead.

“Brook trout invaded the upper Shields River watershed in recent decades and have become a primary threat to headwater populations of Yellowstone cutthroat trout,” said Carol Endicott, FWP’s Yellowstone cutthroat trout conservation biologist in Livingston. “The project area is a stronghold for a core conservation population of Yellowstone cutthroat trout at high elevation and the northernmost extent of their range.”

The brook trout will be removed from the project area using a plant-derived fish toxicant called rotenone. Rotenone is routinely used in fisheries management and breaks down quickly in the aquatic environment. It offers an effective means of removing fish species that are incompatible with the management goals of a fishery without endangering the surrounding habitat.

Crews will collect Yellowstone cutthroat trout from these tributaries before beginning the project and return them to the streams when the project is complete. Detoxification stations will be set up to ensure there are no negative effects to gill-breathing organisms downstream.

FWP published a draft environmental assessment for this project in May, hosted public meetings and solicited public comments through June 23. All comments received were in favor of the project. FWP has issued a decision notice to move forward with the project.

To learn more about the project, visit go.usa.gov/xSrhY.

HELENA – The Montana Fish and Wildlife Commission will meet Thursday, July 14, at 5 p.m. to consider a proposal to remove the seasonal hoot owl fishing restriction on the lower Madison River.

This restriction was adopted two years ago as a way to avoid what had become regular emergency restrictions on the stretch of the lower Madison River from the Warm Springs access point to the confluence of the Jefferson River. Typical summer heat and flows bring the water temperatures in this stretch up over 70 degrees causing stress on trout. Hoot owl restrictions limit fishing to morning hours when temperatures are lower and close fishing from 2 p.m. to midnight.

Current flows and water temperatures on the lower Madison River are in good shape and a hoot owl restriction isn’t necessary now. However, should conditions change, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks still has the ability to implement hoot owl restrictions.

FWP has a proposal out for public comment that, if approved by the commission in August, would broadly change rules to allow the department more flexibility when implementing hoot owl restrictions. These proposed rule changes would be in effect for all rivers statewide and would mean the seasonal restriction on the lower Madison River would no longer be necessary.

The fishing regulation change is the only item on Thursday’s agenda.

The meeting July 14 will be streamed live on the FWP website; there will be opportunity for public comment on commission action.

FWP ensures its meetings are fully accessible to those with special needs. To request arrangements, call FWP at 406-444-3186.

The commission will take public comment on agenda via Zoom. To make a comment via Zoom, you must register on the FWP website by noon on July 14.

BOZEMAN, MT — HRDC and community public transportation advocates are moving forward with a petition drive to form an Urban Transportation District (UTD) in Gallatin Valley.
Creating a UTD will ensure that our community will continue to receive federal transportation funding, and will sustain the vital service HRDC’s Streamline provides to Gallatin Valley residents.

The need to create a UTD is a result of dramatic population increases in the Gallatin Valley, which is one of the fastest-growing areas in the nation. The population of Bozeman alone has grown to more than 53,000 people according to the latest U.S. Census data. Bozeman’s growing population exceeds an important threshold in the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA’s) classification system. Rather than being classified as a rural community, Bozeman is now considered to be a small urban community.

Heather Grenier, HRDC’s CEO, explained that after operating Streamline for more than 15 years to provide transportation services across Gallatin Valley, retaining these funds for the Gallatin Valley will require either the establishment of UTD or the assumption of the community’s transportation services by Gallatin County or the City of Bozeman.

Grenier continued, “When HRDC originally launched Streamline, our mission was to provide mobility services and alternatives to single-occupancy vehicles in southwest Montana. This mission has become increasingly important with area growth. HRDC’s Streamline helps meet community transportation needs in several ways, benefiting not just riders, but everyone living in the Gallatin Valley.”

Community benefits of zero-fare community transportation include a reduction in traffic with reduced pressure on parking; transportation help for seniors, veterans and those with disabilities; workforce and MSU student transportation; community transportation to large-scale events; connection of Bozeman to smaller outlying communities like Belgrade and Livingston, and cleaner air through the reduction of motor vehicle emissions. In addition to the benefits mentioned above, HRDC’s Streamline is also key to addressing the growth and affordability issues of Gallatin County by ensuring everyone has access to essential services, educational and workforce opportunities, and recreation regardless of income.

The “Redesign Streamline 2020 Transit Development Plan,” based on extensive study and outreach to Gallatin Valley stakeholders, advised the community to explore the creation of a Gallatin Valley Urban Transit District so that Streamline could maintain and improve necessary services to align with the region’s growing population.

Creating a UTD so that Streamline can continue providing a service that benefits us all requires collecting the signatures of 20% of registered voters living within the proposed district. That is around 10,000 signatures from voters. If sufficient signatures are collected and verified, the Gallatin County Commission will hold a public hearing and place the UTD on the May Special District election ballot for voter approval as required by law.

The proposed UTD includes Bozeman, Belgrade, and Four Corners and is based on Streamline’s current and projected future service areas. Other regions identified in Gallatin County’s Transportation Development Plan as “future need areas” also are included in the boundaries.
A steering committee of community public transportation stakeholders and advocates is working with HRDC on the petition drive.

Sunshine Ross, HRDC’s Transportation Director, helped spearhead the community outreach and development plan and expressed enthusiasm for Streamline’s next chapter, “We couldn’t be more pleased with the outpouring of suggestions and support from across our community for the creation of a UTD in Gallatin Valley. Once the County approves the petition, the steering committee will have just 90 days to gather the required signatures to move the approval of the formation of a UTD to county voters.”

If you are interested in learning more about the UTD, please visit our webpage at StreamlineBus.com/UTD. The public is also invited to attend a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, July 27th from 12pm - 1pm. The meeting can be accessed here.
HRDC is a private, not-for-profit Community Action Agency focused on building a better community through nearly 50 different initiatives aimed at combating poverty in southwestern Montana. Streamline is a program of HRDC with a proven track record of benefiting all area residents through the provision of public transit. Streamline promotes equity, fosters economic development, and advances sustainability goals.

----
More information about HRDC’s Streamline can be found at https://streamlinebus.com/
Donors, volunteers, and community members can learn more about HRDC at
https://thehrdc.org/

###

According to the American Public Transit Association:
●  Public transportation provides vital connections to jobs, schools, and medical facilities. 

●  Every $1 invested in public transportation generates $4 in economic returns. 

●  87% of public transportation trips have a direct impact on the local economy. 

●  Public transit users can save nearly $10K a year vs. driving an automobile. 

●  Communities with strong public transportation can reduce the nation’s carbon emissions by 37 million metric tons yearly. 
HRDC’s Streamline benefits us all by: 

●  Facilitating smart growth 

●  Creating opportunities for all (e.g. provides transportation to work, school, recreation, 
shopping, etc.) 

●  Serving people with unique needs including the elderly, people with mobility challenges, 
young riders 

●  Reducing traffic congestion 

●  Lessening parking pressure 

●  Improving air quality 
Streamline is also key to addressing the growth and affordability issues of Gallatin County by ensuring everyone has access to essential services, educational & workforce opportunities, and recreation regardless of income. 


HELENA – Nonresident hunters who registered to be placed on the Alternates List can now check their status on MyFWP: https://myfwp.mt.gov/fwpExtPortal/myDrawResult_input.action. Every year, Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks gets several unused nonresident combination licenses (big game, general elk and general deer combination licenses) returned by customers. FWP resells these returned licenses through the Alternate’s List.

After registration for the list closed on June 30, the list was randomized. The hunter in the uppermost randomized position on the list will be contacted by email to finalize the purchase of the license, and so on until the returned nonresident combo licenses are exhausted.

MyFWP also allows nonresident hunters to check their position on the list.

The odds of getting a license from these lists vary greatly from year to year. Refunds and issuance may occur at any time after mid-July, but availability of these licenses increase between early fall and the opening of general hunting season in late October.

For more information, visit http://fwp.mt.gov/hunting/licensedraw/alternatesList.html.