Blog
Notes from the
honest side of email
Deliverability, honest analytics and outreach craft — written in plain language, with no growth-hack snake oil.
Latest
Authenticating server-to-server with the Norbelys API
API keys, why you rotate them, where to store them safely, and why a key for your own backend is a different risk than a key handed to a third-party agent.
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103 articles
Strategy7 min
A tour of the Norbelys developer portal
REST API, OpenAPI spec, four SDKs, the CLI, and the MCP server — everything at norbelys.com/developers/, and where to start depending on what you're building.
StrategyAnalysis7 min
Agencies: build white-label AI workflows on the Norbelys MCP server
One workspace per client solves the pricing problem. The MCP server solves another: how an agency builds its own tooling instead of reselling a vendor dashboard.
AI7 min
The guardrails an AI operator needs before it touches your sending domain
Rate limits, approval gates, and evidence requirements for letting an AI agent run cold email campaigns — and the signals that should never be fully automated.
Developer8 min
Building a Slack alert for new replies with the Norbelys API
A practical build: poll GET /v1/messages?direction=inbound for unread replies and post them to Slack, without duplicate alerts or a second inbox to babysit.
Strategy7 min
Running cold email for multiple clients? One workspace per client, one flat bill
Agency cold email math breaks when tooling costs scale with every client you add. How a workspace-per-client model under one flat bill changes the day-to-day workflow.
DeliverabilityAnalysis7 min
Which email client actually matters in 2026 (and why the answer is volatile)
Apple Mail and Gmail account for roughly 90% of tracked opens in 2026, per Litmus — but Apple's share swings 20 points month to month. What that means for testing priorities and honest deliverability metrics.
DeveloperAnalysis7 min
What should an AI agent be allowed to read and write in your CRM data?
AI agents need different guardrails for CRM data than for sending. A practical framework for what to let one read, write, bulk-edit, or never touch.
StrategyAnalysis7 min
Norbelys for technical founders: script your outbound instead of clicking it
If you'd rather write a script than click a dashboard, the API, CLI, and SDKs are the real product. A case for solo founders running their own outbound.
Deliverability8 min
RFC 8058 one-click unsubscribe: what it requires and why enforcement tightened in 2026
The exact List-Unsubscribe and List-Unsubscribe-Post headers RFC 8058 requires, why Gmail and Yahoo made them mandatory for bulk senders in 2024, and what changed in enforcement heading into 2026.
StrategyAnalysis8 min
The state of cold email in 2026: what actually changed
Sender-rule enforcement got teeth, Gmail's spam classifier got a real upgrade, and AI drafting went mainstream. A grounded look at what genuinely moved in cold email this year — with sources, not vibes.
Strategy7 min
Switching from Instantly to Norbelys: a practical migration guide
Moving off Instantly's Outreach + Leads + CRM stack? What maps to what, what to export first, and what genuinely changes on day one — grounded in real pricing.