Email failures happen. 

SMTP providers go down, credentials expire, sending limits get hit—whatever the reason, when an email fails, it’s a problem. 

Because when an email doesn’t go through, someone is left waiting.

Maybe it’s a customer expecting their order confirmation. A user waiting for a password reset. A lead who filled out your contact form and never hears back.

The worst part?

WordPress sites don’t tell you when this happens. The email just fails silently. No alerts, no notifications. You don’t even know it happened until someone complains (or worse, they never do, and you lose the opportunity).

So let’s fix that.

In this guide, I’ll walk you through how to get real-time notifications whenever an email fails to send—whether via Slack, WhatsApp, SMS, or any other app you prefer.

And the best part? You don’t need to touch a single line of code.

The Problem: Why You Need to Know When Emails Fail

If your WordPress site relies on email for things like:

• Order confirmations (WooCommerce)
• Contact form submissions
• User registrations
• Appointment bookings
• Membership site notifications

…then email failures are a disaster waiting to happen if you don’t catch them.

Most WordPress SMTP plugins only log failed emails. That’s helpful if you check logs manually, but who has time for that? You need instant alerts—so you can fix issues before they cost you customers.

That’s where OttoKit comes in.

The Solution: SureMail + OttoKit

SureMail (our email delivery plugin) doesn’t just send emails—it tracks them. It knows exactly when an email is successfully sent and when it fails.

And when an email fails, OttoKit (our automation platform) can instantly notify you via Slack, WhatsApp, SMS, or any other app you use.

Here’s how it works:

1. SureMail detects a failed email and triggers an event.
2. OttoKit picks it up and automatically sends a notification.
3. You get notified instantly—in Slack, WhatsApp, Telegram, email, or any app you choose.

This means:

• No more guessing if emails are working.
• No more digging through SMTP logs.
• No more missing important customer messages.

You’ll always know when something goes wrong.

Step-by-Step: Set Up Instant Email Failure Alerts

Let’s set this up so you get notified the second an email fails.

Step 1: Install SureMail On Your WordPress Site

First, ensure you have SureMail installed and set up as your SMTP provider in WordPress. If you haven’t done that yet, go to SureMail settings and configure your SMTP details.

SureMail will now track all outgoing emails and detect failures automatically.

Step 2: Connect OttoKit With Your WordPress Site

Now, you need to connect OttoKit to handle the automation.

1. Click on “Plugins” in the left-hand menu and select “Add New”.
2. In the search box, type “OttoKit” and hit enter.
3. The OttoKit plugin should appear in the search results. Click on the “Install Now” button next to it.
4. Once the plugin is installed, click on the “Activate” button to activate it.
5. After activation, follow the instructions on the screen to authorize OttoKit to access your WordPress site. 
6. Once you’ve authorized, you’ll see the OttoKit dashboard in your WordPress admin section.

Step 3: Setup The Workflow Of SureMail

1. Create a new automation workflow.
2. Choose SureMail as the trigger app and select the trigger: “Email Failed to send”.
3. Click Next to configure what happens when this trigger fires.

Step 4: Choose Your Notification Method

Now, decide where you want to be notified. This could be:

• Slack: Get an instant message in your team’s Slack channel.
• WhatsApp: Receive a message on your phone.
• SMS: Get a text message whenever an email fails.

Let’s say you want Slack notifications. You would:

1. Choose Slack as the action app.
2. Select “Send a message to a channel.”
3. Customize the message (e.g., “🚨 Email failed to send! Check SureMail logs now.”).
4. Save and activate the workflow.

That’s it. The next time an email fails, you’ll get an instant alert.

What Happens Next?

The second an email failure happens, OttoKit sends you an alert.

You can now jump in and fix it immediately. Maybe your SMTP provider is down. Maybe an API key expired. Maybe your email quota was exceeded. Whatever it is, you’ll know instantly instead of finding out days later.

No More Silent Email Failures

Your website’s email system is too important to leave to chance. With SureMail and OttoKit, you don’t have to.

• Emails fail? You know instantly.
• You get a Slack/WhatsApp/SMS notification within seconds.
• You fix the issue before it affects your customers.

And the best part? Once set up, this runs 100% on autopilot.

Stop guessing. Start knowing. Set up email failure notifications today.