Email Deliverability FAQ

Email Deliverability FAQ

Question: “HELP!! My emails are being bounced back to me! I’m having trouble with deliverability of my emails! What’s going on?!?!”

Answer: Hello! If you’re having issues with email that sound like the above, you might be experiencing something called Blacklisting. 

So what does that mean, exactly? Well, a Blacklist is a real-time database that monitors outgoing emails and domains, trying to filter out anything that might be considered spam. It uses certain phrases, or triggers, along with other qualifications such as the quality and frequency of the emails sent, to try and determine whether an email is spam or not.

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Question: “But!” you’re saying, “I’m not spam! I’m not sending out anything bad!”

Answer: Well, unfortunately the system works in a very specific way, and because of the way spam messages can be formatted, oftentimes messages that are not malicious will get caught in the filters as well. Because of how picky this filter is, it’s very important to be aware of what will trigger it and to do your best to avoid anything that might flag you accidentally for blacklisting.

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Question: “How do I know if I’m blacklisted?” 

Answer: Thankfully, there are quite a few helpful resources for determining whether you have been blacklisted.

First, you’ll want to check the filter itself. The quickest way to do this is through one of the many websites that monitor it: https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx is my personal go-to. Here you can simply enter your domain name or the IP address of your server, and the site will pull up a handy list of every domain by which you have been flagged, if any exist.

To be extra sure, you may even want to try more than one blacklist search, here are a few others as well :

DNSBL.info

Multirbl.valli.org  

You can also use the bounce-backs, or undeliverable emails, that you receive to determine which domains are blocking you as well. Say for example, every time you send out bulk emails, you get 6 bouncebacks, and they were all going out to outlook email addresses. More than likely then, you have been blacklisted by the Outlook email domain. Another option too would be to contact your ISP (or Internet Service Provider), through which you get your email domain, directly. They may also be able to see any additional lists that you are blacklisted on and offer support.

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Question: “My Email isn’t showing up on the list, but I’m still getting undeliverable messages!”

Answer: Unfortunately, just because your domain doesn’t show up on the blacklist database does not mean that you are completely in the clear. Keep in mind that individual users can decide based on the subject, quality or frequency of your emails, that you are spamming them. If they decide to filter you through their own email provider, you will be added to a list through their domain and also blocked from sending them any further emails. 

It is important then to make sure that you are being mindful of the content of your emails, and to make sure that you always have permission to contact a user. Furthermore, it is important to respect when a user does not want to be contacted by email, and to discontinue sending them messages. 

Also be sure to be familiar (and compliant with) the standards of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. These include, a visible and operable unsubscribe button; customer opt-out requests being honored within 10 business days; subject lines that are relevant to the body of the message and not deceptive; and accurate and legitimate email addresses in the “from” line.

Another way to be sure to avoid becoming accidentally blacklisted is to be aware of the language of your outgoing messages. Here is a helpful list of 200 words and phrases to avoid using in excess as they will more than likely act as a trigger for the spam filter - and also come off as suspicious to your customers. Some examples include: manipulative phrases such as “Get started now”; needy phrases like “great offer” or “you will not believe your eyes”; or even far-fetched promises like “no strings attached” or “Risk-free”. 

Most importantly, don’t forget to frequently check and scrub your mailing lists. Remove any addresses that have either opted out, become inactive, or give delivery errors. Repeated attempts at contacting these addresses flags as suspicious activity for your domain, and makes it seem to the blacklist filter that you are not actually monitoring the content of your mailing list. The greater your list of recipients and the more frequent your mailings, the more often you will need to scrub your mailing list to keep from being blacklisted. 

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Step By Step: Increase Your Email Deliverability!

The Easiest way to get off a Blacklist is to not be on one in the first place:

• Email ONLY customers who have subscribed to your email program.
  
  
• Regularly clean or "scrub" your email lists: remove unsubscribed, inactive, “dead” emails.
  
  
• Be mindful of the content of your email: does the verbiage align with frequently marked-as-spam messages?
  
  
• Make sure you are not sending messages too frequently. Try to imagine from the customer’s perspective, if YOU were the one receiving these messages would you consider them spam? 

If you think you are being blacklisted: 

• If you are getting bouncebacks, note if they seem to be from a specific domain, IE gmail.com, yahoo.com, outlook.com
  
  
• Search for your domain and/or IP address in the blacklist checker: https://mxtoolbox.com/blacklists.aspx
  
  
• If you are on a blacklist, you can work directly with the operator of the blacklist to get yourself removed; each will have their own system of best practices they would ask you to follow.
  
  
• You can also contact your email domain provider to be delisted, they will also likely have procedures in place for “spam rehab”, to prove you are a trustworthy sender. They can also usually help you pinpoint the email campaign that triggered the filters in the first place, and offer further guidance on clearing out your lists and good email practice.