How to Avoid Email Blacklists?

Welcome to the 19th edition of Outbound Manifesto!!

An email blacklist is a list maintained by ESPs (Email Service Providers) which keeps a record of IP addresses, domains or email addresses sending unsolicited or spam emails. Your chances to have the message delivered are greatly affected if you are part of these blacklists.

Every email you send passes through anti-spam systems before it reaches the inbox. These filters look for any signs of spam mail senders from blacklists they cross-check with.

A simple reason an email does not reach the primary inbox of the receiver is when either your server IP address or sending domain gets listed in a blacklist; this implies that the email is most likely blocked or filtered into spam.

The major email providers such as Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo maintain their blacklists and continuously update them with new IP addresses, domains, or emails that display spam-like behavior, or contravene their sending guidelines.

How to know if your emails are blacklisted?

There are a few ways to identify if your email server's IP address, domain, or email address has been added to one or more email blacklists:

• Undelivered email notifications: One way you can be notified is through bounce-back emails or non-delivery notifications from recipients' email servers informing you explicitly that they are refusing your emails because you have been blacklisted.

• Drop-in email open rates: If there's a sharp decline in how many of your emails get opened without any error messages returned back to you then this could mean that your messages are going straight to spam folders or not reaching your intended recipient due to possible blacklisting.
• Check blacklist providers directly: You might want to personally check whether your IP address, domain name, or email address has made it onto major blacklist databases managed by well-known organizations such as Spamhaus, Microsoft, Proofpoint, and Barracuda.
• Use online blacklist-checking tools: There are various online tools and services available that can scan multiple blacklists simultaneously and provide a consolidated report on your blacklisting status. Some popular and free options include MXToolbox, MultiRBL, and others.

How to get off from a blacklist?

If you discover that you've been blacklisted, it's essential to take immediate action. This may involve investigating the root cause (e.g., compromised server, spam complaints, etc.), cleaning up your email infrastructure, and more. Here are a few steps you can take:

1. Understand why this happened: Did you make changes to the email content? Were you emailing a new set of contacts? Was this part of a new email strategy? Make sure you remove the reason for which you got blacklisted before you start sending emails again.
2. Request from the ESP for the blacklist removal. Some ESPs have guidelines that you have to follow. You need to explain what exactly happened and to get off from such lists.
3. Take necessary precautions to avoid being marked as spam again. Make sure you are consciously taking action whenever you send emails.

Tips to prevent your email from getting blacklisted

It is better to take necessary action than to get blacklisted and then put efforts to get off those lists.?

Here are a few things you can do to avoid email blacklist:

• Create high-quality, engaging content without any spam words. Avoid spam-sounding content and subject lines - spam trigger words like free, now, urgent, and limited shouldn't be used.
• Ensure your contact list is up-to-date and maintain an email list hygiene from time to time.
• Refrain from sending mass emails via Internet service providers (ISPs).
• Don't purchase email lists from any data source. Use reliable data sources you can use Saleshandy database.
• Check your deliverability rates and metrics and keep a close eye.
• Avoid sudden increases in sending activity. Use Saleshandy ramp-up to gradually increase the number of emails.
• Educate any members of your team that might be sending email campaigns.
• Remove email addresses with typos from your email list.
• Ask contacts to verify their subscription with a double opt-in system.

Check out this free resource to send perfect cold email campaigns.

By following these tips, you can ensure that your emails are delivered successfully, reaching the intended recipients without getting caught in the blacklist trap.?

Remember, a proactive approach to email hygiene and deliverability is key to maximizing the impact of your outreach campaigns.

Implement these tips and send quality cold emails.