What you need to know about email blacklists
Email blacklists, also known as blocklists, are a common way of reducing spam. If your mail server has been blacklisted, some email you send may not be delivered. Internet service providers like Yahoo, AOL and Comcast use third-party blacklists as a starting point. To this they add feedback they’ve received from customer spam complaints.
How do you know if you’re on a blacklist?
You’ll know if you notice a big increase in your bounce-back messages or a big decrease in your open rates. There are over 150 email blacklists actively monitoring the landscape. The major ones are Spamhaus, SpamCop and MAPS. MXToolBox has a free tool for checking most of the blacklists at once. (If you don’t know your mail server’s address, use this tool to find it.)
How to Remove Yourself From Blacklists
Respond immediately. Each blacklist has a different procedure for requesting removal, so you’ll have to follow a different set of instructions for each list you’re on. This can take some time, so get crackin’.
Fix the problem. Identify and address the problem that caused you to be blacklisted in the first place before you ask to be taken off the list. If you end up on a blacklist for the same reason again, you may further damage your relationship with blacklist providers.
Contact your email service provider. If you’re subscribed to an email service such as MailChimp, Constant Contact, or iContact, they will provide support and assistance in removing you from blacklists.
The best thing to do? Avoid getting on these lists by being a responsible marketer. Do this by maintaining your reputation with your subscribers to keep them from reporting you as a spammer. Read this post on common email marketing mistakes or check out the resources below for more information on blacklists.
Further Reading:
How to Get Off BlacklistsLists the top blocking lists in use, with instructions on how to set about getting your IP address removed from each database.
Avoid Email Blacklists Looks at how your recipients can get you added to a blacklist and suggests various ways you can avoid this happening through appropriate list management and email marketing practices.
I recently reviewed the book Clout: The Art & Science of Influential Web Content by Colleen Jones for Newport Interactive Marketers. It discusses strategy and best practices for planning and creating digital content. Lots of practical information and helpful real-life examples. You can watch the review below and read a sample of the book in PDF format or HTML. I encourage you to check it out and let me know what you think of it.
As a follow-up to my recent posts about the best way to use images in your emails, I thought I’d offer some suggestions on where to find royalty-free stock images online. In addition to photographs, these sites sell illustrations, video, audio and more. I use them for photos and illustrations to include in my HTML email designs. Below is a list of some of the best sites and some practical info about them. Read more…
First, what they are: “Alt” text, short for alternative text, is the text that appears in place of an image when it’s not viewable. Its main purpose is to briefly describe an image to someone who is visually impaired via a screen reader. (Screen readers read all of the text on a page, denoting lists, links, headlines and ALT text in images.) A secondary purpose, however, is to describe an image to someone who cannot or chooses not to view images in their browsing device or email client. Most importantly, though, marketers who don’t use alt tags accordingly risk lower open and click-through rates because recipients might decide not to display images or act further. Below are some guidelines to follow when using alt text in your HTML email layouts. Read more…
An email, just like any other piece of marketing material, looks better when it has appealing images. However, since email clients and personal settings vary, you can’t control how the email displays to the user in all cases. Here are some guidelines to keep in mind to ensure that your email not only looks fantastic, but can be delivered and viewed effectively by your subscribers. Read more…
Consider the color preferences of your target audience.
The color preferences of your target audience are the most important thing to consider. You might need to do some research on your audience or even do some testing with potential color combinations.
While there are no hard and fast rules about which colors are feminine or masculine or gender-neutral, some generalizations are possible based on various color studies. Below is some interesting data on this subject gathered by Cailin Boyle in Color Harmony for the Web.
There are four main elements of the design of an HTML email: typeface, color, images, and layout. While there is much variation and experimentation in email design, industry professionals generally agree on a set of basic principals. It’s important to note that while following these guidelines can improve results, they are, in fact, merely guidelines. The behavior and preferences of your mailing list is unique and should be studied in order to truly optimize communication between you and your customers. This is the first of a series of four blog posts that will discuss email design best practices. Read more…
It can be very disheartening to review the performance report of your first email campaign and discover that your email only had a 32% open rate or 9% click-through rate. That is, until, you find out that the industry average is much, much lower. Suddenly you’re singing from the highest mountain instead of hanging your head. Of course, the opposite scenario is entirely possible as well—you may find that your results are lower than average. Below is an overview of some current benchmarks that may be useful towards setting realistic expectations and goals for your campaign. Read more…
Customer reviews can help your business stand apart from the competition and potentially help your company rise in the search engine results. Depending on which industry you’re in, you may want to increase reviews on Yelp, Trip Advisor, Amazon, Angie’s List and various other websites. Getting customers to post reviews can sometimes be a challenge, however. With email marketing, you can remind and encourage customers to say a few words about your products or services while they’re online and have your business fresh in their minds. A simple email delivered shortly after the purchase was made or the service rendered can increase reviews without costing you much time or money. Read more…
A trade show offers the perfect opportunity to expand your mailing list. Always position your request for contact information as an effort to provide a benefit or service. If you publish an e-newsletter with helpful tips, people will be more willing to give you their email address to receive valuable information that will help them be more successful. Below are some ways to promote your mailing list and attract new subscribers. Read more…
Email marketing is one of the most powerful marketing tools available for today's small businesses. Here we share techniques, strategies, and ideas you can use to improve the success of your email marketing campaign. Join the conversation!
A while back I wrote about how to avoid spam filters, but what if you end up on a blacklist?
