Summary
Protecting your sender score when adding new audiences requires a multifaceted approach encompassing secure forms, understanding list acquisition, careful transitioning from transactional to promotional content, consistent email volume, reputable ESP selection, IP warming, robust authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), permission-based marketing, regular list cleaning, proactive reputation monitoring, boosted subscriber engagement, minimized bounce rates, effective feedback loop management, dedicated IPs, avoidance of spam traps, and careful volume scaling. Gradual introduction, segmentation and validation are themes throughout.
Key findings
- Form Security: Implement reCAPTCHA & submission limits on forms.
- List Vetting: Thoroughly audit list acquisition methods & subscriber expectations.
- Content Transition: Strategize the shift from transactional to promotional email marketing.
- Volume Consistency: Maintain steady email volume to prevent spam filter triggers.
- ESP Reliability: Choose an Email Service Provider known for robust deliverability.
- IP Warm-up: Gradually warm up IP addresses before bulk sending.
- Authentication: Use SPF, DKIM, & DMARC to authenticate sending sources.
- Permissions: Obtain explicit consent from all subscribers.
- List Hygiene: Regularly clean and remove inactive subscribers.
- Reputation Monitoring: Proactively monitor your sender reputation.
- Engagement: Improve subscriber engagement with personalized and relevant content.
- Bounce Rates: Minimize bounce rates through list management.
- Feedback Loops: Actively manage and respond to feedback loops from ISPs.
- Dedicated IPs: Use dedicated IPs for greater control over reputation.
- Spam Traps: Avoid sending to known spam traps.
- Audience Size Increase: Avoid surprising jumps in audience size - keep any increases below 10%.
Key considerations
- Secure Form Implementation: Review and strengthen form security protocols.
- List Source Validation: Implement a validation process for new lists.
- Content Strategy: Develop a carefully designed content transition plan.
- Ramping Strategies: Plan and execute gradual email volume increases.
- ESP Diligence: Research and select a high-quality Email Service Provider.
- Warm-up Plan: Create a structured IP warm-up schedule.
- Authentication Records: Correctly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Consent Practices: Follow best practices for gaining explicit consent.
- Cleaning Cadence: Establish a regular list cleaning schedule.
- Monitoring Tools: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools for ongoing monitoring.
- Engagement Tactics: Experiment with methods to improve subscriber engagement.
- Bounce Management: Create processes to manage bounced emails effectively.
- Loop Participation: Actively engage with feedback loop notifications.
- Dedicated IP Costs: Evaluate costs and benefits of dedicated IPs.
- Spam Trap Detection: Implement methods for identifying potential spam traps.
- List Size Gradual Growth: Keep any increases small (e.g 10%)
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Protecting your sender score when adding new audiences involves a multi-faceted approach. Gradual list transitions, segmentation, and permission-based marketing are essential for managing sender reputation. Maintaining a clean list and monitoring key metrics such as engagement, bounce rates, and spam complaints are also crucial. Using dedicated IPs and avoiding spam traps provides greater control over your sender reputation.
Key opinions
- Gradual Transition: Transitioning new audiences slowly and monitoring KPIs helps mitigate risks to sender reputation.
- Segmentation: Segmenting email lists enables more relevant content, boosting engagement and reducing spam complaints.
- Permission-Based Marketing: Gaining explicit consent ensures genuine interest and minimizes spam complaints.
- List Cleaning: Regularly removing inactive subscribers improves engagement metrics and protects sender score.
- Reputation Monitoring: Actively tracking sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools helps identify and address deliverability issues.
- Engagement: Improving subscriber engagement through personalized content and clear calls to action is vital for sender reputation.
- Bounce Rate: Monitoring and minimizing bounce rates prevents damage to sender reputation from invalid email addresses.
- Dedicated IP: Using a dedicated IP address provides more control over sender reputation.
- Spam Traps: Avoiding spam traps is crucial for maintaining a healthy sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Transition Speed: Determine the appropriate pace for adding new subscribers to minimize impact on sender reputation.
- Segmentation Strategy: Implement a segmentation strategy that aligns with audience interests and behaviors.
- Consent Collection: Establish clear and compliant consent collection processes.
- List Hygiene: Develop a routine list cleaning process to remove inactive subscribers.
- Monitoring Tools: Utilize tools like Google Postmaster Tools to track and address deliverability issues.
- Engagement Tactics: Implement tactics to encourage subscriber interaction and improve engagement metrics.
- Bounce Handling: Have a system in place to handle bounced emails effectively.
- IP Warmup: If using a dedicated IP, properly warm it up to establish a good reputation.
- Spam Trap Avoidance: Implement measures to prevent sending to spam traps.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus shares that improving subscriber engagement is crucial for maintaining a good sender reputation. Encourage recipients to interact with your emails by including clear calls to action, personalized content, and engaging visuals.
28 Jul 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests actively monitoring your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. This allows you to identify and address any issues that may be affecting your deliverability, such as high spam complaint rates or low engagement.
15 Jan 2025 - Email on Acid
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
Protecting your sender score when adding new audiences involves using proper form security measures like reCAPTCHA, understanding the source and expectations of new lists, being cautious about the transition from transactional to promotional emails, maintaining consistent email volume, and selecting a reputable ESP with good deliverability measures.
Key opinions
- Form Security: Implementing reCAPTCHA and submission limits protects against abusive form usage.
- List Acquisition: Understanding how a list was acquired and recipient expectations is crucial.
- Transactional vs. Promotional: Careful consideration should be given to the transition from transactional to promotional emails.
- Consistent Volume: Maintaining a consistent email volume prevents triggering spam filters.
- Reputable ESP: A good ESP helps ensure high deliverability and protects sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Form Implementation: Ensure forms have adequate security measures in place.
- List Auditing: Thoroughly vet newly acquired lists regarding acquisition method and recipient expectations.
- Transition Strategy: Carefully plan the transition from transactional to promotional email sending.
- Volume Ramp-Up: Gradually increase email volume when adding new audiences.
- ESP Selection: Choose an ESP with a strong reputation for deliverability.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that growing 10% shouldn't provide many surprises, but advises building solid forms with ReCaptcha and submission rate limits to protect properties from being used for abusive purposes.
15 Nov 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that maintaining a consistent email volume when adding new audiences helps protect your sender score. Sudden spikes in volume can trigger spam filters, so gradually increase the number of emails you send over time.
18 Dec 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Protecting your sender score when adding new audiences requires careful IP address warm-up, implementing sender authentication protocols, adhering to best practices to avoid spam filters, and actively managing feedback loops. IP warm-up involves gradually increasing email volume to build a positive reputation. SPF, DKIM, and DMARC verify email authenticity, preventing spoofing. Avoiding spam filters includes using a reputable ESP, creating engaging content, and avoiding trigger words. Feedback loops provide notifications about spam complaints, allowing for list cleaning.
Key findings
- IP Warm-up: Gradually increasing email volume from new IPs establishes a positive sender reputation.
- Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for verifying email authenticity and preventing spoofing.
- Spam Filter Avoidance: Using a reputable ESP, engaging content, and avoiding spam trigger words helps bypass spam filters.
- Feedback Loops: Feedback loops provide notifications of spam complaints, enabling list cleaning and improved deliverability.
Key considerations
- Warm-up Schedule: Develop a gradual IP warm-up schedule to avoid sudden spikes in volume.
- Authentication Setup: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain.
- Content Optimization: Create engaging and relevant email content that avoids spam trigger words.
- Feedback Loop Monitoring: Actively monitor and respond to feedback loop notifications to remove complainers from your list.
Technical article
Documentation from Postmark explains the role of feedback loops in sender reputation management. By participating in feedback loops with ISPs, you can receive notifications when recipients mark your emails as spam, allowing you to remove those recipients from your list and improve your deliverability.
16 Sep 2022 - Postmark
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft explains the best practices for avoiding spam filters. This includes using a reputable email service provider, crafting engaging content, and avoiding spam trigger words.
24 Jun 2021 - Microsoft
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