Summary
Recovering a healthy domain reputation after a drop in opens and engagement due to sending to an unengaged group involves a comprehensive strategy incorporating technical configuration, list management, content optimization, and engagement monitoring. Begin by ensuring proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is in place and adhering to the sending policies of major email providers. Regularly clean your email list by removing bounced, unsubscribed, and inactive users. Segment your audience based on engagement levels, tailoring content to each segment and implementing re-engagement campaigns for moderately active users. For unengaged segments, consider a sunset policy. Warm up your IP address or domain by gradually increasing sending volume. Continuously monitor sender reputation metrics like bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement, using tools provided by Google, Microsoft, and AWS. Prioritize sending wanted mail and providing easy unsubscribe options. Test email rendering across different clients and devices. Finally, consider user engagement across multiple channels before marking them as unengaged.
Key findings
- Email Authentication: SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are crucial for verifying email legitimacy and improving deliverability.
- List Hygiene: Regular cleaning of the email list by removing bounced, unsubscribed, and inactive users improves engagement rates.
- Audience Segmentation: Segmenting the audience based on engagement levels allows for targeted content and improved deliverability.
- Re-engagement and Sunset Policies: Re-engagement campaigns for moderately active users and sunset policies for inactive subscribers are essential.
- IP Warming: Gradually increasing sending volume helps build a positive reputation with ISPs.
- Reputation Monitoring: Continuous monitoring of bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement metrics is necessary for addressing issues.
- Quality Content: Reverting to sending high-quality content can expedite recovery.
- Multi-Channel Engagement: Considering user engagement across multiple channels provides a more accurate view of their interest.
Key considerations
- Authentication Configuration: Properly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is critical for establishing trust with email providers.
- List Management Practices: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is essential for preventing deliverability issues.
- Audience Segmentation Strategy: Tailoring content to specific audience segments based on their engagement levels can significantly improve open and click-through rates.
- Re-engagement Campaign Design: Crafting compelling re-engagement campaigns with incentives for subscribers to confirm their interest is crucial.
- IP Warming Process: Gradually increasing sending volume and monitoring sender reputation metrics help build a positive relationship with ISPs.
- Deliverability Monitoring Tools: Utilizing provided tools to monitor bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement rates is crucial for identifying issues.
- Content Quality Focus: Ensure content is engaging, relevant, and wanted by the audience.
- Multi-Channel User Assessment: Evaluate user engagement across all channels to avoid prematurely removing potentially valuable contacts.
- Bounce Processing: Correctly configure your bounce processing and handle all the different types of bounces to help improve email deliverability.
- Sending Consistency: Maintain consistency in sending IP addresses, domains, and sending rates to help build a positive sender reputation.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
Recovering a healthy domain reputation after a drop in opens and engagement due to sending to an unengaged group involves several key strategies. First, ensure basic email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is properly set up. List hygiene is crucial, requiring regular cleaning to remove bounced, unsubscribed, and inactive users. Segment your audience based on engagement and tailor content accordingly, re-engaging moderately active users and suppressing the unengaged after a final re-engagement attempt. Warming up your IP address or domain involves gradually increasing sending volume. Finally, monitor engagement metrics and bounce rates, and test email rendering across different clients to enhance user experience and avoid spam triggers. A single mistake may recover organically if hygiene is generally okay.
Key opinions
- Authentication: Setting up SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for verifying email legitimacy and improving deliverability.
- List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list by removing bounced, unsubscribed, and inactive users to improve engagement rates.
- Segmentation: Segmenting your audience based on engagement levels allows for targeted content and improved deliverability.
- Re-engagement: Implement re-engagement campaigns for moderately active users and a sunset policy for inactive subscribers.
- IP Warming: Gradually increase sending volume to build a positive reputation with ISPs.
- Monitoring: Monitor engagement metrics, bounce rates, and spam complaints to identify and address issues promptly.
- Authentication: Testing email rendering across different email clients and devices ensures a consistent user experience and reduces spam flags.
Key considerations
- Email Authentication Protocols: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly is critical for establishing trust with email providers.
- List Management Practices: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is essential for preventing deliverability issues.
- Audience Segmentation Strategy: Tailoring content to specific audience segments based on their engagement levels can significantly improve open and click-through rates.
- Re-engagement Campaign Design: Crafting compelling re-engagement campaigns with incentives for subscribers to confirm their interest is crucial for retaining valuable contacts.
- IP Warming Process: Gradually increasing sending volume and monitoring sender reputation metrics help build a positive relationship with ISPs.
- Deliverability Monitoring Tools: Utilizing tools to monitor metrics such as bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement rates is crucial for identifying and addressing deliverability issues.
- Testing and Quality Assurance: Testing email rendering across different email clients and devices is essential for ensuring a consistent user experience and preventing spam flags.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit explains to focus on re-engaging active subscribers with personalized content and offers. They suggest running a re-engagement campaign with incentives for subscribers to confirm their interest. For inactive subscribers, they recommend a sunset policy with a final email and then removal from the list to protect sender reputation.
28 Apr 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from SendGrid explains improving email engagement by segmenting your audience based on engagement levels, sending targeted content, and regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers. This helps improve sender reputation by focusing on recipients who actively want your emails.
16 May 2022 - SendGrid
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Recovering domain reputation after sending to unengaged recipients involves several expert-recommended strategies. Prioritize reverting to high-quality content to expedite recovery. Configure bounce processing to manage hard and soft bounces effectively, removing invalid addresses promptly. Maintain consistency in sending IP addresses, domains, and sending rates to build a strong sender reputation. Before removing users, determine true unengagement by considering engagement across multiple channels, and continue marketing through other channels if email is discontinued. Focus on data across all touch points, ensure proper configuration and quality content.
Key opinions
- Content Quality: Reverting to sending high-quality content is the best first step to recover domain reputation.
- Bounce Processing: Properly configuring bounce processing and promptly removing hard bounces is critical for maintaining list hygiene.
- Sending Consistency: Maintaining consistency in sending IP addresses, domains, and rates helps build a positive sender reputation.
- Multi-Channel Engagement: Determine unengagement by considering data across multiple channels before culling users from your email program.
Key considerations
- Content Strategy: Focus on creating and distributing high-quality, engaging content that resonates with your audience.
- Bounce Management: Implement a robust bounce processing system that effectively handles hard and soft bounces to minimize deliverability issues.
- Sender Reputation Consistency: Establish and maintain consistent sending practices to build a positive sender reputation with email providers.
- Holistic Engagement Assessment: Evaluate user engagement across all available channels to avoid prematurely removing potentially valuable contacts from your email program.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that consistency is key to building and maintaining a good sender reputation. In particular, send from the same IP addresses and domains, and keep sending at a steady rate.
22 Apr 2025 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares the best advice is to revert to sending quality content. Recovery should occur within a few days after fixing the issue, though a temporary penalty period might be experienced.
14 Feb 2023 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Recovering a healthy domain reputation requires a multifaceted approach focused on adhering to email sending best practices. Key recommendations from major providers include: sending wanted mail and avoiding unwanted mail, providing easy unsubscribe options, maintaining consistent sending volumes, and implementing robust email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). Continuous monitoring of sender reputation metrics like bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement, using tools such as Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS, is also crucial. Establishing feedback loops with ISPs further aids in promptly addressing any identified issues. All providers also strongly emphasize adherence to their respective sending policies and technical guidelines.
Key findings
- Wanted Mail: Focus on sending content that recipients want and expect.
- Easy Unsubscribe: Provide clear and accessible unsubscribe options.
- Consistent Sending: Maintain consistent sending volumes to avoid triggering spam filters.
- Email Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your emails.
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitor sender reputation metrics using provided tools to identify and address issues.
- Feedback Loops: Implement feedback loops with ISPs to promptly address any complaints or deliverability issues.
- Adherence to Policies: Adhere to each provider's specific sending policies and technical guidelines.
Key considerations
- Audience Targeting: Understand your audience preferences and tailor your content to ensure it's wanted and relevant.
- Unsubscribe Process: Ensure the unsubscribe process is straightforward and user-friendly to prevent spam complaints.
- Sending Volume Management: Carefully manage your sending volume to avoid sudden spikes that can negatively impact your reputation.
- Authentication Setup: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to establish trust with email providers.
- Monitoring Tools Utilization: Actively use the provided tools to monitor your sender reputation and proactively address any issues.
- Policy Compliance: Thoroughly review and comply with the sending policies and technical guidelines of each email provider.
Technical article
Documentation from AWS explains you should monitor metrics such as bounces, complaints, and open rates using Amazon SES. AWS advises using these metrics to identify issues with your sending practices and take corrective actions.
19 Nov 2021 - Amazon Web Services
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost explains that sender reputation is a measure of the trustworthiness of your email sending practices. To maintain a healthy reputation, monitor bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement metrics. They recommend implementing feedback loops with ISPs to address issues promptly.
21 Nov 2021 - SparkPost
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