Summary
Recovering email domain reputation after a drop in open rates requires a holistic approach involving engagement optimization, list hygiene, robust authentication, proactive monitoring, and addressing the root cause of deliverability issues. Experts advise focusing on engaged subscribers, delivering valuable content, and segmenting lists to improve open rates and signal value to ISPs. Regular list cleaning, suppression of unengaged users, and prompt removal of hard bounces are crucial. Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, especially with a reject policy, safeguards sender reputation. Furthermore, actively monitor sender reputation via tools, respond to feedback loops, and adhere to best practices from mailbox providers like Gmail and Outlook. If new IPs are involved, gradually warm them up. Addressing the underlying causes, such as consent issues or irrelevant content, is essential for sustained improvement.
Key findings
- Engagement First: Prioritize sending relevant, valuable content to engaged subscribers to demonstrate positive engagement signals to ISPs.
- Hygiene is Paramount: Regularly clean your email lists by removing inactive subscribers, hard bounces, and unsubscribes to maintain a healthy list and sender reputation.
- Authentication is Non-Negotiable: Implement and properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your emails and prevent spoofing, protecting your sender reputation.
- Monitoring is Key: Actively monitor your sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and monitor blacklists for potential issues.
- Address the Root Cause: Identify and fix the underlying causes of deliverability problems, such as poor consent practices, irrelevant content, or sudden volume increases.
Key considerations
- Segmentation Strategy: Develop a robust segmentation strategy to target specific audiences with relevant content, improving engagement and deliverability.
- Content Relevance: Ensure your email content is valuable and relevant to your subscribers to maintain engagement and avoid spam complaints.
- Consent Practices: Only send emails to subscribers who have explicitly opted in to receive them, ensuring you have proper consent.
- Gradual Warm-up: When using new IP addresses, gradually warm up your sending volume to establish a positive reputation with ISPs.
- Feedback Loops: Actively monitor and respond to feedback loops to identify and address any issues raised by mailbox providers.
- Blacklist Monitoring: Proactively monitor blacklists to detect if your domain or IP address has been listed, and take steps to resolve the issue immediately if found.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
Recovering email domain reputation after a drop in open rates involves a multifaceted approach focusing on engagement, list hygiene, authentication, and identifying the root cause of the problem. Experts recommend segmenting lists, removing unengaged subscribers, and sending targeted, valuable content to engaged recipients to demonstrate value to ISPs. Proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), monitoring blacklists, and addressing any issues found are also crucial. If a new IP is used, warming it up gradually is advised. Consistent sending practices and adhering to email best practices build a positive sender score.
Key opinions
- Engagement: Prioritize engaged subscribers and create valuable, targeted content to improve open and click-through rates, signaling positive engagement to ISPs.
- List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list by removing inactive subscribers, bounces, and unsubscribes to maintain a healthy list.
- Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to authenticate your emails and protect your sender reputation.
- Root Cause Analysis: Identify and address the underlying cause of the drop in open rates, such as poor content, broad segmentation, or lack of consent.
- Gradual Ramp-Up: When using a new IP address, gradually increase sending volume over several weeks to establish a positive sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Segmentation: Segmenting your audience allows you to send more relevant emails to engaged subscribers, boosting open rates and overall engagement.
- Content Quality: Ensure your emails provide value to subscribers and avoid spam triggers to maintain a positive sender reputation.
- Monitoring: Regularly monitor your sender reputation, blacklist status, and engagement metrics to identify and address any issues promptly.
- Blacklist Removal: If your domain is blacklisted, take immediate action to address the issue and request removal from the blacklist.
- Double Opt-in: Use a double opt-in process to ensure subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains assuming the high hard bounce rate was a one-time event and there are no blocks/blacklists, reducing segmentation is the best approach. If all other factors are in order, dialing back segmentation should improve rates. Once rates improve consistently, segmentation can be slowly and incrementally expanded.
1 Oct 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains getting to the root cause of the reputation drop is important. Considers factors like broad segmentation, consent, content relevance, sending frequency, and meeting subscriber expectations should be evaluated.
13 Aug 2021 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Recovering email domain reputation after a drop in open rates involves careful IP and domain management, effective bounce processing, suppressing unengaged users, and strong sender authentication. Experts recommend gradually increasing sending volume, especially with new IPs, and promptly removing hard bounces. Low engagement signals a problem, necessitating segmentation and suppression of inactive users. Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, particularly with a reject policy, enhances security and improves email placement.
Key opinions
- Gradual Volume Increase: Abruptly increasing email volume can harm IP health. Gradually ramp up sending over weeks, monitoring deliverability and engagement.
- Bounce Processing: Effective bounce processing is crucial; immediately remove hard bounces to avoid deliverability issues.
- Engagement Suppression: Low engagement indicates a problem; suppress unengaged users and segment lists for better targeting.
- Strong Authentication: Implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, especially with a reject policy, to protect sender reputation and improve email placement.
Key considerations
- IP Management: Careful management of IP addresses, especially new ones, is essential for building and maintaining a positive sending reputation.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean email list by promptly removing hard bounces and suppressing inactive users is critical for deliverability.
- Segmentation Strategy: Segmenting email lists based on engagement levels allows for more targeted and relevant email campaigns, improving overall performance.
- DMARC Policy: Implementing DMARC with a reject policy can significantly reduce sender impersonation and enhance email security.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that abruptly increasing email volume can negatively impact IP health and sender reputation. If you inherit an IP or domain, gradually ramp up sending volume over several weeks while monitoring deliverability and engagement. If experiencing issues, reduce volume until engagement improves.
24 Apr 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that sender authentication using SPF, DKIM and DMARC protects your sender reputation by verifying the legitimacy of your emails. Implementing DMARC with a reject policy, coupled with proper SPF and DKIM, greatly reduces your risks of sender impersonation and improves email placement.
1 May 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
Recovering email domain reputation after a drop in open rates requires monitoring tools, adherence to best practices, and responsiveness to feedback. Google's Postmaster Tools helps track reputation and identify issues affecting Gmail delivery. SparkPost emphasizes that sender reputation is a score based on sending behavior, including spam complaints and engagement. Microsoft recommends using the Junk Email Reporting program and Sender Support to address feedback from Outlook.com users.
Key findings
- Monitoring Tools: Utilize tools like Google Postmaster Tools to monitor domain reputation and identify deliverability issues.
- Sender Behavior: Sender reputation is a score ISPs assign based on factors like spam complaints, bounce rates, and engagement metrics.
- Feedback Mechanisms: Engage with feedback mechanisms like Microsoft's Junk Email Reporting program to understand and address user concerns.
Key considerations
- Google Guidelines: Adhere to Gmail's bulk sender guidelines to improve deliverability to Gmail inboxes.
- Root Cause Analysis: Address the root cause of the reputation damage, such as poor list hygiene or sending irrelevant content.
- Authentication: Properly authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify the legitimacy of your emails.
- Responsiveness: Respond promptly to user feedback and spam complaints to demonstrate a commitment to responsible sending practices.
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost defines sender reputation as a score ISPs assign to your sending IP and domain, and it is based on your sending behavior. Spam complaints, bounce rates, and engagement metrics like open rates are key factors. To recover, address the root cause of the reputation damage, improve list hygiene, and authenticate your email.
21 May 2023 - SparkPost
Technical article
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains using Postmaster Tools to monitor your domain's reputation and identify issues affecting delivery to Gmail. They also recommend following Gmail's bulk sender guidelines, authenticating your email, and monitoring spam complaints.
5 Oct 2023 - Google Workspace Admin Help
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