Summary
SMS spam complaints can negatively impact email domain reputation and deliverability. Email providers and blacklists often correlate data across channels, so poor SMS practices can make them suspicious. Maintaining a positive reputation across all channels, including SMS, is crucial. The key is consistency and trust. Spamhaus acknowledges the interconnectedness of channels, so if SMS abuse is linked to malicious email, it can influence their domain reputation assessment. DMARC can indirectly help reputation, while Razor is a collaborative spam detection network that could apply its methods to other channels. A domain’s reputation is often viewed holistically. Remember that email validation may not verify that a recipient signed up for emails.
Key findings
- Cross-Channel Impact: SMS spam complaints can negatively impact email domain reputation and deliverability.
- Holistic Reputation: Email providers often view a domain’s reputation holistically across all channels.
- Data Correlation: ISPs and blacklist providers often correlate data points across different channels.
- DMARC's Indirect Benefit: Implementing DMARC can help indirectly improve domain reputation by protecting against spoofing.
- Validation Isn't Sign-Up: Email validation doesn't guarantee the recipient signed up for emails.
Key considerations
- Monitor All Channels: Monitor all communication channels for spam complaints.
- Maintain Consistency: Maintain consistent messaging and branding across all channels.
- Build Trust: Focus on building trust with recipients through permission-based marketing practices.
- Segment Messaging: Carefully segment messaging to avoid cross-channel contamination.
- Implement DMARC: Consider implementing DMARC to enhance email authentication and protect sender reputation.
What email marketers say
10 marketer opinions
SMS spam complaints can negatively impact email domain reputation and potentially lead to blacklisting and reduced deliverability. ISPs and blacklist providers correlate data across channels, so poor SMS practices can make email providers suspicious. Maintaining a positive reputation across all channels, including SMS, is crucial for protecting email sender reputation. Consistent messaging and adherence to best practices in both SMS and email are essential.
Key opinions
- Cross-Channel Correlation: ISPs and blacklist providers correlate data across communication channels, linking SMS and email reputations.
- Reputation Impact: SMS spam complaints can lead to a damaged domain and IP reputation, impacting email deliverability.
- Holistic Approach: A cohesive approach across all marketing channels is necessary to maintain a good sender reputation.
- Blacklisting Risk: Poor SMS practices can result in email blacklisting, spam filtering, and reduced inbox placement.
- Trust Erosion: Spam reports, regardless of the channel, erode trust and damage the sender's reputation.
Key considerations
- Monitor SMS Campaigns: Actively monitor SMS campaigns for spam complaints and address issues promptly.
- Ensure Compliance: Adhere to best practices and compliance standards in both SMS and email marketing.
- Segment Messaging: Segment messaging to avoid cross-channel pollution and maintain audience relevance.
- Maintain Consistency: Ensure consistent messaging and branding across all communication channels.
- Protect Sender Reputation: Prioritize maintaining a positive sender reputation to safeguard email deliverability.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit explains that the key is consistency and reputation across all channels. If you're blasting SMS with shady offers and getting flagged, email providers are gonna notice. It's all about building trust, and spam reports hurt that trust, no matter where they come from.
21 Feb 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet answers that maintaining a positive sender reputation involves monitoring SMS spam complaints and quickly addressing any issues. By actively managing SMS campaigns and ensuring compliance, senders can protect their email deliverability and prevent blacklisting.
18 Feb 2023 - Mailjet
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
SMS spam complaints can affect email deliverability due to the holistic view email providers take of a domain's reputation across communication channels. Engaging in questionable practices in one channel, like SMS, can impact how email from that domain is treated. While Razor, an older open-source project, might not directly impact deliverability, providers consider related factors when filtering spam to improve user experience. Verification of email addresses may not be enough as the recipient may not be the actual owner of the email address.
Key opinions
- Holistic Reputation: A domain's reputation is often viewed holistically across different channels.
- Cross-Channel Impact: SMS spam can influence how email providers view email from the same domain.
- Filtering Considerations: Email providers consider associated factors when making blocking or filtering decisions to improve user experience.
- Email Validation Limitations: Email validation does not guarantee that the recipient actually signed up for email messages.
Key considerations
- Monitor All Channels: Monitor all communication channels for spam complaints and maintain good practices.
- Avoid Questionable Practices: Avoid questionable practices in any channel, as they can negatively impact your overall domain reputation.
- Focus on User Experience: Prioritize improving customers' experiences to avoid triggering spam filters.
- Verify Sign-Ups: Verify sign-ups as well as just validating email addresses.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares that just because an email address is deliverable does not mean that person signed up for your mail and explains it’s likely someone gave an address that didn’t belong to them, which ended up getting the client listed. Overall, though, she says it’s an old open source project and it should have zero impact on deliverability.
27 Jul 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that a domain's reputation is often viewed holistically across different channels. If a domain gains a reputation for sending SMS spam, this can impact how email providers view email from that domain, leading to filtering or blocking. This is because the domain is seen as engaging in questionable practices overall.
12 Oct 2024 - Word to the Wise
What the documentation says
3 technical articles
SMS spam complaints can indirectly impact email domain reputation and potentially lead to blacklisting. Spamhaus acknowledges the interconnectedness of communication channels, where SMS abuse linked to malicious email activity can influence their domain reputation assessment. While DMARC focuses on email authentication and indirectly helps domain reputation, Razor, a collaborative spam detection network, could theoretically apply its spam pattern identification to other channels, including SMS, potentially contributing to a domain being flagged if high rates of spam reports are observed across multiple channels.
Key findings
- Interconnected Channels: Communication channels are increasingly interconnected, influencing domain reputation.
- SMS Abuse Impact: SMS spam abuse linked to malicious email activity can negatively impact domain reputation assessment.
- Indirect Influence of DMARC: DMARC, by focusing on email authentication, indirectly contributes to a better sender reputation.
- Potential Razor Application: Razor's spam pattern identification could potentially be applied to other channels, contributing to domain flagging.
Key considerations
- Monitor All Channels: Monitor all communication channels for spam complaints and maintain good practices.
- Implement DMARC: Implement DMARC to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, helping to improve your sender reputation.
- Understand Spam Detection Networks: Understand how spam detection networks like Razor operate and how they might flag domains based on activity across multiple channels.
Technical article
Documentation from ietf.org answers that DMARC focuses on email authentication, it indirectly relates to overall domain reputation. By implementing DMARC, organizations protect their domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks. This helps maintain trust with recipients and ISPs, contributing to a better sender reputation over time.
26 Apr 2024 - ietf.org
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that while they primarily focus on email-borne spam, they acknowledge the growing interconnectedness of communication channels. If a domain is heavily abused in SMS spam campaigns, and that abuse is linked to malicious activity also observed in email, it could potentially influence their assessment of the domain's reputation.
22 Mar 2024 - Spamhaus
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