Summary
The consensus regarding blocking disposable email addresses (DEAs) from email lists is nuanced. While most sources agree that DEAs can negatively impact sender reputation, deliverability, and engagement metrics, opinions diverge on whether to block them outright. Some advocate for proactive blocking to minimize these risks and maintain list hygiene. Others suggest a more balanced approach, recommending monitoring engagement from DEA users, implementing validation processes, and nurturing potential customers who initially use DEAs. This approach weighs the risk of reduced deliverability against the potential loss of valuable leads, suggesting a case-by-case evaluation based on the organization's priorities and resources.
Key findings
- Negative Impact: DEAs can harm sender reputation, deliverability, and engagement rates.
- Differing Strategies: Strategies vary from proactive blocking to monitoring and nurturing DEA users.
- Potential Loss: Blocking DEAs may result in missing out on potential customers who initially use them.
- Validation Importance: Validation processes are vital to identify and manage DEAs effectively.
- Resource Utilization: Implementing more nuanced DEA management strategies requires investment in monitoring tools and personalized nurturing.
Key considerations
- Risk Tolerance: Assess the organization's tolerance for deliverability risks and potential damage to sender reputation.
- Acquisition Goals: Evaluate the potential impact of DEA blocking on customer acquisition efforts.
- Engagement Monitoring: Implement systems to monitor engagement from DEA users and identify valuable leads.
- Validation Methods: Determine the most effective validation methods for identifying and managing DEAs.
- Nurturing Strategies: Develop strategies to nurture DEA users and encourage them to switch to permanent email addresses.
- Transactional communications: Exclude DEAs in transactional communications - these can have legitimate uses.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
The advice on whether to block disposable email addresses (DEAs) is mixed. Some sources advocate for blocking DEAs to improve sender reputation, reduce bounce rates, and maintain list hygiene. These sources recommend using email verification services or identifying patterns of low engagement from particular domains. Other sources caution against immediately blocking DEAs, suggesting that it may lead to missing out on potential customers who initially use DEAs before converting to regular ones. These sources recommend monitoring engagement, nurturing disposable email users, and adapting content to encourage sign-ups with 'real' email addresses. Ultimately, a balanced approach that considers the potential impact on customer acquisition and deliverability is advised.
Key opinions
- Deliverability Impact: DEAs can negatively affect sender reputation and deliverability, leading to bounces and spam complaints.
- Acquisition Risk: Blocking DEAs may prevent acquisition of potential customers who initially use them before converting.
- Engagement Skew: DEAs can skew engagement metrics, leading to inaccurate campaign performance analysis.
- Privacy Motivation: Users often use DEAs to protect privacy and avoid spam, so blanket blocking might alienate legitimate users.
- Validation Tools: Email verification services can help identify DEAs and assess the associated risks.
Key considerations
- Sender Reputation: Assess the potential impact on your sender reputation and deliverability metrics.
- Customer Acquisition: Evaluate the risk of missing out on potential customers who might initially use DEAs.
- Engagement Monitoring: Monitor engagement from DEA users to identify potential loyal customers.
- Verification Implementation: Implement email verification processes to identify and manage DEAs effectively.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis: Weigh the costs of losing potential leads against the benefits of improved list hygiene.
Marketer view
Email marketer from ZeroBounce explains that disposable email addresses can negatively impact email deliverability, sender reputation, and overall marketing ROI. They advise actively identifying and removing disposable email addresses from your list to maintain a healthy and engaged subscriber base.
3 Jun 2023 - ZeroBounce
Marketer view
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that blocking disposable email addresses can improve sender reputation and reduce bounce rates. However, it may also lead to missing out on potential customers who initially use disposable emails before converting to regular ones. They suggest a balanced approach, monitoring engagement and potentially nurturing disposable email users.
25 Dec 2022 - Mailjet
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Experts generally agree that disposable email addresses (DEAs) pose a risk to email deliverability and sender reputation. They recommend implementing measures to prevent sending to DEAs, either by blocking them outright or removing them after a period of inactivity. The consensus is that DEA users are unlikely to form long-term relationships, so proactively addressing them can save costs and avoid negative engagement metrics like bounces and spam complaints.
Key opinions
- Deliverability Threat: DEAs pose a threat to sender reputation and overall email deliverability.
- Lack of Engagement: DEA users are generally not interested in forming long-term relationships with brands.
- Cost Savings: Blocking or removing DEAs can save costs associated with sending to unengaged or invalid addresses.
- SFMC Implementation: It's possible to implement processes in SFMC to automatically prevent sending to DEA domains.
- Proactive Measures: Proactive measures, such as email verification and list scrubbing, are vital for handling DEAs.
Key considerations
- Verification Processes: Implement robust email verification processes to identify DEAs upon signup.
- List Scrubbing: Regularly scrub your list to remove DEAs and maintain data quality.
- Domain Blocking: Consider blocking known DEA domains to prevent sending to these addresses.
- Inactivity Removal: Remove addresses after a period of inactivity to reduce engagement metrics.
- Cost-Benefit Analysis: Evaluate the cost-benefit of implementing DEA prevention measures versus the potential damage to sender reputation.
Expert view
Expert from Word to the Wise addresses that DEAs are problematic for several reasons, which includes increasing your spam complaints, bounces and other negative engagement metrics. It is stated that some senders will remove these address upon signup, or after a period of inactivity.
10 Jun 2023 - Word to the Wise
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares a list of disposable email address domains and explains that he prevents sending to such domains in SFMC. He assumes that users of such domains are not interested in an ongoing relationship, saving costs and deliverability impact.
26 Apr 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Technical documentation emphasizes the negative impact of disposable email addresses (DEAs) on email marketing efforts. DEAs are commonly used for spam, temporary registrations, or evading spam filters. To mitigate risks, monitoring signup sources, implementing validation measures, and using suppression lists to block known DEA domains are recommended. Additionally, email service providers are advised to understand the technical specifications for identifying and handling DEAs to avoid being flagged as spam sources. Proactive measures are key to prevent DEAs from infiltrating email lists.
Key findings
- Spam Association: DEAs are frequently associated with spam, temporary registrations, and attempts to bypass spam filters.
- Deliverability Risks: DEAs pose significant deliverability risks, negatively impacting sender reputation and potentially leading to blacklist status.
- Validation Importance: Implementing validation measures is essential to reduce the influx of DEAs into email lists.
- Technical Specifications: Understanding the technical specifications for identifying and handling DEAs is important for email service providers.
- Proactive Prevention: Proactive measures are necessary to prevent DEAs from infiltrating email lists.
Key considerations
- Signup Monitoring: Monitor signup sources to identify and mitigate sources of disposable email addresses.
- Suppression Lists: Utilize suppression lists to block known disposable email domains.
- DEA Detection Services: Leverage services that offer disposable email detection to identify temporary email addresses.
- Technical Understanding: Develop a solid understanding of the technical aspects of identifying and managing DEAs.
- Blacklist Avoidance: Take proactive steps to prevent DEAs from negatively impacting sender reputation and leading to blacklist status.
Technical article
Documentation from Kickbox explains that disposable email detection identifies temporary email addresses used for avoiding spam or protecting personal information. Kickbox's service helps determine if an email is disposable and provides insights on deliverability risks associated with such addresses, allowing users to make informed decisions about list management.
11 Mar 2022 - Kickbox
Technical article
Documentation from RFC Editor provides the technical specifications and considerations for identifying and handling disposable email addresses. It discusses various methods for detecting temporary email domains and offers guidelines for email service providers to manage these addresses effectively.
21 May 2024 - RFC Editor
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