Summary
Sending emails without consent carries numerous severe consequences. ESPs, including Salesforce Marketing Cloud, have strict consent-based policies; circumventing these can lead to Spamhaus blacklisting, which is difficult to reverse and may require adhering to Spamhaus's remediation procedures. Verification services are unlikely to remove Spamhaus listings. Ignoring consent violates GDPR and CAN-SPAM, resulting in legal action and financial penalties. It also damages sender reputation, leading to reduced engagement, increased spam complaints, and ultimately, poor deliverability. Unsolicited emails harm brand perception, making recipients distrustful. Industry documentation, including that from Spamhaus, RFC Editor, Google Postmaster Tools, M3AAWG, and Microsoft, stresses the importance of obtaining explicit consent, maintaining clean lists, and following best practices to avoid blocklisting and ensure deliverability.
Key findings
- Consent Policies: ESPs have strict consent-based policies; non-compliance leads to penalties.
- Spamhaus Blacklisting: Sending unsolicited emails can result in Spamhaus blacklisting, requiring adherence to their remediation.
- Legal Consequences: Violating GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations results in legal penalties and fines.
- Reputation Damage: Ignoring consent damages sender reputation, resulting in deliverability issues.
- Reduced Engagement: Emails without consent lead to reduced engagement (opens, clicks) and increased spam complaints.
- Brand Perception: Sending unsolicited emails harms brand perception and trust.
- Importance of Consent (Industry): Key industry documentation emphasizes the importance of obtaining explicit consent for email marketing.
Key considerations
- Obtain Explicit Consent: Always obtain clear and explicit consent from subscribers, ideally through double opt-in.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean and up-to-date email list to reduce spam complaints and improve engagement.
- Comply with Regulations: Adhere to GDPR, CAN-SPAM, and other relevant regulations to avoid legal penalties.
- Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor your sender reputation to identify and address issues promptly.
- Meet Spamhaus Requirements: If blacklisted by Spamhaus, comply with their remediation requirements to regain deliverability.
- Provide Clear Opt-Out: Offer easy-to-find and functional unsubscribe options in all emails.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
Sending emails without consent has significant consequences, including damage to sender reputation and deliverability, potential blacklisting by Spamhaus, violations of GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations leading to fines, and harm to brand perception. ESPs have strict policies against non-consented mailings, and ISPs consider them spam. Consistently ignoring consent can permanently damage a domain's reputation, leading to lower engagement metrics, higher spam complaints, and filtering of emails into spam folders.
Key opinions
- Reputation Damage: Sending emails without consent severely damages your sender reputation, leading to deliverability issues.
- Blacklisting: Spamhaus and other blacklists may list your IP or domain, blocking your emails from reaching recipients.
- Legal Penalties: Violating GDPR and CAN-SPAM regulations can result in substantial fines.
- Brand Harm: Unsolicited emails can damage brand perception, leading to decreased engagement and loyalty.
- ESP Policies: ESPs have strict policies against non-consented mailings, resulting in penalties for non-compliance.
- Deliverability Issues: High spam complaint rates and low engagement negatively affect deliverability, causing emails to land in spam folders.
Key considerations
- Obtain Consent: Ensure you have explicit consent from subscribers before sending emails, ideally through double opt-in.
- List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove unengaged subscribers and reduce bounce rates.
- Compliance: Adhere to all relevant email marketing regulations, such as GDPR and CAN-SPAM.
- Monitor Reputation: Monitor your sender reputation and deliverability metrics to identify and address any issues promptly.
- Build Trust: Focus on providing valuable content and building trust with subscribers to encourage engagement.
- Verification Tools: Use email verification tools to check validity of emails.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Litmus explains that ignoring consent will lead to lower engagement metrics (opens, clicks) and higher spam complaints, which directly affect deliverability rates. They recommend regularly cleaning your email list and focusing on engaged subscribers.
19 Sep 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view
Email marketer from Reddit responds that if you ignore consent, expect your emails to land straight in the spam folder. High spam complaint rates will signal to ESPs that your email practices are unethical, resulting in penalties and deliverability issues.
24 Sep 2023 - Reddit
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Sending emails without consent carries significant risks. Once a sender is blacklisted by Spamhaus, they must comply with Spamhaus's requirements for removal. ESPs have strict policies regarding consent to protect their reputations; failure to adhere results in poor engagement, spam complaints, and damaged deliverability. Furthermore, non-compliance with CAN-SPAM and other laws can lead to legal repercussions and fines.
Key opinions
- Spamhaus Compliance: Once blacklisted by Spamhaus, you are bound by their remediation requirements.
- ESP Reputation Protection: ESPs enforce strict consent policies to protect their sender reputation and maintain deliverability.
- Legal Repercussions: Non-compliance with regulations such as CAN-SPAM can result in legal fines and damage to sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Adhere to Spamhaus: If blacklisted, fully cooperate with Spamhaus's requirements for removal.
- Obtain Consent: Always obtain explicit consent to comply with ESP policies.
- Comply with Laws: Adhere to legal email marketing regulations to avoid legal and deliverability consequences.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks explains that Kickbox does not want whatever the user is doing and if they’ve already stepped in the Spamhaus bear trap, they’ve gotta make them happy — they’re past the point of doing things on their own terms.
25 Jun 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Spamresource.com explains that ESPs have strict policies to protect their reputation. Sending emails without consent leads to poor engagement, spam complaints, and ultimately, damage to the sender's reputation, resulting in deliverability issues.
12 Oct 2021 - Spamresource.com
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Sending unsolicited bulk email (UBE) without consent leads to serious consequences. Spamhaus identifies and blocks senders who don't adhere to consent and list hygiene best practices. The RFC Editor defines UBE, emphasizing the risk of blacklisting and legal action. Google Postmaster Tools highlights the negative impact on sender reputation and deliverability. M3AAWG advises obtaining verifiable consent through double opt-in and clear unsubscribe options. Microsoft stresses following email marketing best practices, including consent and honoring unsubscribe requests, with non-compliance leading to blocked services.
Key findings
- Spamhaus Blocklisting: Sending unsolicited bulk email is a primary reason for being listed on Spamhaus blocklists.
- Legal Repercussions: Sending UBE can lead to legal action.
- Reputation Damage (Google): Sending unwanted emails to Google users negatively impacts sender reputation and deliverability.
- Importance of Consent (M3AAWG): Obtaining verifiable consent is crucial for compliance and a healthy sender reputation.
- Microsoft Blocking: Failure to follow email marketing best practices can lead to being blocked by Microsoft's email services.
Key considerations
- Consent Practices: Always obtain explicit and verifiable consent from subscribers.
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean and up-to-date email list.
- Unsubscribe Options: Provide clear and easily accessible unsubscribe options.
- Follow Best Practices: Adhere to email marketing best practices outlined by organizations like M3AAWG and Microsoft.
- Monitor Blocklists: Regularly check your domain and IP address against common blocklists.
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft outlines the importance of following email marketing best practices, including obtaining consent and respecting unsubscribe requests. Failure to comply can lead to deliverability issues and being blocked by Microsoft's email services.
9 Nov 2022 - Microsoft
Technical article
Documentation from Spamhaus explains that sending unsolicited bulk email (spam) is a primary reason for being listed on their blocklists. They actively monitor email traffic and identify senders who do not adhere to best practices regarding consent and list hygiene.
8 Oct 2021 - Spamhaus
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How do I avoid SURBL CT blacklisting for a 100% opt-in list?
