Summary
Salesforce email deliverability issues arise from a combination of factors, including sender reputation, shared IPs, authentication problems (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), poor list hygiene, and content quality. Using purchased lists, not obtaining explicit consent (opt-in), and Salesforce's less-than-ideal abuse handling contribute. Solutions include warming up IPs, using dedicated IPs or separate sending services, setting up proper authentication, monitoring bounce codes, avoiding spam triggers, segmenting lists, using double opt-in, and actively monitoring sender reputation via tools like Google Postmaster Tools. Understanding and responding to bounce codes provides additional diagnostic information.
Key findings
- Sender Reputation Matters: Poor sender reputation is a leading cause of Salesforce email deliverability problems. Factors affecting reputation include spam complaints, sending volume, and engagement.
- Shared IPs are Problematic: Salesforce's shared IP infrastructure means the actions of other users can negatively impact your deliverability. Dedicated IPs offer more control.
- Authentication is Essential: Correctly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial to prove email legitimacy and prevent spoofing. Start with a 'p=none' DMARC policy to monitor email flow.
- List Quality is Key: Sending to purchased lists, or without explicit opt-in, harms deliverability. Cleaning your list and segmenting based on engagement are critical.
- Content Influences Deliverability: Avoiding spam trigger words, creating clean HTML, and ensuring emails are mobile-friendly all help prevent emails from being filtered.
- Bounce Codes Indicate Problems: Understanding bounce codes helps diagnose delivery failures, identifying whether the issue is temporary (server issues) or permanent (blocked IP, invalid address).
- Salesforce's Practices Impact Delivery: Salesforce's handling of abuse and tolerance of purchased lists can degrade the overall deliverability experience for its users.
Key considerations
- Monitor Sender Reputation: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools to track your sender reputation and identify any issues affecting deliverability. Take corrective action promptly.
- Consider Dedicated IPs: For critical transactional emails, evaluate the benefits of migrating to a dedicated IP to isolate your sending reputation from other users on Salesforce.
- Implement Robust Authentication: Carefully configure and validate SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate your emails and prevent spoofing.
- Practice List Hygiene: Regularly clean your email list to remove inactive subscribers and hard bounces. Implement a double opt-in process to ensure recipients genuinely want to receive your emails.
- Optimize Email Content: Avoid spam trigger words and optimize your email content for both desktop and mobile devices.
- Warm Up IPs: If you are using a new IP address or domain, gradually increase your sending volume to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs.
- Understand Bounce Codes: Monitor and analyze bounce codes to identify the reasons for delivery failures and address any underlying issues, such as invalid email addresses or blocked IPs.
What email marketers say
9 marketer opinions
Salesforce emails often face deliverability issues due to factors like sender reputation, shared IPs, and improper email authentication. Shared IPs on Salesforce can be affected by the sending practices of other users, leading to blocked emails. Poor sender reputation is a common cause, and warming up IPs, monitoring bounce rates, and subscriber engagement can help. Proper configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for email authentication. Avoiding spam trigger words, clean HTML structure, mobile-friendliness, list segmentation, double opt-in processes, and engaging content are also important for improving deliverability and avoiding spam filters.
Key opinions
- Sender Reputation: Poor sender reputation is a significant factor in Salesforce email deliverability issues.
- Shared IPs: Salesforce's shared IPs can lead to deliverability problems due to the actions of other users on the same IPs.
- Authentication: Improperly configured SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records can cause emails to be blocked or filtered.
- Content Quality: Spam trigger words, poor HTML structure, and lack of mobile-friendliness can negatively impact deliverability.
- List Hygiene: Not maintaining a clean and engaged email list can harm sender reputation and lead to deliverability issues.
Key considerations
- Dedicated IP: Consider migrating to a dedicated IP or using a separate email service provider for critical transactional emails to avoid the issues associated with shared IPs.
- Email Warming: Gradually warm up new IPs to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs.
- Authentication Setup: Ensure proper configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate your emails.
- Content Optimization: Optimize email content by avoiding spam trigger words, using clean HTML, and ensuring mobile-friendliness.
- List Management: Implement list segmentation, double opt-in processes, and regular list cleaning to maintain a healthy and engaged subscriber base.
Marketer view
Email marketer from EmailGeek Community responds that shared Salesforce IPs can lead to deliverability issues due to the actions of other users. Potential solutions include migrating to a dedicated IP (if available), using a separate email service provider for transactional emails, or improving list hygiene and engagement.
25 Jan 2025 - EmailGeek Community
Marketer view
Email marketer from GMass explains that warming up a new IP address or domain involves gradually increasing sending volume over time to establish a positive sender reputation with ISPs.
28 Sep 2021 - GMass Blog
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Salesforce email deliverability issues can stem from sending non-opt-in or purchased lists, Salesforce's poor abuse handling, and the problematic nature of shared IPs. Monitoring sender reputation, understanding bounce codes, and potentially transitioning to dedicated IPs or separate sending services are crucial for mitigating these issues.
Key opinions
- List Practices: Sending non-opt-in or purchased lists can severely harm Salesforce email deliverability.
- Abuse Handling: Salesforce's poor abuse handling allows spamming practices to persist, negatively impacting deliverability for all users on shared IPs.
- Shared IPs: Salesforce's shared IP infrastructure can lead to deliverability issues due to the sending practices of other users.
- Bounce Codes: Understanding bounce codes is essential for diagnosing why emails are blocked or refused.
Key considerations
- Opt-In Compliance: Ensure all email recipients have explicitly opted-in to receive communications.
- Reputation Monitoring: Actively monitor sender reputation to identify and address potential issues promptly.
- IP Isolation: Consider using dedicated IPs or separate sending services for critical transactional emails to avoid the impact of shared IP issues.
- Bounce Code Analysis: Carefully analyze bounce codes to identify the root cause of delivery failures and implement appropriate solutions.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource shares it is important to read and understand bounce codes to know why emails are blocked or refused by receiving mail servers. It is important to know if the issue is temporary (e.g., server overload) or permanent (e.g., invalid address, blocked IP).
14 Jul 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks shares a link about the CSA certification.
2 Dec 2021 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
Salesforce email deliverability is affected by sender reputation, proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content quality, and list hygiene. Implementing DMARC, monitoring sender reputation with tools like Google Postmaster Tools, and adhering to SPF specifications are essential. It's also important to monitor complaints, segment lists based on subscriber engagement, and ensure compliance with regulations.
Key findings
- Deliverability Factors: Sender reputation, authentication, content quality, and list hygiene are critical factors affecting Salesforce email deliverability.
- DMARC Implementation: Implementing DMARC helps prevent email spoofing and phishing, improving deliverability.
- Sender Reputation Monitoring: Google Postmaster Tools provides insights into sender reputation and deliverability metrics.
- SPF Configuration: SPF allows domain owners to specify authorized mail servers, verifying email legitimacy.
- Compliance: Configuring SPF/DKIM/DMARC, monitoring complaints, and segmenting lists are crucial for regulatory compliance and improved deliverability.
Key considerations
- Authentication Setup: Ensure proper configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
- Reputation Management: Monitor sender reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools and address any identified issues.
- Policy Enforcement: Start with a 'p=none' DMARC policy to monitor email flows before implementing stricter policies.
- List Segmentation: Segment lists based on subscriber engagement to improve deliverability.
- Complaint Monitoring: Carefully monitor complaints to identify and address any potential issues.
Technical article
Documentation from Google explains that Postmaster Tools provides insights into your sender reputation, spam rate, and other deliverability metrics. They recommend using these tools to identify and address any issues affecting your email delivery to Gmail users.
24 Jan 2025 - Google
Technical article
Documentation from Microsoft shares that it is crucial to configure SPF/DKIM/DMARC, carefully monitor complaints, and segment lists based on subscriber engagement to improve deliverability and comply with regulations.
20 Jan 2024 - Microsoft Documentation
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