Summary
To ensure better list compliance and deliverability, marketers should actively avoid several categories of email addresses and domains. Foremost among these are generic role-based accounts like info@, support@, or sales@, which often lack individual oversight, lead to low engagement, and can function as spam traps. Disposable email addresses from services like Mailinator also pose a significant risk, contributing to high bounce rates and indicating a lack of genuine interest. Furthermore, any address identified as a spam trap-whether recycled, pure, or found in purchased or old, unengaged lists-must be excluded due to the severe damage they inflict on sender reputation. Ongoing list hygiene, email validation, and careful monitoring of engagement metrics are crucial to maintaining a clean and compliant email list.
Key findings
- Role Accounts: Role-based email addresses such as info@, support@, and admin@ should be avoided as they often lead to low engagement, high complaint rates, and can act as spam traps, negatively impacting deliverability.
- Disposable Emails: Disposable email addresses (DEAs) from services like Mailinator or TempMail result in high bounce rates and indicate a lack of genuine interest, diminishing list quality.
- Spam Traps: Sending to old, unengaged addresses or those from purchased lists risks hitting spam traps, which can severely damage sender reputation and compliance.
- Hard Bounces & Malformed: Addresses that hard bounce or have malformed syntax indicate poor list quality and should be automatically removed or avoided to maintain deliverability.
- Specific Domains: Domains like ftc.gov are unsuitable for marketing lists, and suppressing '@spamhaus.org' is recommended to avoid issues.
Key considerations
- List Hygiene: Regular and continuous list hygiene is essential, including suppressing addresses that consistently bounce, show no engagement, or are identified as problematic.
- Email Validation: Utilize email validation tools to prevent sending to addresses with typos or incorrect syntax, which cause hard bounces.
- Avoid Purchased Lists: Never use purchased or scraped email lists, as these are primary sources for hidden spam traps and low-quality contacts.
- Monitor Engagement: Pay close attention to engagement metrics and complaints, using insights from tools like Google Postmaster to identify and remove addresses that negatively impact sender reputation.
- Catch-All Domains: Be cautious with catch-all domains; while they report as valid, they can mask unmonitored or inactive addresses that may lead to future bounce issues.
What email marketers say
12 marketer opinions
Maintaining a high-quality email list and strong deliverability involves diligently avoiding specific types of addresses and domains. Marketers should steer clear of role-based accounts such as info@ or support@, which frequently appear on lists but often result in low engagement and may serve as spam traps. Similarly, disposable email addresses, often from temporary mail services, should be suppressed due to their high bounce rates and lack of long-term value. Crucially, any addresses identified as spam traps, whether from old, unengaged segments or purchased lists, pose a severe threat to sender reputation and must be rigorously excluded. Continuous list hygiene, including validation and monitoring for consistent non-engagement or bounces, is vital for ensuring compliance and optimizing campaign performance.
Key opinions
- Role Accounts & Generic Addresses: Role-based email addresses, including info@, support@, and sales@, are frequently blocked or skipped by ESPs and can act as spam traps, harming deliverability and compliance.
- Disposable Emails: Addresses from temporary services like Mailinator or TempMail lead to high bounce rates and minimal engagement, degrading overall list quality.
- Spam Traps & Dormant Contacts: Sending to old, unengaged, or purchased list addresses often results in hitting spam traps, which severely damages sender reputation and deliverability.
- Specific Problematic Domains: Domains like ftc.gov are unsuitable for marketing, and suppressing '@spamhaus.org' from lists is recommended to avoid awkward moments and potential issues.
- Malformed Syntax: Emails with typos or incorrect formatting will result in hard bounces, negatively impacting list compliance and sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Continuous List Hygiene: Regularly remove addresses that consistently bounce, show no engagement, or are identified as spam traps to improve compliance and deliverability.
- Email Validation: Implement robust email validation processes to catch and eliminate addresses with malformed syntax, preventing hard bounces and protecting sender reputation.
- Avoid Purchased-Scraped Lists: Steer clear of purchased or scraped email lists entirely, as they are primary sources of hidden spam traps and low-quality contacts that damage sender reputation.
- Caution with Catch-All Domains: While reporting as valid, catch-all domains can hide unmonitored or inactive addresses, potentially leading to higher bounce rates if not carefully managed.
- Prioritize Corporate Domains-B2B: For B2B marketing, favoring corporate email domains over free ones can indicate a more professional contact and contribute to a higher quality list, though not strictly an avoidance.
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks advises avoiding role accounts such as info@, sales@, abuse@, postmaster@, support@, and webmaster@, as they frequently appear on lists and can lead to issues. He also suggests that domains like ftc.gov are not ideal to have on mailing lists.
8 Mar 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that many role accounts and temporary email domains are often automatically blocked or skipped by ESPs, showing as "Skipped" in live reports.
8 Oct 2023 - Email Geeks
What the experts say
4 expert opinions
Marketers aiming for strong list compliance and improved deliverability must diligently exclude specific types of email addresses from their lists. This primarily includes disposable email addresses, which are used for temporary sign-ups, indicate low user interest, and consistently lead to poor engagement and deliverability issues. Equally important is avoiding generic role accounts like info@, support@, or sales@, as these are often unmonitored, can trigger auto-replies, and may function as spam traps, all of which negatively impact sender reputation and campaign performance.
Key opinions
- Disposable Email Addresses: Designed for temporary use, these addresses indicate low genuine interest and result in poor engagement, ultimately harming list quality and deliverability.
- Role Accounts: Generic addresses such as sales@, info@, support@, and postmaster@ are rarely monitored by individuals and can lead to low engagement, bounces, or even act as spam traps, significantly damaging sender reputation.
Key considerations
- Prioritize Authentic Engagement: Focus on acquiring subscribers who provide personal, actively monitored email addresses to ensure genuine interest and sustained engagement.
- Implement Robust Validation: Utilize email validation services during signup to detect and block disposable email addresses and common role accounts before they enter your list.
- Monitor List Health Continuously: Regularly audit your list for low engagement, bounces, and suspicious addresses, promptly removing any that signal a lack of genuine interest or potential deliverability risks.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that marketers should avoid disposable email addresses (DEAs) because they are generally used for temporary sign-ups, lead to poor engagement, and indicate a lack of genuine interest, which ultimately harms list quality and deliverability.
23 Dec 2023 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource shares that marketers should generally avoid sending to role accounts (e.g., sales@, info@, abuse@) because these addresses are often not monitored by an individual, can generate auto-replies, and may be configured as spam traps, leading to poor engagement and deliverability issues.
26 Oct 2021 - Spam Resource
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Marketers seeking to elevate email deliverability and ensure robust list compliance need to be strategic about which addresses and domains they include, and crucially, which they exclude. It is vital to purge permanently undeliverable contacts, often referred to as hard bounces, from subscriber lists. Generic, role-based addresses, such as those beginning with admin@ or support@, also pose challenges, frequently leading to poor engagement and increased complaints. Furthermore, any address that consistently registers user complaints or high spam rates should be removed, while interaction with domains linked to impersonation or spoofing activities must be carefully avoided to maintain list integrity.
Key findings
- Hard Bounces: Permanently failed email addresses, or hard bounces, must be removed from lists as they signify invalid recipients and negatively impact sender reputation, as highlighted by Mailchimp's automatic removals.
- Role-Based Addresses: Addresses like admin@, noreply@, and support@ are problematic due to their low engagement and increased complaint potential, as advised by SendGrid, making them detrimental to deliverability.
- High Complaint Addresses: Email addresses that consistently result in user complaints or contribute to high spam rates, as indicated by tools like Google Postmaster, should be promptly identified and excluded to protect sender reputation.
- Spoofing-Related Domains: Marketers should be cautious of and avoid interacting with domains identified in anti-spoofing efforts, as these can signal problematic sources or targets that compromise list cleanliness and deliverability, as suggested by Microsoft's guidance.
Key considerations
- Continuous Bounce Management: Implement robust systems to automatically or manually remove hard-bounced email addresses, ensuring your list remains clean and your sender reputation is protected.
- Targeted Audience Selection: Prioritize individual, engaged subscribers over generic or shared role-based addresses to improve overall campaign performance and reduce complaint rates.
- Leverage Feedback Loops: Utilize insights from Postmaster Tools and other feedback loops to proactively identify and suppress email addresses that are prone to generating complaints.
- Domain Reputation Vigilance: Stay informed about domain reputation and security best practices, proactively avoiding any domains linked to fraudulent activities like impersonation or spoofing to safeguard your email program.
Technical article
Documentation from Mailchimp explains that their system automatically removes hard bounced email addresses from lists, signifying that these permanently failed addresses should be avoided by marketers to maintain list compliance and sender reputation.
7 Mar 2023 - Mailchimp Documentation
Technical article
Documentation from SendGrid advises marketers to avoid sending to role-based addresses such as admin@, noreply@, and support@, citing their propensity for lower engagement and higher complaint rates, which can impact deliverability.
26 May 2023 - SendGrid Documentation
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