Summary
When active customer emails are suppressed in transactional email tools like SES, a multi-faceted approach is crucial. First, investigate the cause of suppression (bounces, complaints, etc.) and handle each appropriately. Automated systems should remove suppressed addresses to protect sender reputation, with continuous monitoring of bounce and complaint rates using tools like Amazon CloudWatch. Prioritize email list hygiene through segmentation, removal of inactive subscribers, and avoiding purchased lists. Ensure emails are truly transactional, providing value and relevance. Implement double opt-in, warm up IPs, and authenticate the domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Communicate with affected users and provide options for them to manage their subscriptions.
Key findings
- Root Cause is Key: Identifying and addressing the cause of suppression is paramount (bounces, complaints, spam traps, etc.).
- List Hygiene Matters: Maintaining a clean and engaged email list is essential for good deliverability.
- Transactional Focus: Ensuring emails are truly transactional and valuable reduces complaints.
- Authentication Protects Reputation: Email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) builds trust with ISPs.
- Monitoring is Proactive: Constant monitoring of key metrics (bounces, complaints) allows for quick responses to deliverability issues.
- Automated Removal: Automated process to remove/unsubscribe users prevents continually sending to bad emails.
Key considerations
- Complaint Sensitivity: Handle complaints delicately, potentially requiring explicit re-opt-in.
- Transparency with Users: Consider proactive communication about delivery issues and provide self-service options.
- ESP-Specific Behaviors: Recognize that ESPs may have different suppression practices that require tailored approaches.
- Segmentation: Segmenting transactional emails leads to more relevant content which can reduce the chance of the user triggering a suppression event.
- Warm Up: When starting out, warm up the IP with a gradual send schedule to prime deliverability with the ISPs.
What email marketers say
13 marketer opinions
When active customer emails are suppressed in transactional email tools like Amazon SES, it's crucial to take several steps to address the problem and prevent future occurrences. The primary focus should be on understanding the reason for the suppression, whether it's due to bounces, spam complaints, or other factors. Implement a system to automatically remove suppressed addresses from your sending list to protect your sender reputation. Improve email list hygiene by segmenting your list, removing inactive subscribers, and avoiding purchased lists. Ensure that your emails are truly transactional, providing value and relevance to recipients. Authenticate your email domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to verify that you are an authorized sender. Consider implementing a double opt-in process for new subscribers and warming up your IP address when starting with transactional emails. Finally, monitor your bounce and complaint rates, and proactively address any issues that arise.
Key opinions
- Reason for Suppression: Understanding the underlying cause of suppression (bounces, complaints, etc.) is critical for effective remediation.
- List Hygiene: Maintaining a clean email list by removing inactive subscribers and avoiding purchased lists is essential for improving deliverability.
- Email Content: Ensuring that emails are truly transactional and providing value to recipients helps reduce spam complaints.
- Authentication: Authenticating your email domain using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC improves sender reputation and reduces the likelihood of suppression.
- Proactive Monitoring: Monitoring bounce and complaint rates allows you to identify and address deliverability issues before they escalate.
Key considerations
- Manual Removal vs. Automation: While manually removing active emails from the suppression list may seem like a quick fix, it's important to understand the criteria that caused them to be listed and implement automated processes to prevent recurrence.
- Complaint Thresholds: Be mindful of complaint thresholds and address any underlying issues that may be contributing to high complaint rates.
- Transactional Nature: Carefully evaluate whether your emails are truly transactional and avoid including marketing content that may trigger spam complaints.
- Alternative Communication: Consider reaching out to affected customers through alternative channels (e.g., phone) to understand why they are not receiving emails and address any concerns they may have.
- Warm-up Period: When starting with transactional emails, gradually warm up your IP address and domain to establish a positive sender reputation.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Customer.io recommends segmenting transactional emails based on user behavior and engagement. This allows you to tailor messages to specific user needs, reducing the likelihood of complaints and improving deliverability. Send targeted and relevant emails to avoid suppression issues.
15 Jan 2022 - Customer.io
Marketer view
Email marketer from Gmass shares warming up your IP address and domain is helpful when starting with transactional emails. This demonstrates to ISPs that you are a legitimate sender, reducing the likelihood of emails being suppressed. Gradually increase sending volume over time.
2 Jun 2022 - GMass
What the experts say
5 expert opinions
When active customer emails are suppressed in transactional email tools like SES, experts recommend a cautious and multifaceted approach. Prioritize understanding the reason for the suppression (complaints, bounces, etc.) before taking action. For complaints, explicit re-opt-in might be necessary. Implement automated systems to remove suppressed addresses and monitor bounce/complaint rates. Proactively build and maintain a strong sender reputation by cleaning your email list, authenticating your emails, and providing valuable content. Communicate delivery issues to users directly, potentially through in-app notifications or physical mail, and empower them to update their email or request suppression removal. Re-enable suppressed users carefully.
Key opinions
- Root Cause Analysis: Determining the reasons behind the email suppression is the first and most critical step.
- Sender Reputation is Key: Maintaining a positive sender reputation is crucial for preventing deliverability issues.
- Careful Re-engagement: Re-engaging suppressed users, especially those who complained, requires explicit consent and a careful approach.
- User Communication: Open communication with users about delivery issues can help resolve problems and maintain trust.
- Automation and Monitoring: Automated systems for suppression handling and continuous monitoring of key metrics are essential.
Key considerations
- Complaint Handling: Handle complaints with utmost care, requiring explicit opt-in before re-enabling suppressed users.
- Communication Channel: Choose the appropriate channel for communicating delivery issues to users, considering factors like urgency and sensitivity (in-app notifications, physical mail, etc.).
- Data Privacy: Be mindful of data privacy regulations when handling suppressed email addresses and obtaining consent for re-engagement.
- ESP Limitations: Be aware that some ESPs have problematic suppression practices and may require extra vigilance.
- Bounce vs. Complaint Suppression: Treat suppressions due to bounces differently from those due to complaints, as the underlying reasons and required actions differ.
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks advises being wary of removing someone suppressed due to complaints without careful consideration and potentially requiring explicit opt-in. Also, it is important to note that SES suppresses addresses to avoid future mailing problems, separate from recipient mail filtering. Bounces are less concerning; transient bounces can be unsuppressed, but permanent bounces will re-suppress. Sending a sudden spike of mail to recipients who haven't received it may cause delivery issues.
8 Sep 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that some ESPs suppressions can be problematic and that re-enabling folks should be done carefully. Maybe even sending out letters to folks or having them confirm their address in the office.
9 Apr 2022 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
5 technical articles
When active customer emails are suppressed in transactional email tools like SES, documentation emphasizes the importance of understanding the reason for the suppression by analyzing bounce and complaint feedback. A system should be implemented to automatically unsubscribe or remove users who bounce, complain, or are otherwise suppressed. Different types of suppression (bounce, block, spam report) require different handling approaches. Setting up feedback loops with ISPs and using tools like Amazon CloudWatch to monitor bounce and complaint rates are critical for proactive detection and resolution of deliverability issues. Mechanisms should be in place to prevent future bounces and complaints, such as improving email content and targeting.
Key findings
- Root Cause Identification: Analyzing bounce and complaint feedback is crucial to identify the root cause of suppression.
- Automated Unsubscription: Implementing a system to automatically unsubscribe users who bounce or complain is vital for preventing further issues.
- Suppression Type Differentiation: Different types of suppression require different handling approaches.
- Feedback Loops: Setting up feedback loops with ISPs allows for real-time information about complaints.
- Proactive Monitoring: Monitoring bounce and complaint rates allows for proactive detection and resolution of deliverability issues.
Key considerations
- Feedback Loop Setup: Setting up and actively managing feedback loops with major ISPs can be complex but is essential for staying informed about deliverability issues.
- Data Analysis: Analyzing bounce and complaint data requires expertise and appropriate tools to identify patterns and trends.
- Automation Configuration: Setting up automated unsubscription processes requires careful configuration to avoid unintentionally unsubscribing valid users.
- Integration with CloudWatch: Effectively using Amazon CloudWatch for monitoring requires integration with your email sending infrastructure and setting appropriate alarms and thresholds.
- Compliance: Automated process for bounces and complaints must remain compliant with email regulatory bodies.
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost explains setting up feedback loops with major ISPs to receive real-time information about complaints. Use this data to automatically remove users who mark your messages as spam. Regularly monitor feedback loops to identify and address deliverability issues.
29 May 2023 - SparkPost
Technical article
Documentation from Mailjet explains that you should set up a system to automatically unsubscribe users who bounce or complain. This prevents further attempts to send to those addresses, avoiding suppression issues. Regularly monitor your bounce and unsubscribe rates to identify any problems.
14 May 2024 - Mailjet
Can 'invalid recipient' bounce messages be false positives and what should I do about it?
How are email bounce rates calculated and what is considered a good bounce rate?
How can I prevent fake email addresses from being added at checkout and causing hard bounces?
How can I resolve Microsoft Outlook S3140 errors blocking my transactional emails?
What are common email bounce messages and what do they mean?
What steps can I take to troubleshoot and resolve exceptionally low email open rates during BFCM?
