Summary
Email deliverability for affiliates drops due to a complex interplay of factors, including new spam filters targeting affiliate mail, a lack of transparency and control over affiliate sending practices, non-compliance with best practices and anti-spam laws, poor list maintenance, and damaged sender reputation. Some providers even block IP ranges commonly used by affiliates. Proper domain reputation monitoring, implementing strict guidelines for affiliates, ensuring proper opt-in processes, and adhering to technical standards are crucial for mitigating these issues.
Key findings
- Targeted Filters: New spam filters are selectively blocking affiliate mail.
- Lack of Control: Lack of transparency and control over affiliate sending practices.
- Poor Compliance: Non-compliance with best practices and anti-spam laws.
- List Maintenance: Poor list hygiene, including sending to unengaged or outdated lists.
- Damaged Reputation: Damage to sender reputation due to spam complaints and blacklisting.
- IP Blocking: Some mail providers block IP ranges commonly used by affiliates.
- SMTP Errors: SMTP errors contribute to delivery failures.
- Yahoo Issues: Many reports of Yahoo deliverability issues suggesting that senders who stopped spamming, found alternative solutions, or stopped sending to Yahoo all saw improvements.
- Affiliate Impacts: Affiliate marketing has experienced deliverability impacts in August-September and January-February, due to recipients not knowing who gave permission for emails from companies B, C, and D.
Key considerations
- Domain Reputation: Monitor domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools.
- Affiliate Guidelines: Implement strict guidelines for affiliate sending practices.
- Opt-in Processes: Ensure affiliates use proper opt-in processes (e.g., double opt-in).
- Technical Standards: Adhere to SMTP standards to minimize delivery failures.
- Transparency: Be more transparent with the recipients so that they understand they gave permission to be emailed.
- Managing Relationships: Manage affiliate relationships through feedback loops to catch spammers and remove them
What email marketers say
11 marketer opinions
Email deliverability for affiliates often drops due to a combination of factors. These include poor list maintenance, non-compliant sending practices, lack of control over affiliate activities, and a resulting damaged sender reputation. Some mail providers even block IP ranges associated with affiliates due to historical spam issues. Implementing best practices like double opt-in, email authentication, list segmentation, and close monitoring of affiliate activities can help mitigate these issues.
Key opinions
- List Quality: Affiliate marketing often involves sending to lists that aren't properly maintained, leading to decreased deliverability.
- Non-Compliant Practices: Affiliates may not follow opt-in processes correctly, sending to unengaged contacts and hurting reputation.
- Lack of Control: Sending through affiliates results in a lack of control over sending practices, impacting sender reputation.
- Reputation Damage: Poor affiliate sending practices can damage sender reputation due to spam complaints and blacklisting.
- Provider Blocking: Some mail providers block IP ranges commonly used by affiliates due to historical spamming issues.
- Yahoo Issues: Reports of Yahoo deliverability issues suggest that senders who stopped spamming, found alternative solutions, or stopped sending to Yahoo all saw improvements.
- Affiliate Impacts: Affiliate marketing has experienced deliverability impacts in August-September and January-February, due to recipients not knowing who gave permission for emails from companies B, C, and D.
Key considerations
- List Hygiene: Maintain a clean email list by regularly removing unengaged subscribers.
- Opt-in Processes: Ensure affiliates use proper opt-in processes to gain explicit consent from subscribers.
- Affiliate Oversight: Monitor affiliate sending practices and set clear guidelines to prevent deliverability issues.
- Authentication: Implement email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve sender reputation.
- Double Opt-in: Use double opt-in to confirm subscribers' consent and improve list quality.
- Transparency: Give the recipients transparency in who gave permission for them to be emailed.
Marketer view
Email marketer from Sendinblue responds that deliverability can drop for affiliates due to non-compliant practices. This can include sending to unengaged contacts or not following opt-in processes correctly. Affiliates are sending to a third party list and the trust is not the same as a direct relationship.
2 Feb 2022 - Sendinblue
Marketer view
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that managing the affiliate programs is really important for deliverability. Monitoring their sending practices, setting clear guidelines, and taking action against those who violate them are extremely important to ensure good deliverability.
9 Apr 2022 - Email on Acid
What the experts say
3 expert opinions
Email deliverability for affiliates can drop due to several reasons, including new and effective spam filters targeting affiliate mail, lack of transparency and control over affiliate sending practices, and difficulties in ensuring all affiliates comply with best practices. These factors lead to issues like sending to outdated lists, deceptive practices, non-compliance with anti-spam laws, and overall damage to sender reputation.
Key opinions
- Effective Filters: New spam filters are selectively blocking affiliate mail that was previously difficult to block.
- Lack of Transparency: A lack of transparency and control over affiliate sending practices contributes to deliverability drops.
- Compliance Issues: Difficulties in ensuring all affiliates comply with best practices can damage the overall brand reputation and deliverability.
Key considerations
- Monitor Affiliates: Implement robust monitoring of affiliate sending practices to ensure compliance.
- Transparency: Promote transparency in affiliate relationships to maintain better control and oversight.
- Compliance: Enforce strict compliance with best practices and anti-spam laws among all affiliates.
- Reputation Management: Be aware that a few bad affiliates can cause deliverability problems.
Expert view
Expert from Spam Resource explains that one of the main reasons for deliverability drops in affiliate marketing is often due to a lack of transparency and control over the sending practices of affiliates. This can lead to issues such as sending to outdated or unengaged lists, using deceptive subject lines, or failing to comply with anti-spam laws, all of which can negatively impact sender reputation and deliverability.
11 Jan 2022 - Spam Resource
Expert view
Expert from Email Geeks suspects that some of the deliverability issues might be related to a new, effective filter that selectively blocks mail, likely affiliate mail, that was previously difficult to block.
8 Sep 2024 - Email Geeks
What the documentation says
4 technical articles
Email deliverability drops for affiliates due to factors related to sender reputation and adherence to technical standards. Monitoring domain reputation is crucial, as a sudden drop can significantly impact inbox placement. Low sender reputation, as highlighted by Microsoft, is a key issue. Additionally, SMTP errors, rooted in technical standards, contribute to delivery failures. To mitigate these issues, establishing strict guidelines for affiliate sending practices, including double opt-in and maintaining clean lists, is essential.
Key findings
- Reputation Monitoring: Monitoring domain reputation is crucial for deliverability; a drop can impact inbox placement.
- Low Reputation: Low sender reputation causes deliverability issues.
- SMTP Errors: SMTP errors, related to technical standards, are a common reason for email delivery failure.
- Lack of Guidelines: Lack of strict guidelines for affiliate sending practices can cause deliverability problems.
Key considerations
- Track Reputation: Use tools like Google Postmaster Tools to track domain reputation and identify potential issues.
- Improve Reputation: Take steps to improve sender reputation, following Microsoft's recommendations.
- Adhere to Standards: Ensure adherence to SMTP standards to minimize delivery failures.
- Enforce Guidelines: Establish and enforce strict guidelines for affiliate sending practices, including double opt-in and clean lists.
Technical article
Documentation from SparkPost states that one of the best ways to prevent deliverability issues when working with affiliates is to establish strict guidelines for sending practices. This includes mandating the use of double opt-in, setting clear rules about content and frequency, and requiring affiliates to maintain clean lists.
20 Dec 2022 - SparkPost
Technical article
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares that monitoring your domain reputation is crucial for deliverability. A sudden drop in reputation can significantly impact inbox placement. Use Google Postmaster Tools to track your domain's reputation and identify potential issues.
3 Jul 2023 - Google
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