Are COVID-19 related emails causing deliverability issues?

Email marketer from Litmus shares that COVID-19 has led to increased email volume and the need for brands to communicate with empathy and relevance. While not directly causing deliverability issues, the need for careful segmentation and messaging is highlighted to avoid negative impacts.

Email marketer from Validity explains that while they didn't see a widespread blanket block on COVID-19 related emails, they emphasized the importance of maintaining good list hygiene and relevance, as increased email volume and changed customer behavior could impact deliverability.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow responds that deliverability issues related to COVID-19 messaging were more about increased email volume and poor list management practices than the topic itself. Maintaining a clean list and following authentication best practices are crucial.

Email marketer from Gmass shares how they saw certain ESPs placing an increased scrutiny on all emails during the start of the pandemic in 2020 - and so any poorly crafted emails were more likely to be penalised.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that they observed a surge in email volumes and a slight decrease in engagement rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. They noted that some industries experienced deliverability challenges due to sudden changes in sending patterns and content.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that COVID-19 related emails initially had higher open rates but quickly led to subscriber fatigue. Sending relevant and valuable content is key to avoiding deliverability issues regardless of the topic.

Email marketer from EmailGeeks shares in the forum that sending too many emails, even with relevant COVID-19 updates, can negatively impact deliverability. Segmenting audiences and tailoring messages are important to prevent subscribers from marking emails as spam.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that while legitimate COVID-19 related emails may not directly cause deliverability problems, there's a surge in phishing and scam emails exploiting the pandemic which may damage the overall reputation of emails surrounding that topic.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that ML filters don’t work on single pieces of information, so even if there’s a trend of COVID-19 emails being spam, there’s also a high volume of legitimate COVID-19 emails so it doesn’t work. Also the filter must apply 'non-spam doesn't' test

Expert from Word to the Wise responds that while some filters may be more sensitive to COVID-19 related keywords, the primary cause of deliverability issues is more likely due to changes in sending volume, poor list hygiene, and failing to authenticate your email.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that marking an irrelevant email as spam considers the domain, source IP, authentication, message stream, and from address, not just the presence of 'COVID-19'.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that blocking based on a single word/phrase like COVID-19 is too broad, because there is as much legitimate COVID-19 email as there is spam. Most providers also reject for non-existent email addresses before content is seen.

Expert from Email Geeks shares she isn't seeing evidence that clients mailing about COVID-19 are being blocked. However, companies reactivating old addresses are experiencing issues, which is not related to COVID-19 content.

Documentation from Microsoft shares that content filters might flag emails containing specific keywords related to current events, including COVID-19. Senders should ensure emails are properly authenticated and targeted to engaged recipients.

Documentation from RFC explains the need for accurately formatted emails, it explains that emails that are crafted correctly and are well authenticated will not be penalised based on content alone.

Documentation from Gmail Help explains that sudden changes in sending patterns, including content related to trending topics like COVID-19, can trigger spam filters. It is important to maintain a consistent sending volume and positive sender reputation.