How can I improve email deliverability with Microsoft and avoid spam filters?

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests opening a ticket with Microsoft for "preemptive accommodation" when starting a warmup, requesting adjustments to their filtering.

Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that improving sender reputation is key by consistently sending valuable content that recipients engage with. They advise cleaning email lists regularly to remove inactive subscribers and using double opt-in to ensure only genuinely interested users are added.

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that to land emails in the inbox, you need to focus on building a clean email list, authenticating your emails, avoiding spam trigger words, and engaging your subscribers. They recommend segmenting your audience to send more targeted emails and using A/B testing to optimize your campaigns.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares a mantra for dealing with Microsoft deliverability issues and suggests persistent ticket filing for good senders.

Email marketer from EmailGeek Forum explains the importance of monitoring engagement metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and conversion rates to gauge subscriber interest and identify areas for improvement. Low engagement indicates that your content might not be resonating with your audience, which can negatively impact deliverability.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that updating the SPF record to be properly aligned after reviewing Microsoft's deliverability guide led to immediate improvement in open rates.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that to deal with Microsoft filtering, focus on warming up your IP address gradually, monitoring your sender reputation in Microsoft's SNDS (Smart Network Data Services), and addressing any feedback loop (FBL) complaints promptly. They suggest reaching out to Microsoft's support team if deliverability issues persist.

Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that it's important to ensure SPF, DKIM and DMARC are correctly configured. He suggests checking the syntax and using online validators to ensure they are setup correctly, also checking your domain isn't listed on any blacklists.

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests being persistent on tickets with Microsoft, even if they provide canned responses, to eventually get adjustments made.

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that several factors influence email deliverability, including authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), sender reputation, content quality, and engagement metrics. They emphasize the importance of monitoring bounce rates, spam complaints, and unsubscribe rates to identify and address issues promptly.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that maintaining a clean email list is critical for email deliverability. This includes removing invalid email addresses, unsubscribed users, and those who haven't engaged with your emails in a while. Regularly cleaning your list helps reduce bounce rates and spam complaints, which can negatively impact your sender reputation with Microsoft.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Engagement is a crucial factor. Encouraging recipients to engage with your emails by clicking links, replying, or marking them as 'not spam' helps build a positive reputation with Microsoft. Monitor your engagement metrics and adjust your content and sending frequency accordingly to maximize recipient interaction.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that a key factor in deliverability is sender reputation. Microsoft, like other ISPs, uses sender reputation to determine whether to accept, reject, or filter incoming email. Building a good sender reputation takes time and effort, and requires consistent sending practices, proper authentication, and minimal spam complaints.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that when starting to send emails from a new IP address or domain, it's important to gradually increase your sending volume over time, known as a warmup process. This helps establish a positive sender reputation with Microsoft and prevents your emails from being flagged as spam.

Documentation from Microsoft outlines Outlook.com's policies and practices for senders, including authentication requirements, spam filtering criteria, and best practices for maintaining a positive sender reputation. They detail the importance of adhering to these guidelines to ensure emails are delivered to the inbox and not marked as spam.

Documentation from RFC explains that Sender Policy Framework (SPF) allows you to specify the mail servers that are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Creating an SPF record can prevent spammers from forging your email address and improve email deliverability. It's set up as a DNS TXT record.

Documentation from Google shares that its bulk sender guidelines include authenticating your email using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC; maintaining low spam rates; and providing easy unsubscribe options. Adhering to these guidelines can help improve your sender reputation and increase the likelihood of your emails reaching the inbox. Although focused on Gmail, many principles are universal.

Documentation from DMARC.org details that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds upon SPF and DKIM to provide a policy for handling emails that fail authentication checks. Implementing DMARC helps protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks, and improves email deliverability.

Documentation from SparkPost details that managing your bounce rate is vital for email deliverability. High bounce rates can damage your sender reputation and lead to filtering issues. They advise regularly cleaning your email lists to remove invalid or inactive addresses and implementing mechanisms to prevent invalid addresses from being added to your list.