How can I remove my IP from the Microsoft block list when using Digital Ocean for sending emails and what are the alternative ways to validate emails?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Stackoverflow shares that for bulk email validation, consider using a service that offers batch processing to validate multiple email addresses simultaneously. This can save time and resources compared to validating each address individually.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that asking Microsoft or any other MBP to unblock your IPs so you can do mailbox validation via SMTP will just get you more in trouble and MBPs will like you even less…
Email marketer from Email Marketing Tips Blog suggests researching and comparing different email verification services to find one that fits your budget and needs. Look for features like real-time validation, bulk validation, and integration with your email marketing platform.
Email marketer from Email Vendor Comparison Site shares to consistently monitor your sender reputation through tools like Sender Score. Identifying and addressing any negative reputation issues promptly can prevent IP blocking.
Email marketer from DigitalOcean Community shares that using a dedicated IP address for email sending can help maintain a good reputation. Also, properly configuring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is crucial to authenticate your emails and prevent them from being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Digital Marketer Forum shares that implementing a double opt-in process for new subscribers ensures that only valid and interested users are added to your email list, reducing the risk of sending to spam traps and improving overall engagement.
Email marketer from Quora suggests regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers and potential spam traps. Engaging with your subscribers and asking them to confirm their subscription can help keep your list clean.
Email marketer from Email Deliverability Blog emphasizes the importance of monitoring your bounce rates and promptly removing invalid email addresses from your list. High bounce rates can negatively impact your sender reputation and lead to IP blocking.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests using a reputable third-party email service like SendGrid or Mailgun to handle email sending, as they manage IP reputation and deliverability on your behalf. This avoids the issues associated with Digital Ocean's IPs.
Email marketer from Small Business Forum suggests segmenting your email list based on subscriber engagement and sending targeted content to each segment. This can improve engagement rates and reduce the likelihood of being marked as spam.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise suggests monitoring your IP and domain reputation using various tools and services. Identify any negative trends or issues that could contribute to blocklisting or filtering. Also establish feedback loops with ISPs to address issues proactively.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that some email validation APIs use botnets, spammer tactics, or buy data from ESPs and that most of the industry is problematic at best.
Expert from Email Geeks explains if the block is wider than just your IPs, Digital Ocean needs to fix it. SWIPing your IP range to you might help with unblocking but if not, Microsoft is unlikely to do anything.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that validating email addresses using SMTP testing, even though fraught with issues, has benefits and is a better validator than regexes.
Expert from Spamresource.com explains the importance of understanding why you were blocklisted in the first place. Correct the underlying issues that led to the blocklisting to prevent recurrence, such as spam complaints, high bounce rates, or sending to spam traps.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Digital Ocean customers send a lot of spam and looking like one can cause delivery issues.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that following their bulk sender guidelines can help improve your email deliverability and avoid being marked as spam. This includes authenticating your emails, maintaining a low spam complaint rate, and providing an easy unsubscribe option.
Documentation from Amazon SES explains that they automatically manage IP reputation and provide tools to monitor your sending metrics. If you encounter any deliverability issues, they offer resources and support to help you resolve them.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that warming up your IP address gradually by slowly increasing the volume of emails you send helps establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs. Avoid sending large volumes of emails from a new IP address suddenly.
Documentation from Mailgun explains that their Email Validation API helps to verify if an email address exists and is deliverable, reducing bounce rates and improving sender reputation. It checks for syntax errors, disposable email addresses, and MX record validity.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that to remove your IP from the blocked senders list, you must use the delisting portal. You must first ensure that you have resolved the issue that caused the block and follow the instructions on the delisting portal page.