How do I get help with a Spamhaus CSS delist?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests asking for an update within the ticket itself.
Email marketer from Mailjet recommends implementing a double opt-in process for your email lists to ensure that recipients have explicitly consented to receive your emails, reducing the likelihood of spam complaints that could lead to a listing.
Email marketer from GMass recommends carefully crafting your email content to avoid using spam trigger words and ensuring that your emails provide value to recipients. This reduces the likelihood of being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from an Email Marketing Forum suggests setting up feedback loops with major ISPs like Gmail, Yahoo, and Microsoft to receive reports on spam complaints. This allows you to identify and address issues promptly.
Email marketer from Email on Acid suggests monitoring your IP and domain reputation regularly using tools like Sender Score or ReputationAuthority, in addition to checking blacklists. This helps catch issues early and prevent listings.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that Daniel may want to re-submit the request, because the original ticket may have been accidentally removed during a clean up of tickets.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests to carefully review the email headers of any bounced messages you receive, as they often contain specific reasons for the listing and helpful information for resolving the issue before contacting Spamhaus.
Email marketer from DNS Records Toolbox explains to check your IP reputation using tools like those offered by MultiRBL or MXToolbox to see if you're listed on the CSS. If listed, identify the cause (spam complaints, compromised accounts) and remediate it before requesting delisting.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that before requesting a delisting, you should implement SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain to authenticate your emails. This helps prevent future listings and improves your overall email reputation.
Email marketer from Litmus says to investigate the logs of your email sending infrastructure to identify any unusual activity, such as spikes in email volume or suspicious sending patterns, which could indicate a compromise that led to the listing.
Email marketer from Sendgrid advises segmenting your email lists based on engagement and sending more targeted emails to active subscribers. This improves engagement metrics and reduces the risk of being flagged as spam.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from SpamResource explains that understanding the specific reason for the Spamhaus listing (CSS, SBL, etc.) is the first step. Identify what triggered the listing, whether it's spam complaints, compromised accounts, or other policy violations.
Expert from Word to the Wise mentions that being listed on Spamhaus ZEN means your IP or domain is listed on one or more of Spamhaus's individual blocklists. It advises checking each Spamhaus list individually, like the CSS, PBL, and SBL, to understand the specific reasons for the listing and then follow their respective delisting processes.
Expert from SpamResource shares that when requesting delisting, be honest and transparent. Explain what steps you've taken to resolve the issue and prevent it from happening again. Providing detailed information increases your chances of a successful delisting.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Spamhaus.org explains that to request a delisting from the CSS, you should check your outbound mail queues for spam, confirm open relays are closed, and ensure compromised accounts are secured. Then, use the Spamhaus Blocklist Removal Center to request removal.
Documentation from AWS states to regularly review and clean your email lists to remove inactive or unengaged subscribers. This helps maintain a healthy sender reputation and reduces the chances of being listed on blacklists.
Documentation from MXToolbox states to use their blacklist check tool to confirm listing on the Spamhaus CSS. It advises ensuring that the root cause of the spamming has been identified, closed off and measures taken to make sure it won't happen again.
Documentation from Microsoft shares steps to troubleshoot email delivery issues which include checking if your IP address or domain is listed on blocklists like Spamhaus CSS. The recommendation is to identify the cause of listing, fix the problem (e.g., compromised accounts sending spam), and then follow Spamhaus's delisting procedure.