How do I troubleshoot DMARC reject policies and improve email deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say21Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests sending DMARC reports (which are in XML) to a parser for readability, recommending online services or self-hosting with open-source tools.
Email marketer from MessageGears explains that to improve deliverability using DMARC, continuously monitor your DMARC reports and adapt your authentication strategy accordingly. This iterative process helps you identify and address any emerging authentication issues promptly.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests using p=quarantine and setting up a DMARC reporting address to start understanding DMARC reports, instead of the commonly recommended p=none.
Email marketer from Email Deliverability Forum shares that if experiencing DMARC reject problems, check if the 'From' domain in your emails matches the domain in your DKIM signature. Mismatched domains can cause DMARC failures even if SPF and DKIM pass individually.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that if GPT is reporting rejections due to DMARC policy, DMARC reports are the best place to investigate.
Marketer from Email Geeks mentions it's possible to delegate access to DMARC reports, but unlikely ESPs would monitor them unless they have an automated tool. Reporting email address presence on the DMARC record indicates active monitoring.
Email marketer from Reddit shares to fix a DMARC reject policy, you should first analyze the reports to find out why the emails are being rejected. It may be caused by an incorrect IP address in your SPF record, a DKIM key misconfiguration or unauthorised senders.
Email marketer from Postmark shares that correct DMARC implementation improves deliverability by building trust with ISPs. This trust is built by ensuring proper SPF and DKIM alignment, which confirms that the sender is authorized to send emails on behalf of the domain.
Marketer from Email Geeks points out a domain has an enforcing DMARC policy but no reporting enabled, and suggests changing the policy to p=none as a quick fix.
Marketer from Email Geeks clarifies that DMARC is controlled by the owner of the sending domain, who creates a DMARC record in DNS. ESPs should not be involved with DMARC setup.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains using subdomains in both 5321 and 5322 from addresses to ensure authentication is present and functional.
Email marketer from Mailjet advises that to improve email deliverability with DMARC, start with a 'p=none' policy to monitor your email streams without impacting delivery. Gradually move to 'p=quarantine' and then 'p=reject' as you gain confidence in your authentication setup.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares the DMARC record is a TXT Resource Record located at _dmarc.yourdomain.com.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends starting with p=none until authentication is consistently squared away, emphasizing that the primary benefit of DMARC is the reporting, making RUA critical.
Email marketer from SparkPost states that fixing DMARC errors involves ensuring all email sending sources are properly authenticated with SPF or DKIM. Review DMARC reports to identify unauthorized sources and update your authentication records accordingly.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that quarantine can offer protection by delivering failed DMARC emails to the spam folder, providing a layer of security while learning about email streams. This assumes authentication is already in place.
Email marketer from EmailonAcid explains that when troubleshooting DMARC reject policies, it's crucial to identify all legitimate email sources and ensure they are properly authenticated. Often, overlooked sources like forwarders or older email systems can cause failures.
Email marketer from ReturnPath shares implementing DMARC for email marketing deliverability, ensure your email sending practices adhere to best practices and standards so your valid emails are not being rejected. Ensure your email practices are sound.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises against using DMARC with an enforcing policy unless the sender has a specific need and the resources to manage it.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares parsers provide the email address to use in the RUA record, and then offer a dashboard to view the reports visually, so the sender simply adds the record with the tool's address.
Email marketer from Validity shares that DMARC can improve email deliverability by preventing spoofing and phishing attacks that damage sender reputation. By implementing DMARC, you are signaling to email providers that you take email security seriously, leading to better inbox placement.
What the experts say8Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks advises checking subdomains for conflicting records, as some ESPs set subdomain policies that conflict with the organizational domain DMARC policy.
Expert from Email Geeks asserts that DMARC itself does not affect reputation; it's a way to identify mail coming from the domain it claims to be from. Reputation is associated with authenticated identities.
Expert from Email Geeks advises RUA is how you know if your authentication is correct or if your brand is being targeted. The impacts on brand trust due to phishing could have impacts on your email program.
Expert from Email Geeks notes that if an ESP sets up DMARC without knowledge, they could create a blind spot by not enabling reports or overriding domain-wide reporting solutions.
Expert from Spam Resource, Hal Lindsey, explains that to troubleshoot DMARC reject policies, you must first ensure that your sending infrastructure is correctly configured to pass both SPF and DKIM checks. DMARC policies are enforced based on these authentications, and rejections indicate a failure in either SPF or DKIM validation.
Expert from Email Geeks shares DMARC policy should always start at 'none' and include a RUA (reporting URI for aggregate reports).
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, shares that improving deliverability with DMARC involves diligently monitoring your DMARC reports. These reports provide insights into which sending sources are failing authentication and allow you to take corrective actions, such as updating SPF records or DKIM configurations, to ensure proper alignment.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the benefit of quarantine over none is none in terms of report collection.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from MXToolbox explains that to effectively use DMARC, regularly review aggregate reports to identify authentication failures and potential spoofing attempts. Use this data to refine your SPF and DKIM configurations, and adjust your DMARC policy as needed.
Documentation from Dmarcian explains that fixing DMARC failures involves analyzing aggregate and forensic reports. Aggregate reports provide an overview of authentication results, while forensic reports (if enabled) offer detailed information about individual messages that failed authentication. Use this data to identify and address authentication issues.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that to improve deliverability with DMARC, ensure that your SPF records include all authorized sending sources for your domain, including third-party senders. Also, DKIM signatures must be valid and properly aligned with the From address.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains that to troubleshoot DMARC rejections, check DMARC reports to identify the source of the failures (e.g., unauthorized sending sources) and then correct the SPF or DKIM records for those sources.