How does using only BCC recipients affect email deliverability?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks questions the use case for large BCCs, suggesting it's a spammer trick that can impact deliverability.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that relying solely on BCC can hurt deliverability. ISPs watch for patterns like this, and it makes it difficult to personalize messages or track engagement properly, making it easier for your emails to land in the spam folder.
Email marketer from StackExchange shares that sending to only BCC increases risk of being flagged as spam. The user then recommends avoiding sending in this manner and using mailing list functionality or proper marketing software.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum explains that using BCC alone is a red flag for spam filters. ForumFan advises always including a recipient in the 'To' field, even if it's your own address, or using an email marketing service.
Email marketer from Email on Acid advises against using only BCC, emphasizing that it can negatively impact deliverability due to the perception as a spam tactic. They suggest using a reputable email service provider (ESP) and following best practices for list management and segmentation.
Email marketer from Sendinblue discusses that while BCC hides recipients from each other, it can signal to ISPs that the sender is not following best practices, potentially leading to deliverability issues. It's better to use dedicated email marketing platforms for bulk sending.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that if you're only using BCC, a lot of spam filters will mark it as spam. You should use a proper email marketing platform to send to many people as they handle authentication and other things that stop you getting flagged.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor outlines that using BCC can damage your sender reputation. ISPs may flag emails sent only to BCC recipients as spam, as it's a common tactic used by spammers. Personalized email marketing services are recommended for better deliverability.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that using BCC only can negatively impact deliverability because it can be perceived as a spam tactic, especially if you're sending to a large number of recipients. It lacks personalization and makes it harder to manage unsubscribes, thus harming sender reputation.
Email marketer from Quora explains that BCC'ing alone looks unprofessional and can get your email marked as spam because it’s a common tactic used by spammers to hide recipients.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that not having the recipient's email address in the To: field looks spammy and like a DKIM replay attack, potentially leading to harsher treatment by consumer mailbox providers.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that when you only use the BCC field, it can raise red flags with spam filters because it's a common tactic used by spammers to hide recipients. This can negatively affect your sender reputation and lead to deliverability issues.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that having no To: field at all is bad and putting your own email address or “undisclosed recipients;” there is better.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that using only BCC is a bad idea. Laura Atkins says If you are sending a mailing to a list of recipients you should be using a mailing list program that knows how to send individual emails to each recipient. The big problem with using a mail client for list mailings is that you are not likely to be using any of the modern email authentication technologies.
Expert from Email Geeks says that it may prevent mail from reaching its destination. Some configurations require the address to be in the To or CC field for delivery, which is sometimes used to combat spam.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost warns against sending solely to BCC recipients as it can damage your sender reputation. It is a signal to ISPs that you may not have permission to email those addresses, and could indicate list buying or scraping. This can lead to deliverability issues and blacklisting.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that practices like sending emails to a large list of BCC recipients can trigger spam filters. Microsoft recommends using personalized emails and avoiding practices that are common among spammers to maintain good deliverability.
Documentation from RFC Editor specifies that while the 'Bcc' field itself doesn't directly impact email processing, its misuse (sending to only BCC recipients) can lead to deliverability issues because it deviates from typical email usage patterns which anti-spam systems may penalize.
Documentation from Google explains that sending bulk emails to only BCC recipients is discouraged. Google recommends using Google Groups or a dedicated email marketing service for sending bulk emails to avoid deliverability problems and potential spam flagging.