How to fix Hotmail/Outlook emails landing in spam even with proper authentication and opt-in?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks Facebook Group suggests enrolling in Microsoft's Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) and Junk Mail Reporting Program (JMRP) to monitor IP reputation and user complaints, which can help identify and address deliverability issues specific to Hotmail/Outlook.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that content is a significant factor in Outlook's spam filtering. Avoid spam trigger words, use a clean HTML code, and ensure a good text-to-HTML ratio. Test your emails using tools like Email on Acid or Litmus to preview how they render in Outlook and check for potential spam triggers.
Email marketer from Quora claims that Hotmail/Outlook users have a prominent 'Report as Junk' button, so it's especially important to ensure that your subscribers can easily unsubscribe and want to receive your emails. Focus on providing value and relevant content.
Email marketer from Postmark emphasizes that Microsoft prioritizes email from senders that recipients interact with. Encourage recipients to add your sending address to their address book and reply to your emails. Positive engagement helps build a good sender reputation.
Email marketer from GlockApps explains that Microsoft is very sensitive to complaint rates. High spam complaint rates directly impact inbox placement, so monitor your complaint rates closely and take action to improve the quality of your email list.
Email marketer from MailerLite shares the need to warm up new IPs gradually. Increase your sending volume slowly to build a positive reputation with Microsoft. If migrating to a new IP, follow a warm-up schedule to avoid being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Mailtrap suggests validating your email list regularly to remove invalid or inactive email addresses. Sending emails to invalid addresses can hurt your sender reputation. Use an email verification service to clean your list.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests checking your sender reputation using Microsoft's SNDS tool. Low reputation directly impacts inbox placement. Also focus on list hygiene and engagement.
Email marketer from SenderPulse states that to improve deliverability, check the health of your sending IP and domain. Low sender reputation can cause inboxing problems. Use tools like MultiRBL to check your IP and domain against multiple blacklists. Resolve any listing issues promptly.
Email marketer from StackOverflow shares that to fix Hotmail issues, make sure you aren't on any blacklists, set up feedback loops, check content for spam triggers, and segment your lists to send relevant content. Also, test with different content/subject lines using tools like Mail-tester.com
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise warns about list bombing and its negative impact on deliverability. A list bomb is when someone signs up an email address for hundreds of lists without the owner of the email address knowing. It explains how this can damage your sender reputation and cause filtering problems, especially with providers like Outlook.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains the importance of Feedback Loops (FBLs). Implementing and monitoring FBLs is crucial for identifying and addressing complaints from recipients, which directly impacts deliverability to providers like Hotmail/Outlook. If you aren't getting feedback loops from Microsoft, something is definitely wrong and you need to fix it.
Expert from Email Geeks shares his experience resolving deliverability issues with Hotmail/Outlook by contacting SNDS/JMRP support and providing detailed information about email collection and sending practices. He explains how this approach led to quick resolution, even when no specific problem was identified.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that carefully analyzing your email content can help avoid triggering spam filters and improve email delivery. They explain that there are many different email spam filters, but each one has a content analyzer. Review your email content and structure to increase your chance of inbox placement.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that high deliverability coupled with spam placement can be caused by links to domains with poor reputation, so check all links in the email.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Mailjet states that Microsoft's SmartScreen filter uses a combination of factors to determine email placement. Maintain a consistent sending volume, avoid URL shorteners, and ensure your unsubscribe process is easy to use.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that to improve deliverability to Outlook.com, ensure your sending IP isn't blocked, use the Junk Email Reporting Program (JMRP) to monitor user complaints, and implement Sender ID authentication.
Documentation from SparkPost answers that Microsoft uses strict filtering policies, ensure you have valid SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Also, keep complaint rates low and avoid sudden spikes in sending volume.