How to improve email deliverability to Outlook.com and Microsoft email services?
Summary
What email marketers say7Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Mailjet suggests segmenting your email list based on engagement and sending more targeted content. High engagement signals to Outlook that your emails are valuable and desired, improving inbox placement.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid suggests using email preview tools to ensure your emails render correctly in Outlook. Poorly formatted emails can be flagged as spam, negatively impacting deliverability.
Email marketer from Litmus recommends designing emails with a balanced text-to-image ratio and avoiding spam trigger words in your subject lines and body. This helps prevent your emails from being filtered as spam by Outlook.com.
Email marketer from StackExchange warns that if you continue to send to addresses that bounce, Microsoft will block you. Ensure you remove any non-deliverable addresses and have processes to identify and remove them.
Email marketer from Sender recommends warming up your IP address gradually when starting a new email campaign. Slowly increase the volume of emails sent to Outlook.com to establish a positive sending history and avoid being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Reddit user /u/EmailPro suggests actively monitoring your bounce rates and identifying the reasons behind hard bounces. Addressing these issues quickly can prevent future deliverability problems with Outlook.com.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog advises consistently cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers. This reduces bounce rates and improves your sender reputation with Outlook.com, leading to better deliverability.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests a total rebuild of domain reputation. This involves taking a break from mailing, then starting with a small number of messages and gradually increasing the volume. They also recommend focusing on engaged users and capping the audience at 30 days of activity, then increasing to 60 and 90 days to find the right balance.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that Microsoft's spam filtering is complex, but reputation is key. They suggest paying close attention to complaint rates and engaging in proactive list hygiene, as Microsoft heavily weighs these factors.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that MS has the strictest filters. They suggest looking harder at how addresses are collected and what the permission status is. They share a client example of reducing MS sends to 1/3 for 3 months (only sending to engaged users) and then gradually adding back addresses.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Microsoft places a strong emphasis on permission practices. You should ensure you have explicit consent from subscribers before sending them emails and that your opt-in process is clear and transparent.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC-Editor outlines the DMARC protocol and explains that implementing a strict DMARC policy (p=reject or p=quarantine) can improve deliverability to Outlook.com by preventing email spoofing and phishing attacks that can damage your domain's reputation.
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that to improve deliverability to Outlook.com, ensure your sending IP and domain are authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Also monitor your sender reputation through SNDS and JMRP and address any user complaints promptly.
Documentation from SparkPost explains the importance of maintaining a clean IP address reputation. Avoid sending unsolicited emails, monitor blocklists, and promptly address any complaints to maintain a positive sending reputation with Outlook.com.
Documentation from Microsoft details the use of the Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) to monitor your IP reputation. Actively monitor your SNDS data as Microsoft uses this to assist with deliverability.