How to improve email delivery rates to corporates blocked by Symantec?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from GMass shares the concept of warming up IP addresses, especially new ones, by gradually increasing sending volume to build a positive reputation with ISPs. This helps avoid being flagged as a spammer.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor highlights the importance of permission-based email marketing. Only send emails to people who have explicitly opted in to receive them. This builds trust and reduces spam complaints.
Email marketer from SendPulse states that segmenting your email list and tailoring content to specific audience segments can improve engagement and reduce the likelihood of being marked as spam. Relevant content is less likely to be considered unwanted.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum recommends checking if your IP address or domain is on any blacklists. Being blacklisted can significantly impact deliverability. Use online tools to check and follow the procedures for delisting if necessary.
Email marketer from NeilPatel.com advises avoiding spam trigger words in your email subject lines and body. Words like "free," "urgent," and "guarantee" are often flagged by spam filters.
Email marketer from EmailGeek.com explains improving sender reputation is crucial, focusing on consistent sending volume, authenticating your email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and actively managing your subscriber list by removing inactive or unengaged users.
Email marketer from Litmus says testing emails before sending is vital. Use tools to check rendering across different email clients (like Outlook used by corporates) and to identify any potential issues that could trigger spam filters.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that corporate blocking is usually more IP based.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that corporate email policies are likely stricter. Ensure emails are professionally written, avoid excessive links or images, and provide a clear unsubscribe option. Suggests also reviewing recent corporate email policies from the recipient.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares importance of monitoring feedback loops. Feedback loops are a mechanism where ISPs forward complaints about your emails back to you, allowing you to remove those complainers from your list and prevent future deliverability issues.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that understanding the behavior of specific blocklists used by Symantec is crucial. Some blocklists are more sensitive than others, and knowing the criteria for listing and delisting can help you tailor your sending practices to avoid being blocked.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that business filters have cracked down on domains aggressively sending cold emails, blocking all company emails, not just spam. Sees less IP based blocking and more domain level blocking.
Expert from Word to the Wise (Laura Atkins) responds explaining that, while not always directly impacting Symantec's blocking, using valid HTML in your emails is important. Poorly coded emails can trigger spam filters and contribute to a negative sender reputation over time. It is about playing the long game.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Broadcom, (formally Symantec) explains exploring whitelisting options with Symantec. Corporates using Symantec products may have whitelisting procedures for trusted senders. Contacting them directly or researching their whitelisting process could improve delivery rates.
Documentation from RFC explains that DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying that the email was sent from an authorized server and that the content hasn't been altered during transit.
Documentation from Google outlines that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) helps email providers identify legitimate senders and block spoofed emails. Implementing DMARC involves publishing a DMARC record in your DNS settings and specifying how email providers should handle emails that fail authentication checks.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is a DNS record that lists the IP addresses authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Correctly configuring SPF helps prevent spammers from forging your email address.