How to manage SFMC email delivery issues in Yahoo with delays and no bounces?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Provider Community recommends warming up new IPs or domains by gradually increasing sending volume over time. Warming up allows you to build a positive reputation with ISPs and mailbox providers like Yahoo.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests checking your IP reputation using online tools. They advise that a poor IP reputation can cause significant delivery delays, especially with larger providers like Yahoo. If your IP has been blacklisted, remediation steps may be necessary.
Email marketer from StackExchange notes that sudden volume spikes can trigger filters and result in delays. Gradually increase sending volume and monitor deliverability metrics to avoid overwhelming receiving servers and damaging your sender reputation.
Email marketer from StackOverflow suggests ensuring that your SMTP settings in SFMC are correctly configured for Yahoo. Verify the SMTP server address, port number, and authentication method. Incorrect settings can cause connection issues and delivery delays.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that Yahoo either accepts the email (and then they are in the inbox or the spam folder) or reject the connection temporarily or permanently. He says if the mail is not the in the inbox or spam folder, it would have been rejected and you need to look at the actual SMTP messages and logs.
Email marketer from LinkedIn recommends writing compelling email preview text to encourage engagement. Good preview text can increase open rates, signaling to mailbox providers like Yahoo that subscribers find your emails valuable, thus improving deliverability.
Email marketer from Quora emphasizes the importance of high-quality content that resonates with your audience. Avoid spam triggers, ensure emails are well-formatted, and test emails across different devices and email clients to improve user experience and reduce the likelihood of emails being flagged as spam or delayed.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Blog explains the value of list segmentation to send targeted emails that engage specific audience segments. This helps reduce bounce rates, improve open rates, and maintain a positive sender reputation, as engaged subscribers are less likely to mark emails as spam.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum recommends participating in Yahoo's feedback loop program if available. This helps you receive reports about spam complaints from Yahoo users, allowing you to identify and address issues affecting your sender reputation.
Email marketer from EmailGeek Community shares the suggestion to check Yahoo's postmaster resources for specific guidance on their requirements and troubleshooting steps. They may offer insights into Yahoo's filtering practices and preferred sender configurations.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks suggests using AboutMyEmail to see what's happening. He says that if there are no bounces and delays impact sends and tests, this suggests Yahoo doesn't think highly of the email so you need to ensure everything is configured correctly.
Expert from Word to the Wise advises to check Yahoo's bulk email policies and ensure compliance. Specifically, Yahoo emphasizes the importance of authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list management, and subscriber engagement. Non-compliance can lead to delays or filtering.
Expert from Email Geeks advises to look at the _Bounce dataview but if the summary data isn’t showing bounces and you’re not seeing in inbox or spam folder (and Marcel’s saying Yahoo! never silently deletes), that means that SFMC declined to send.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that Yahoo uses engagement-based filtering, which means the level of interaction subscribers have with your emails directly influences deliverability. They recommend focusing on sending relevant content to engaged subscribers, suppressing inactive users, and monitoring engagement metrics to improve inbox placement.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that if Yahoo is accepting the mail, then it becomes Yahoo's responsibility, but if it's taking 6-8 hours, it's likely the mail is being temporarily failed and is sitting in queues. She recommends checking spam folders and filters and also checking the logs to see the transactions to understand what is happening.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC explains the technical specifications of SPF records. It emphasizes ensuring the SPF record is correctly configured to authorize SFMC sending IP addresses and domains. Incorrect SPF records can lead to authentication failures, resulting in delays or rejection by receiving mail servers.
Documentation from Salesforce Help explains about setting up DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance). Correct DMARC policies dictate what happens when an email fails SPF or DKIM checks, improving security and indicating your trustworthiness to receiving mail servers like Yahoo.
Documentation from Salesforce Help describes how to use Bounce Management in SFMC, explaining how it categorizes hard and soft bounces, and how to set up automation to handle bounce data effectively. It also suggests regularly cleaning subscriber lists to avoid sending to inactive or invalid email addresses.
Documentation from Salesforce Help details the importance of implementing Sender Authentication Packages (SAP) in SFMC. SAP helps improve email deliverability by branding your email sends with your domain, improving sender reputation, and ensuring consistent authentication.
Documentation from Salesforce Help explains that email deliverability depends on factors like sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content quality, and subscriber engagement. Monitor bounce rates and spam complaints, and ensure proper list hygiene to maintain a good sending reputation.