How to prevent emails from going to spam due to high bounce rate before BFCM?

Summary

To prevent emails from going to spam due to high bounce rates before BFCM, a comprehensive strategy is required, combining technical setup, list management, and content optimization. Experts and documentation sources emphasize the initial critical step of understanding *why* bounces occur by analyzing bounce messages and SMTP bounce codes. Addressing the root causes often involves improved list hygiene, including removing hard bounces, inactive subscribers, and utilizing suppression lists. Technical implementations like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are crucial for email authentication and preventing spoofing. Additionally, warming up new IPs, maintaining a low spam rate (below 0.1% for Gmail), using double opt-in, segmenting lists based on engagement, and reviewing content for spam triggers play significant roles. A proactive, multi-faceted approach aimed at maintaining a healthy sending reputation is key.

Key findings

  • Bounce Analysis: Understanding and addressing the *why* behind bounces through bounce message and code analysis is the crucial first step.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning lists by removing invalid, inactive, and unengaged subscribers dramatically reduces bounce rates and improves deliverability.
  • Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are essential for authenticating emails and preventing spoofing, thereby boosting sender reputation.
  • Sender Reputation: A positive sender reputation, influenced by low spam rates and high engagement, is vital for inbox placement.
  • Holistic Approach: Addressing deliverability requires a holistic approach combining technical configurations, list management, and content optimization.

Key considerations

  • Prioritize Analysis: Don't just react to bounces; proactively analyze them to identify underlying problems.
  • Proactive Hygiene: Implement a consistent list hygiene process; don't wait until a crisis to clean your list.
  • Technical Setup is Key: Ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are correctly configured and monitored.
  • Engage Subscribers: Focus on sending to engaged subscribers and remove those who are no longer interested.
  • Content Matters: Review email content for spam triggers; even legitimate emails can be flagged if they contain problematic phrases or formatting.
  • IP Warm-Up: Carefully warm up new IPs to establish a solid sending reputation with ISPs.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

To prevent emails from going to spam due to high bounce rates before BFCM, email marketers and deliverability experts recommend a multi-faceted approach centered around diligent list hygiene and sender reputation management. This includes identifying and removing the root causes of bounces, such as invalid or non-existent email addresses, through bounce analysis. It's crucial to avoid ramping up email campaigns until bounce issues are resolved. Proactive measures like using double opt-in to ensure genuine subscriber interest, segmenting lists based on engagement, and regularly removing unengaged subscribers can significantly improve deliverability. Additionally, reviewing email content for spam triggers, utilizing email preview tools, and adhering to authentication best practices (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) are essential steps to ensure emails reach the inbox and maintain a positive sender reputation with ISPs.

Key opinions

  • Bounce Analysis: Analyzing bounce reasons is crucial for identifying and addressing the underlying issues causing high bounce rates.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists by removing inactive, invalid, or hard-bounced addresses significantly improves sender reputation and deliverability.
  • Double Opt-In: Using double opt-in ensures that subscribers genuinely want to receive emails, reducing spam complaints and improving list quality.
  • Segmentation: Segmenting email lists based on engagement levels allows for targeted sending strategies, improving engagement and deliverability.
  • Content Review: Reviewing email content for spam triggers (e.g., excessive promotional language, special characters) helps avoid spam filters.
  • Email Preview: Using email preview tools ensures optimal rendering across devices and email clients, reducing the likelihood of spam flags.

Key considerations

  • Ramping Up: Avoid ramping up email campaigns until bounce issues are resolved to prevent compounding deliverability problems.
  • Sender Reputation: High bounce rates negatively impact sender reputation, leading ISPs to filter emails as spam.
  • Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC authentication protocols is essential for proving email legitimacy and improving deliverability.
  • Engagement: Focus on sending to engaged subscribers and remove unengaged ones to maintain a healthy and responsive email list.
  • Timing: Immediate removal of hard bounces is critical; don't delay in cleaning your list after a campaign.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum shares to review email content for spam triggers. Avoid excessive use of promotional language, special characters, and all caps, improving chances of inbox placement.

October 2022 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that cleaning your email list is crucial. Remove inactive subscribers and those who have hard bounced. Regular cleaning improves sender reputation.

September 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailToolTester suggests using email preview tools to check how emails appear across different devices and email clients, ensuring optimal rendering and reducing spam flags.

July 2023 - EmailToolTester
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains the first step is to look at the bounces and understand WHY it bounces in order to fix that.

March 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains if the reason for the bounces is that the email addresses don't exist, you need to address that, and not to start ramped-up email campaigns until the bounce issue is fixed or it will only compound the problem.

March 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains regularly removing unengaged subscribers improves list quality, reduces bounce rates, and boosts overall deliverability.

March 2021 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit shares to clean your email list immediately after a campaign. Remove hard bounces right away. Don't wait, and don't keep trying to mail them.

May 2022 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares to segment email lists based on engagement. Send more emails to active subscribers and less to inactive ones, this improves deliverability.

January 2022 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that a high bounce rate negatively impacts sender reputation, causing ISPs to filter emails as spam. Maintaining a healthy list minimizes bounces and increases deliverability.

April 2024 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that using double opt-in ensures subscribers genuinely want to receive emails. This reduces the likelihood of spam complaints and improves list quality, thereby decreasing bounce rates.

January 2023 - HubSpot

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Experts emphasize the importance of identifying and addressing the root causes of high bounce rates to prevent emails from going to spam, especially before BFCM. This involves analyzing actual bounce messages to understand the reasons for delivery failures, focusing on improving list hygiene by removing invalid or inactive addresses, and implementing automated bounce processing. Respecting suppression lists (unsubscribes, complaint feedback loops) is crucial. A proactive approach to maintaining list quality minimizes spam complaints, enhances deliverability, and protects sender reputation. Issues causing bounces and spam placement are often related, indicating a need to assess audience selection and avoid practices leading to spam blocking.

Key opinions

  • Bounce Message Analysis: Reading actual bounce messages is essential to determine the specific reasons behind delivery failures.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly cleaning email lists by removing invalid or inactive addresses is crucial for lowering bounce rates and improving deliverability.
  • Automated Bounce Processing: Setting up and monitoring automated bounce processing ensures prompt removal of invalid addresses.
  • Suppression Lists: Implementing and respecting suppression lists helps prevent sending to recipients who no longer want to receive emails, reducing spam complaints.
  • Spam and Bounces Related: The factors leading to bounces and spam placement are often interconnected, indicating a need for holistic assessment.

Key considerations

  • Root Cause Analysis: Focus on identifying and addressing the root causes of bounces rather than just the symptoms.
  • Proactive Measures: Take proactive steps to maintain list quality and avoid practices that could lead to spam blocking.
  • Audience Selection: Carefully review audience selection criteria to ensure you're sending to engaged and valid email addresses.
  • Sender Reputation: Prioritize maintaining a positive sender reputation by adhering to best practices for email deliverability.
  • Holistic Approach: Address deliverability issues with a holistic approach, considering both technical and audience-related factors.
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that implementing and respecting suppression lists (including unsubscribes and complaint feedback loops) prevents sending to recipients who no longer wish to receive emails. This proactive approach minimizes spam complaints and enhances deliverability.

August 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains the only way to know why mail is bouncing is to read the actual bounce message.

February 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource explains that list hygiene is critical and emphasizes regularly cleaning your email list to remove invalid or inactive addresses, which directly contributes to lowering bounce rates and improving overall deliverability.

February 2023 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains to get the actual bounce message and that high bounce rates and going to spam are related. Likely the same things that caused mail to go to spam at some mailbox providers caused other mailbox providers to bounce mail. It sounds like either audience selection is bad or the sender is being spam blocked and the first led to the second.

December 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise recommends setting up and monitoring automated bounce processing. Properly handling bounces ensures that invalid addresses are quickly removed from your mailing list, preventing future attempts and preserving your sender reputation.

December 2022 - Word to the Wise

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

To prevent emails from going to spam due to high bounce rates before BFCM, technical documentation emphasizes the importance of maintaining a low spam rate, particularly below Google's recommended threshold. Understanding SMTP bounce codes allows for accurate diagnosis and resolution of delivery issues. Implementing SPF and DKIM records authenticates emails, proving their origin and reducing spam flags. Warming up new IP addresses gradually helps ISPs learn sending habits, preventing misclassification as spam. Furthermore, implementing DMARC policies and monitoring reports helps prevent email spoofing and improves overall deliverability.

Key findings

  • Low Spam Rate: Maintaining a spam rate below 0.1% is crucial for Gmail deliverability.
  • SMTP Bounce Codes: Understanding SMTP bounce codes aids in diagnosing and resolving delivery issues.
  • SPF and DKIM Records: Setting up SPF and DKIM records authenticates emails and reduces the risk of being marked as spam.
  • IP Warm-up: Gradually increasing email volume when using a new IP address helps establish a positive sending reputation.
  • DMARC Policies: Implementing DMARC policies prevents email spoofing and improves deliverability.

Key considerations

  • Gmail Threshold: Pay close attention to Gmail's spam rate threshold and strive to stay well below it.
  • Bounce Code Analysis: Implement a system for analyzing SMTP bounce codes to proactively address delivery problems.
  • Authentication Setup: Ensure SPF and DKIM records are correctly configured for all sending domains.
  • IP Warm-up Strategy: Develop a clear IP warm-up strategy when introducing new IP addresses to minimize deliverability issues.
  • DMARC Monitoring: Regularly monitor DMARC reports to identify and address any potential email spoofing attempts.
Technical article

Documentation from DMARC.org explains Implementing DMARC policy and monitoring reports helps identify and prevent email spoofing, improving sender reputation and deliverability.

January 2024 - DMARC.org
Technical article

Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares that maintaining a low spam rate is essential for Gmail deliverability. Staying below the threshold (0.1%) prevents emails from being flagged as spam.

June 2022 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains setting up SPF and DKIM records authenticates emails, proving they're genuinely from the sender's domain. This reduces the chances of being marked as spam by ISPs.

February 2024 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from GlockApps explains that gradually increasing email volume when using a new IP address allows ISPs to learn about the sender's sending habits. This reduces the likelihood of being flagged as spam.

February 2024 - GlockApps
Technical article

Documentation from RFC Editor explains understanding SMTP bounce codes is important for diagnosing delivery issues. Analyzing the codes helps identify the reason for bounces, enabling targeted solutions.

April 2023 - RFC Editor