How to resolve email deliverability issues and 0% open rates in Protonmail inboxes?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Senderlist shares that ProtonMail users are privacy-focused, and recommends not relying on open rates. They suggest that brands optimize for user engagement by using click tracking and valuable content to encourage interaction. Improving sender reputation and ensuring proper email authentication are also recommended.
Email marketer from Litmus shares insights that some email clients, like ProtonMail, prioritize privacy by blocking external content, including tracking pixels. It's important to consider that lower open rates might not always indicate deliverability problems but rather privacy settings in action.
Email marketer from SparkPost explains that maintaining a good sender reputation is crucial for deliverability and suggests monitoring bounce rates, spam complaints, and engagement metrics to identify and address potential issues.
Email marketer from StackOverflow explains that when facing email deliverability issues, implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records is crucial. These authentication methods help verify your emails and reduce the likelihood of being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that ProtonMail actively strips tracking pixels and suggests that senders should authenticate their emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to improve overall deliverability and sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that ProtonMail may be blocking tracking pixels, leading to the appearance of 0% open rates. Subscribers might be opening emails, but the tracking data is not being captured.
Marketer from Email Geeks confirms that ProtonMail blocks common tracking pixels by default and typically sees more click data than open data for ProtonMail users.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid Blog shares that ProtonMail is known for its strong privacy focus, which includes blocking tracking pixels. To counteract this, it recommends focusing on valuable content and links to measure engagement through click-through rates instead of relying solely on open rates.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that ProtonMail's privacy features may block tracking pixels, leading to artificially low open rates, and suggests focusing on click-through rates as a more reliable metric.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that ProtonMail can be harsh on IPs/domains it doesn't have much data on, which can cause dedicated IPs to land in spam due to failing basic reputation checks.
Email marketer from Gmass recommends using email testing tools to assess how emails render in different email clients, including ProtonMail. This helps identify if elements are being blocked or altered.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource responds that implementing robust email authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is crucial for improving email deliverability, particularly when dealing with privacy-conscious email providers like Protonmail. They recommend regularly monitoring your sender reputation and engaging with feedback loops to identify and address deliverability issues promptly.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that privacy-focused inboxes such as Protonmail often employ aggressive measures like stripping tracking pixels, which can skew open rates. She suggests focusing on engagement metrics like click-through rates and conversions to gauge campaign success, and emphasizes the importance of strong sender authentication and reputation management.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on SPF and DKIM to provide a policy framework for email senders and receivers, helping to prevent email spoofing and improve deliverability.
Documentation from RFC Editor defines DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), an email authentication system designed to verify the domain name associated with a message, thereby improving deliverability and trust.
Documentation from SPF Record Syntax explains that an SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record helps prevent email spoofing by specifying the mail servers authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Proper configuration ensures that emails are less likely to be marked as spam.
Documentation from ProtonMail Support explains that ProtonMail uses an image proxy to protect user privacy, which strips tracking pixels from emails. Users can configure image loading settings, but by default, images are proxied, impacting open rate tracking.