How to resolve email deliverability issues to Outlook spam folder after subdomain change?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from MailerCheck explains analyze email headers. When emails land in the spam folder, analyzing the email headers can provide insights into why. Look for specific clues about authentication failures or spam filter triggers.
Email marketer from ZeroBounce says preview email content. Tools like Mail-Tester are useful for previewing your email's content and the email headers before sending them. It will then provide you with a spam score.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that properly warming up your new subdomain is important. This involves gradually increasing sending volume over time, starting with your most engaged users. This allows you to build a positive sending reputation with ISPs like Outlook. You should also monitor engagement rates and adjust sending volume accordingly.
Email marketer from Litmus shares segmenting your email list. Send targeted emails to different segments of your audience based on their interests and engagement levels. This increases relevance and reduces the likelihood of users marking your emails as spam.
Email marketer from SendGrid explains consistent sender name and 'from' address. Sudden changes in the sender name or 'from' address after the subdomain shift could trigger spam filters. Maintain consistency to build trust with email clients and recipients.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum mentions setting up feedback loops with ISPs like Outlook. This allows you to receive reports of spam complaints, enabling you to identify and remove problematic subscribers from your list. This helps to reduce spam complaints.
Email marketer from EmailGeek explains that monitoring bounce rates. High bounce rates signal poor list hygiene and can negatively impact sender reputation. Regularly clean your email list by removing invalid or inactive addresses.
Email marketer from Gmass explains that a sudden shift to a new subdomain can trigger spam filters. Ensure the IP address associated with the new subdomain has a good reputation. If it's a shared IP, its reputation may be affected by other senders. Consider using a dedicated IP address for more control.
Email marketer from Reddit notes that your content could be triggering spam filters. Review your email content for spammy keywords, excessive use of exclamation marks, and large images without sufficient text. Ensure a good text-to-image ratio and avoid using URL shorteners.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource responds that authentication issues need to be checked with the new sub domain. Make sure your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are set up correctly for the new subdomain. Incorrect or missing authentication records are a common cause of deliverability problems after a subdomain change.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests determining if there are any clicks or image loads from recipients at Outlook domains and confirming who is reporting the emails are going to spam to verify deliverability problems.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that engagement is key. After a subdomain change, focus on sending to your most engaged subscribers first. Low engagement can signal to ISPs that your mail is unwanted, impacting deliverability to the inbox.
Expert from Email Geeks advises opening a ticket through MS postmaster support, explaining the deployment of a new subdomain and requesting preemptive mitigation for warmup. She also suggests being persistent and making the request very clear and concise.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from M3AAWG shares to review and adhere to industry best practices for outbound email. Their sender best common practices are a great place to start.
Documentation from SparkPost recommends leveraging suppression lists. Add unsubscribed users, bounced addresses, and spam complainants to your suppression list to avoid sending them future emails. This prevents further deliverability issues and improves your sender reputation.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares that utilizing postmaster tools helps diagnose issues by monitoring sending reputation, spam rates, and feedback loops. It helps pinpoint if the subdomain change coincided with a drop in reputation or increased spam complaints.
Documentation from RFC Editor shares that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) setup is essential. SPF verifies the sending server, DKIM adds a digital signature, and DMARC tells receivers what to do with unauthenticated mail. Incorrect setup can cause delivery issues.
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that sender reputation is crucial for Outlook delivery. New subdomains lack established reputation, leading to filtering. Monitoring sender reputation via Microsoft's SNDS (Smart Network Data Services) and JMRP (Junk Mail Reporting Program) is crucial, and to ensure your sending IPs and domains aren't listed on any blocklists.