How to safely send customer support emails from a root domain when using a third-party platform?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that sending customer support emails from a root domain sounds easy but depends. Third-party platforms want easy setup and visibility. Organizational domains usually have MX records pointing to corporate mail servers. It's technically possible to make it work safely but takes extra effort, and some third-party providers lack flexibility.
Email marketer from Reddit recommends regularly monitoring your domain's reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. This helps identify any deliverability issues early on and take corrective action before they negatively impact email performance.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign recommends segmenting your email list based on various criteria, such as demographics, purchase history, and engagement level. This allows you to send more targeted and relevant emails, improving deliverability and conversions.
Email marketer from Neil Patel advises using a subdomain (e.g., support.yourdomain.com) for transactional emails to protect the main domain's reputation. This isolates any deliverability issues related to transactional emails and prevents them from impacting marketing emails sent from the root domain.
Email marketer from Litmus advises following email design best practices to ensure your emails render properly across different devices and email clients. This includes using responsive design, optimizing images, and avoiding excessive HTML code.
Email marketer from Woodpecker discusses how personalizing emails to the recipient can help improve engagement and deliverability. Personalization can include using the recipient's name, referencing their company, and tailoring the message to their specific needs.
Email marketer from Gmass recommends avoiding spam trigger words and phrases in your email subject lines and body copy. These can increase the likelihood of your emails being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow suggests setting up a reverse DNS (PTR) record for the sending IP address. This maps the IP address back to the domain name and helps improve deliverability by verifying the sender's identity.
Email marketer from Email on Acid stresses maintaining good list hygiene by regularly removing inactive or invalid email addresses from your sending list. Sending to invalid addresses can damage your sender reputation and negatively impact deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum recommends gradually increasing your sending volume when using a new IP address (IP Warmup). This allows ISPs to learn about your sending patterns and build a positive reputation, preventing deliverability issues.
Email marketer from Mailjet emphasizes the importance of setting up sender authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols verify the sender's identity and help prevent spoofing and phishing, improving deliverability and protecting the domain's reputation.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that responsible data management is critical for deliverability. This includes obtaining explicit consent, honoring opt-out requests promptly, and maintaining accurate records. Doing so ensures your mail is wanted and reduces the risk of complaints.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains the importance of setting up feedback loops (FBLs) with major ISPs. FBLs provide valuable data on spam complaints, allowing you to identify and address issues that are affecting your sender reputation and causing deliverability problems.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC specifies that Sender Policy Framework (SPF) is an email authentication method designed to detect forging sender addresses during the delivery of email. SPF allows receiving mail servers to check that mail claiming to come from a specific domain is being sent by a host authorized by that domain's administrators.
Documentation from DMARC.org details how to implement DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) to protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks. DMARC builds upon SPF and DKIM to provide a more robust authentication framework.
Documentation from SendGrid recommends using a dedicated IP address when sending a high volume of transactional emails. This helps build a positive sender reputation and avoid being affected by the sending practices of other users on shared IP addresses. A dedicated IP provides more control over deliverability.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains how to use the platform to monitor your sending reputation with Gmail users. It provides insights into spam rates, feedback loops, and authentication status, allowing senders to identify and address deliverability problems.