What are the best practices for email sender addresses to avoid spam filters?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Stack Overflow answers that ensuring your sending server has a valid reverse DNS (rDNS) record is important. An rDNS record maps an IP address back to a domain name, helping to verify your server's identity and improve deliverability.
Email marketer from HubSpot responds that segmenting your email list and personalizing messages can significantly improve engagement. Sending relevant content to specific groups increases the chance of positive interactions and reduces spam complaints.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that using a recognizable sender name helps recipients quickly identify who the email is from, building trust and reducing the likelihood of it being marked as spam. Consistency is key.
Email marketer from Email Geeks says they 100% second what Steve Atkins (WttW) already said. And would stress about the benefits of using a consistent address. If you have a manageable list and you are able to receive incoming emails even better, for the same reason: if people replies, that address will be added to the contact list on some ISPs and that will definitely impact the inbox placement in a positive way.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that regularly checking if your sending IP address or domain is on any email blocklists is crucial. Being listed on a blocklist can severely impact your deliverability, so it's important to identify and resolve any issues promptly.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that if you're using a new IP address, it's essential to warm it up gradually. Start by sending small volumes of emails to engaged subscribers and slowly increase the volume over time to build a positive reputation.
Email marketer from Gmass says that regularly removing unengaged subscribers from your email list is important. Sending emails to recipients who don't open or click on your messages can negatively impact your sender reputation and deliverability.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that maintaining a consistent sending volume is crucial for building a stable sender reputation. Sudden spikes or drops in email volume can trigger spam filters and negatively impact deliverability.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that avoiding 'no-reply@' addresses is important. These addresses prevent recipients from responding and can signal a lack of engagement, potentially harming your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Woodpecker.co responds that performing A/B testing helps figure out the optimal combination of content and address information that improves deliverability.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks shares that using a consistent From address is good because per-recipient whitelisting is based on it, so changing it throws away any previous advantage. Also to look at it as though you were a recipient and decide which email address you want mail from.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that maintaining good list hygiene by regularly removing inactive or unengaged subscribers is a vital practice. Sending emails to only engaged recipients improves your sender reputation and reduces the risk of spam complaints.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that proper sender authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for establishing trust with mailbox providers and improving email deliverability. These mechanisms help verify the sender's identity and prevent spoofing.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that monitoring your sender reputation is crucial. High spam rates and low engagement can negatively impact your reputation, leading to deliverability issues.
Documentation from RFC 5322 specifies the Internet Message Format, including the syntax for email addresses. It defines which characters are allowed in the local-part (before the @ symbol) and domain part of an email address, ensuring valid formatting.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) allows you to specify how receiving mail servers should handle emails that fail DKIM and SPF checks. This helps prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks.
Documentation from DKIM.org explains that implementing DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) adds a digital signature to your emails, verifying that the message hasn't been altered during transit and confirming the sender's identity. This helps improve deliverability by authenticating your emails.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that participating in the Junk Email Reporting program allows you to receive feedback from users who mark your emails as junk. This feedback can help you identify and address deliverability issues.