What can I do if users aren't receiving email verification emails due to company spam filters?

Summary

When email verification emails are not being received due to company spam filters, a comprehensive approach is needed. This includes ensuring proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), closely monitoring DMARC reports and sender reputation, and employing list hygiene practices. It's crucial to simplify email content, avoiding spam trigger words and excessive promotional language. Consider personalizing emails and requesting users to whitelist your domain. Employ testing tools like GlockApps to identify deliverability issues. Analyze delivery logs and consult with support from email service providers like Customer.io. Be mindful of the increasingly strict filtering policies of organizations like K12 schools, and encourage users to check their spam folders. If DMARC is set to reject, evaluate whether that is too strict. Using a dedicated IP can also improve deliverability by establishing a positive reputation. Finally, monitor delivery and engagement metrics to deal with false positives in enterprise filtering.

Key findings

  • Email Authentication: Correctly configuring and actively monitoring SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential to verify the legitimacy of your emails and prevent them from being flagged as spam.
  • Sender Reputation Management: Maintaining a positive sender reputation through list hygiene, avoiding blacklists, and proactive monitoring is crucial for ensuring emails reach the inbox.
  • Content Optimization: Simplifying email content by removing spam trigger words, excessive links, and promotional language, and personalizing messages can improve deliverability.
  • Whitelisting and User Education: Encouraging users to whitelist your domain and providing clear instructions on how to do so is a simple yet effective way to bypass spam filters.
  • Proactive Testing and Monitoring: Using testing tools and closely monitoring delivery metrics allows for the early identification and resolution of deliverability issues.
  • Troubleshooting Resources: Utilizing delivery logs, contacting email service provider support, and engaging with recipients' IT departments can help diagnose and resolve specific filtering issues.

Key considerations

  • Targeted Filtering: Understand that corporate spam filters are often highly customized, requiring tailored approaches and communication with recipients' IT departments.
  • DMARC Review: If you have DMARC set to reject then relaxing DMARC policy needs careful consideration. Monitor feedback reports.
  • Alternative Channels: In scenarios where email deliverability is consistently challenging, consider offering alternative verification methods, such as phone verification, especially for K12 school contexts.
  • Follow RFC Guidelines: Ensuring that your email system and email creation practices fully comply with RFC 2822 ensures messages are correctly formatted.

What email marketers say
10Marketer opinions

When users don't receive email verification emails due to company spam filters, several strategies can be employed. These include ensuring correct email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), monitoring sender reputation, cleaning email lists, and avoiding spam trigger words. Testing email setups with tools like GlockApps helps identify issues. Simplifying content and requesting whitelisting are also beneficial. Personalized content is more likely to bypass spam filters. Correcting 'From' formats and relaxing DMARC settings are tactics to consider.

Key opinions

  • Authentication: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records to authenticate your emails and reduce the likelihood of rejection by spam filters.
  • Sender Reputation: Monitor and maintain a positive sender reputation by ensuring your IP address isn't blacklisted and cleaning your email list regularly.
  • Content: Simplify email content by avoiding spam trigger words, excessive links or images, and promotional language. Personalize emails to make them more relevant.
  • Whitelisting: Provide clear instructions to users on how to whitelist your domain or email address to ensure your emails bypass spam filters.
  • Testing: Use tools like GlockApps to test your email setup with various spam filters and identify potential issues with your content, authentication, or IP reputation.

Key considerations

  • From Format: Review and correct the 'From' format in your emails, as improperly formatted addresses can trigger spam filters.
  • DMARC Settings: Consider relaxing DMARC settings if they are too strict, but be cautious of potential security implications.
  • Corporate Filters: Understand that corporate spam filters can be highly specific and may require tailoring your email strategy to comply with their rules.
Marketer view

Email marketer from GlockApps Blog shares that if users aren't receiving verification emails, it's crucial to test your email setup with various spam filters using a tool like GlockApps. This allows you to identify issues with your content, authentication, or IP reputation that may be triggering spam filters.

September 2022 - GlockApps Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Stack Overflow explains that failing to properly set up SPF or DKIM records can cause verification emails to be rejected or sent to spam folders. Proper authentication helps prove that your emails are legitimate.

December 2024 - Stack Overflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from SuperOffice Blog recommends explicitly asking users to add your sending email address to their address book or whitelist your domain. Providing clear instructions on how to do this can help ensure that your emails bypass spam filters.

December 2024 - SuperOffice Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that to combat corporate spam filters, ensure your sending IP address isn't blacklisted, authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and monitor your sender reputation. Also, provide clear instructions for users to whitelist your domain or email address.

November 2023 - Mailjet Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email On Acid Blog shares that certain words and phrases are more likely to trigger spam filters. Avoiding these 'spam trigger words' in your email subject lines and body can help improve deliverability.

November 2021 - Email On Acid Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus Blog shares that maintaining a clean email list by regularly removing inactive or invalid email addresses improves sender reputation. High bounce rates can negatively impact deliverability, so list hygiene is crucial.

May 2021 - Litmus Blog
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit suggests that corporate filters often block emails based on content. He shares that simplifying the email content, removing excessive links or images, and using plain text can sometimes bypass these filters.

September 2024 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests that excessive use of promotional language or all caps can trigger spam filters. Providing valuable and relevant content, and refraining from overly aggressive marketing tactics, can help avoid this issue.

December 2021 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests relaxing DMARC settings and checking the sender score for IP dips, while also noting the 'From' format may be causing issues with corporate filters.

January 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from HubSpot Blog suggests that personalization of email content makes emails relevant for individual receipients, increasing engagement and reducing the chance of being filtered as spam. Personalized subject lines and email body can help bypass spam filters that look for generic content.

June 2024 - HubSpot Blog

What the experts say
9Expert opinions

When verification emails are blocked by corporate spam filters, experts recommend a multi-faceted approach. Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial, along with monitoring DMARC reports. If DMARC is set to reject it is worth reviewing. For troubleshooting, recipients should check with their IT departments and delivery logs should be analyzed. Contacting Customer.io support can provide additional insights. If deliverability to K12 schools is an issue, consider alternative email addresses. Monitoring delivery and engagement metrics is essential for addressing false positives. Clear instructions to check spam folders and the increasing use of two-factor authentication should be communicated to users.

Key opinions

  • Authentication: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is critical for deliverability and needs to be actively monitored. DMARC feedback reports can help pinpoint authentication issues.
  • Troubleshooting Steps: Encourage recipients to check with their IT departments to understand why emails are blocked. Review delivery logs from your email service provider to verify emails were sent and accepted.
  • Recipient Context: Be aware of strict email policies, especially in sectors like K12 education, which might require alternative email addresses.
  • Delivery Monitoring: Continuously monitor delivery and engagement metrics to identify and address false positives and other deliverability problems proactively.
  • Customer Support: Leverage support from your email service provider (e.g., Customer.io) for detailed insights and assistance with resolving delivery issues.

Key considerations

  • Recipient Action: Clearly instruct users to check their spam folders and highlight the familiarity with verification codes due to the rise of two-factor authentication.
  • DMARC Implementation: Review your DMARC implementation. A setting of reject may be too strict, potentially blocking legitimate emails. Proceed with caution when relaxing this.
  • Filter Analysis: If direct IT feedback isn't possible, identify common filtering software in problematic domains and review content for suspicious elements.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests that if possible, the user should ask one of the recipients experiencing the issue to check with their corporate IT to determine if their corporate filter is blocking the emails. If that is not possible, look for common factors like filtering software in the domains where the email is being dropped and consider if anything about the content appears suspicious.

March 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests using delivery logs from Customer.io or Mailgun to confirm if the email was sent and accepted by the recipient's MX server.

June 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that dealing with false positives requires persistent monitoring of delivery and engagement metrics. She shares that prompt action when deliverability issues arise and working to understand the specific filtering rules employed by each corporate recipient is crucial for resolution.

July 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks asks if the user has cross-referenced DMARC feedback reports with instances where emails are believed to be missing, as a DMARC issue might be easier to resolve than general strict enterprise filters.

April 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks recommends contacting Customer.io support, as they have access to more detailed information and tools and are invested in resolving delivery issues.

March 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks asks for examples of the bounce messages from Customer.io, offering potential additional help.

November 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that K12 schools often have strict email policies allowing only pre-designated domains, suggesting obtaining non-work email addresses for recipients.

November 2021 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is critical for deliverability. He also emphasizes the importance of monitoring DMARC reports to identify and address potential authentication issues that may be causing corporate filters to block emails.

January 2022 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks shares that 2-factor authentication is becoming more common, so users are familiar with receiving codes or links via email. If email is the only verification method, it should be clearly indicated on the screen that users need to check their email, including the spam folder.

May 2022 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Technical documentation suggests several key measures for improving email deliverability when users aren't receiving verification emails due to company spam filters. These include using a dedicated IP address to establish a positive reputation, adhering to standard email formatting guidelines (RFC 2822), implementing DKIM for email authentication, and understanding the anti-spam technologies used by Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP).

Key findings

  • Dedicated IP: Using a dedicated IP address allows you to build and maintain a positive sender reputation, increasing the likelihood that your emails will be delivered.
  • Email Formatting: Adhering to standard email formatting guidelines, as defined in RFC 2822, ensures that your emails are correctly interpreted by receiving mail servers and are less likely to be flagged as spam.
  • DKIM Implementation: Implementing DKIM adds a digital signature to your emails, allowing receiving mail servers to verify that the email hasn't been tampered with and is genuinely from your domain.
  • EOP Understanding: Understanding the anti-spam technologies and criteria used by Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP) can help you optimize your email practices for better deliverability to recipients using Microsoft services.

Key considerations

  • IP Warm-up: When using a dedicated IP address, it's crucial to warm up the IP gradually to establish a positive sending reputation. Sending large volumes of emails immediately can negatively impact deliverability.
  • Ongoing Monitoring: Continuously monitor your deliverability metrics to identify and address any issues proactively. This includes bounce rates, spam complaints, and blocklist status.
  • RFC Compliance: Ensure that your email system and email creation practices fully comply with RFC 2822. Pay attention to things like line lengths, header syntax, and character encoding.
Technical article

Documentation from SendGrid explains that using a dedicated IP address can improve deliverability by establishing a positive reputation. It also recommends warming up the IP address gradually and monitoring deliverability metrics to identify and address issues proactively.

January 2022 - SendGrid Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from DKIM.org explains that implementing DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) adds a digital signature to your emails, which receiving mail servers can use to verify that the email hasn't been tampered with and is genuinely from your domain. This helps improve deliverability and reduce the risk of emails being marked as spam.

November 2024 - DKIM.org
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains that Exchange Online Protection (EOP) uses various anti-spam technologies. Understanding and addressing the factors that EOP considers when filtering spam can help improve deliverability to recipients using Microsoft services.

November 2024 - Microsoft Documentation
Technical article

Documentation from RFC 2822 explains that adhering to standard email formatting guidelines, including proper header syntax and message structure, can help ensure that emails are correctly interpreted by receiving mail servers and are less likely to be flagged as spam.

July 2023 - RFC 2822