What steps should I take to recover from a Gmail block and rewarm my IP address?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog explains you need to start with small volumes to engaged users, gradually increasing over time. Monitor engagement metrics and adjust strategy based on feedback. Segment your list to ensure relevant content is sent to the right subscribers and authenticate your email.
Email marketer from Constant Contact Blog shares before rewarming an IP address, clean your email list to remove inactive or invalid addresses. Segment your audience and send highly targeted content to engaged subscribers. Monitor your sender reputation and adjust your strategy based on the results.
Email marketer from Hunter shares how to properly warm up your email is to first, set a goal. Second, segment your audience. Third, keep the human touch. Fourth, email regularly. Fifth, stay consistent, and sixth, track progress.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog responds that if Gmail blocks you, first identify the cause, which can stem from high spam complaints or sending irrelevant content. Create a plan of action by pausing sending to Gmail subscribers, investigate why the issue occurred, and take proactive steps to fix the identified problems. Check with your email service provider if there is anything to be done.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum advises focusing on sending valuable content that subscribers want. Regularly remove inactive or unengaged users from your list and monitor your bounce and complaint rates closely. This will improve your sending reputation over time.
Email marketer from Gmass responds to check Google Postmaster Tools, find the date where it was blocked and see if that date correlated with a spike in emails or poor practices. Fix those practices and rewarm the IP.
Email marketer from Woodpecker answers to start by warming up a new IP address, send small campaigns to the most active and engaged recipients first. Then you can gradually raise your sending limits, while making sure to monitor your deliverability and open rates.
Email marketer from Warmup Inbox answers to never purchase lists. Ensure you only email people who asked to be emailed. And give recipients the ability to easily unsubscribe.
Email marketer from Reddit recommends checking if your domain is on any blacklists. Also ensure you're properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Engage with Gmail Postmaster Tools to monitor your reputation and deliverability.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares if the client started sending from the correct domain at the volume the other domain was sending, that can definitely make Gmail bounce you. Sending thousands of emails day 1 will do that.
Email marketer from Lemlist answers to take your time with warm-up, be consistent, have a good sender reputation, make sure you're not sending spam, and use a warm-up tool.
What the experts say7Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks says you will need to "rewarm" because the fix for Gmail delivery is to send mail that recipients will interact with positively, signaling to machine learning filters and Postmaster Tools that the mail is not undesirable. The problem is likely that the mail isn’t meeting subscriber expectations upon signup, so you need improve the email address collection process.
Expert from Email Geeks says that if there is blocking from gmail, this indicates that there’s something seriously wrong with your customer’s list, such as buying / scraping addresses.
Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes the importance of starting with low volumes and gradually increasing them over time. Also, pay close attention to your bounce rates and complaint rates, and immediately address any issues that arise. Engage in monitoring and make adjustments to improve the overall health of your IP and sending practices.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that after you've been blocked and start sending again, you will get a lot of hard bounces. Don't keep sending to these addresses, you need to remove them immediately.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that once the appropriate changes have been made to the program, fill out the form that asks Google to reset your reputation. Then you can go ahead and start the “rewarming” or reintroduction process.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that if the client is completely blocked (554 responses), suspending all mail to Gmail is the correct approach. The only way to recover is to stop sending for a period to allow the bad reputation to diminish, then resume sending to opt-in subscribers, also Google will never tell you specifically why you are blocked.
Expert from Email Geeks links to his blog post with context around the Gmail sender contact form: <https://www.spamresource.com/2022/01/gmails-sender-contact-form-what-and-why.html>.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from SparkPost emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good sender reputation. This includes using a consistent sending volume, monitoring bounce rates, and segmenting your email list to send targeted content. Regularly clean your list to remove inactive or invalid email addresses.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help explains you should authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Ensure your sending domain or IP isn't listed on any blocklists. Keep complaint rates low and adhere to Gmail's sender guidelines to avoid blocks.
Documentation from Microsoft 365 documentation shares IP warming involves gradually increasing the volume of email sent from a new IP address. Start with low volumes and gradually increase over several weeks. Monitor deliverability metrics and address any issues promptly to establish a positive reputation.