What steps should I take when moving email sending from an ESP to my own infrastructure to resolve unexpected Spamhaus listings and deliverability issues with mailbox providers?

Summary

Migrating from an ESP to your own infrastructure requires a multi-faceted approach focused on reputation building, authentication, and list management. Experts and marketers emphasize warming up IPs gradually, ensuring proper SPF, DKIM, and DMARC setup, and maintaining clean email lists by importing suppression lists and removing invalid addresses. Monitoring sender/IP reputation via tools like Sender Score and Talos is crucial. Mailbox provider communication is also important, especially in the early stages. Technical factors include having a valid HELO/EHLO domain and understanding that rejection messages from Outlook and Apple often indicate direct IP-based blocks. Avoiding newly registered domains is also advised. Finally, actively monitoring feedback loops, analyzing bounce codes, and understanding that mailbox providers throttle new sending infrastructure is important.

Key findings

  • IP Warming: Gradually increase sending volume to new IPs.
  • Email Authentication: Implement and test SPF, DKIM, and DMARC correctly.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain clean lists; import ESP suppression lists.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Monitor sender and IP reputation (Sender Score, Talos).
  • Provider Communication: Communicate with mailbox providers about new infrastructure.
  • DBL Listings: Spamhaus DBL listings often indicate issues beyond domain age.
  • IP Based Blocks: Rejections from Outlook/Apple are often explicit IP blocks.
  • FBL and Compliants: Monitor feedback loops (FBLs) and manage complaints.
  • Bounce Analysis: Diligently analyze bounce codes to identify issues.

Key considerations

  • Domain Age: Avoid newly registered domains initially.
  • Spamhaus DBL: Resolve Spamhaus listings promptly.
  • Infrastructure Issues: Rule out network issues that lead to IP blocks.
  • Mailbox Provider Throttling: Mailbox providers often throttle new infrastructure sending.
  • HELO/EHLO: Use a valid, resolvable HELO/EHLO domain.
  • Postmaster Pages: Monitor postmaster pages to adjust based on thresholds

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

When transitioning email sending from an ESP to your own infrastructure, several key areas need attention to avoid deliverability issues and Spamhaus listings. These include warming up IPs slowly, ensuring proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining clean email lists (exporting allowlists and suppression lists from the ESP), monitoring sender and IP reputation, and actively engaging with mailbox providers. Analyzing bounce codes, complaint rates (via FBLs) and closely monitoring deliverability metrics are also crucial. Avoid using newly registered domains (less than 30 days old) for email, and understand that mailbox providers may throttle email volume during the initial warm-up phase.

Key opinions

  • IP Warm-up: Gradually increase sending volume to new IPs to build a positive reputation.
  • Authentication: Properly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records before sending any email.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain a clean email list by removing unsubscribed or bounced addresses and importing allowlists from your ESP.
  • Reputation Monitoring: Regularly monitor both sender and IP reputation through tools like Sender Score and Talos.
  • Engagement: Focus on engaging subscribers to improve credibility with mailbox providers.
  • Bounce Analysis: Analyze bounce codes to identify delivery issues and optimize email practices.
  • FBLs: Setup and Monitor Feedback Loops (FBLs) and monitor complaint rates.

Key considerations

  • Domain Age: Avoid using domains younger than 30 days for email sending.
  • Provider Communication: Contact mailbox providers directly if deliverability issues arise.
  • Throttling: Be aware that mailbox providers may throttle email volume during IP warm-up.
  • Configuration Checks: Regularly double-check SPF, DKIM and DMARC records for accurate implementation.
  • Postmaster Pages: It is important to monitor the postmaster pages for each mailbox provider to identify their specific thresholds for volume or reputation.
Marketer view

Email marketer from GlockApps.com suggests diligently analyzing bounce codes to understand the reasons for delivery failures. Identify hard bounces (permanent failures) and soft bounces (temporary issues) and take appropriate actions to clean lists and fix configurations.

November 2022 - GlockApps.com
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet.com emphasizes the importance of sender reputation. They advise monitoring sender score, maintaining clean lists, and engaging with subscribers to demonstrate credibility to mailbox providers.

May 2022 - Mailjet.com
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks advises contacting providers for assistance with low volume and reputation building. Provides contact information for Apple (via Proofpoint), Yahoo, and Microsoft.

August 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus.com advises actively monitoring deliverability rates after migrating. Implement feedback loops, analyze bounce messages, and use seed lists to identify and address any deliverability issues promptly.

July 2023 - Litmus.com
Marketer view

Email marketer from SparkPost.com recommends ensuring that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is in place before sending any email from a new infrastructure. This helps mailbox providers verify the legitimacy of the sender.

May 2021 - SparkPost.com
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that domains younger than 30 days should not be used for email. They also suggest contacting providers having issues to solve them, as Yahoo is typically fair. It seems like random issues during the initial IP warm-up phase, and cautions about sending from multiple data centers simultaneously, suggesting using them for fallback instead.

January 2024 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from superoffice.com provides guidance on how to correctly set up SPF records. This ensures that your emails are properly authenticated, making it easier for them to reach their intended destination.

July 2024 - superoffice.com
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit suggests that before migrating, export your ESP's allowlist and suppression list. This ensures you maintain a clean list with known good contacts and suppress contacts that previously unsubscribed or bounced. Implement those lists in your new infrastructure right away.

July 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from NeilPatel.com advises warming up new IP addresses slowly by gradually increasing sending volume over time. Starting with small batches to engaged users and monitoring deliverability metrics to avoid hitting spam traps and blacklists.

March 2024 - NeilPatel.com
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks says that problems are usually a list management/hygiene problem, rather than an infrastructure problem. This may be especially true when moving to your own infrastructure.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests monitoring IP reputation through various online tools like Sender Score and Talos. A low reputation score indicates potential deliverability issues that need to be addressed, like list cleaning and improving authentication.

March 2024 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Email marketer from emailvendorselection.com explains that mailbox providers might throttle your email volume when you are warming IPs, or if they are unsure about your traffic reputation. It's important to monitor this, and check the various postmaster pages to determine what the thresholds are for the mailbox providers you are sending to.

March 2022 - emailvendorselection.com

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Experts emphasize that when migrating email sending infrastructure, it's crucial to address underlying issues causing blocklistings and rejections. Rejection messages from mailbox providers often indicate direct IP-based blocks, highlighting IP reputation problems beyond general reputation metrics. A Spamhaus DBL listing suggests a problem beyond just a newly registered domain. Resolving DBL listings can improve deliverability across multiple providers. Properly configuring and testing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC is essential. Finally, monitor feedback loops and manage complaints effectively to maintain a good sending reputation.

Key opinions

  • IP-Based Blocks: Rejection messages often indicate specific IP-based blocks, rather than general reputation issues.
  • DBL Listings: Spamhaus DBL listings signify problems beyond new domain registration.
  • Authentication: Correct SPF, DKIM, and DMARC configuration are critical.
  • Complaint Monitoring: Closely monitoring complaint rates through feedback loops is crucial for maintaining sender reputation.

Key considerations

  • DBL Resolution: Resolving Spamhaus DBL listings is a priority.
  • Network Reputation: Focus on improving IP reputation and resolving network-related issues that lead to blocks.
  • Testing: Thoroughly test email authentication configurations before migrating.
  • Action on FBLs: Set up FBLs and proactively address complaints to prevent reputation damage and blocklisting.
Expert view

Expert from Wordtothewise.com states that actively monitoring complaint rates through feedback loops (FBLs) is crucial when migrating email infrastructure. A sudden increase in complaints can quickly damage your reputation and lead to blocklisting. You need to set up FBLs and address complaints promptly.

January 2022 - Wordtothewise.com
Expert view

Expert from Spamresource.com highlights the critical importance of properly setting up and testing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records when moving to a new email sending infrastructure. They explain that misconfigured authentication is a common cause of deliverability problems, especially when mailbox providers are unfamiliar with your new IPs and domains. Double-checking your configuration is a must.

May 2024 - Spamresource.com
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states that Spamhaus does not wildly add newly registered domains to the DBL list. Being listed on the DBL indicates an issue beyond the domain's registration date.

December 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks advises resolving DBL listings to address blocking issues with providers like Outlook, Apple, and Yahoo, suggesting that fixing DBL listings could improve many of the experienced issues.

March 2022 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks explains that rejection messages from Outlook and Apple indicate explicit IP-based blocks, rather than fuzzier reputation issues. Public blocklists may not correlate with mailbox providers' internal data. A block on two separate major MBPs suggests a network issue, focusing on IP reputation.

October 2021 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

Technical documentation emphasizes several key aspects of migrating email sending infrastructure to ensure deliverability and avoid Spamhaus listings. Newly registered domains may initially appear on DBLs, but this is typically temporary. It's essential to verify IP and domain reputation using available services, and to configure email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) correctly. Best practices for bulk sending include avoiding spammy content, making unsubscribing straightforward, monitoring feedback loops, and gradually increasing email volumes. Finally, a valid and resolvable HELO/EHLO domain associated with the sending server is required.

Key findings

  • DBL Listings (New Domains): Newly registered domains may be listed temporarily on DBLs.
  • Reputation Checks: Use services to check IP and domain reputation.
  • Authentication: Correctly configure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
  • HELO/EHLO Configuration: The HELO/EHLO domain must be valid and resolvable.

Key considerations

  • DBL Patience: Allow time for DBL listing to clear for new domains if legitimate.
  • Bulk Sending Practices: Adhere to best practices for bulk email sending.
  • Feedback Loop Monitoring: Actively monitor feedback loops to identify issues early.
  • Incremental Increase: Gradually increase email sending volumes to establish reputation.
Technical article

Documentation from Spamhaus.com explains that newly registered domains are often listed on the DBL (Domain Block List) as a general practice to combat spam. This listing is usually temporary and lifted after about a month if the domain is legitimate and doesn't engage in spamming activities.

December 2021 - Spamhaus.com
Technical article

Documentation from RFC-Editor.org explains that the HELO/EHLO domain should be a valid, resolvable domain name associated with the sending server. Inconsistencies or invalid configurations can trigger spam filters and deliverability issues.

May 2022 - RFC-Editor.org
Technical article

Documentation from Gmail Help outlines best practices for bulk email senders, including authenticating email, avoiding spammy content, making unsubscribing easy, and monitoring feedback loops to identify and resolve deliverability problems. It recommends gradual increase of email volumes.

March 2023 - Gmail Help
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft.com recommends checking IP and domain reputation using services like Sender Score and Talos. The documentation also suggests ensuring proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is set up correctly and monitoring bounce messages to identify specific issues.

October 2021 - Microsoft.com