What steps should I take when my domain is blocked by Spamhaus?
Summary
What email marketers say18Marketer opinions
Email marketer from EmailDeliverabilityForum.com shares that one should immediately halt all email campaigns upon discovering a Spamhaus listing to prevent further damage to your sender reputation. Then, focus on identifying and fixing the issues.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that the first step is to investigate the root cause of the Spamhaus listing. This means checking for compromised accounts, outdated email lists, or poor email practices that could be triggering spam filters.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that spamtraps are the signal, not the thing to look for and that if you see trap hits, it tells you there are list issues. To solve this, figure out the problem lists and clean them up (or get them out of your service).
Email marketer from Email Geeks states that Spamhaus won't remove the listing until the spammers have either stopped spamming or have been terminated.
Email marketer from EmailWarmup.org says that gradually increase your email sending volume when starting a new domain or IP address, this helps establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs and reduces the likelihood of being flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that going on a trap hunt is like dealing with holes in your wall by slapping up some wallpaper, the hole is still there only you can't see it now. You remove the traps from the list, but you don't get rid of the crappy practices which brought it about.
Expert from Email Geeks implies that you need to find the clients causing the issues and fire them.
Email marketer from Stackoverflow.com states that once you've addressed the issues causing the Spamhaus listing, contact Spamhaus through their delisting request process. Provide detailed information about the steps you've taken to resolve the problems. Be prepared to answer their questions and provide evidence of your efforts.
Email marketer from NeilPatel.com shares that immediately after a Spamhaus block, focus on improving your domain reputation by identifying the source of spam complaints. This includes auditing your email lists, removing inactive subscribers, and implementing double opt-in for new sign-ups to ensure higher quality leads.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that you don't actually need to talk to Spamhaus in order to get the listing removed, you just have to stop hitting their traps. Since they won't tell you what the traps are, you're going to have to clean up your clients by suspending them, terminating them, or educating them.
Email marketer from Email Geeks advises against your customer buying a list of email addresses and then trying to send to them as this will cause problems with Spamhaus and others.
Email marketer from Quora.com shares that If you're an ESP, work with your clients to educate them about best practices for email sending. This includes obtaining proper consent, avoiding spam traps, and maintaining clean email lists. By helping your clients improve their practices, you can reduce the risk of Spamhaus listings.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that while 250ok makes it pretty easy to identify the spamtrap, even that won't help you as you'd only be uncovering their spamtraps and not all of them. The better option is to look at all of your data sources and find out which is sending you bad traffic or figure out why users are using crap emails to interact with your site.
Email marketer from EmailGeeksForum.net explains that setting up feedback loops with major ISPs allows you to receive complaints directly from users who mark your emails as spam. Use this information to identify problematic campaigns, improve your targeting, and remove subscribers who are no longer engaged.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that there is no way around getting off lists like Spamhaus without stopping spamming and suggests looking for a new job if superiors won't allow you to stop spammers.
Email marketer from Email Geeks states it's a good idea to have your customer prove that the contacts they are emailing have asked to be on that list, also known as 'opt-in'.
Email marketer from EmailVendorBlog.net explains that improving list hygiene is critical. Regularly clean your email lists by removing inactive subscribers, hard bounces, and spam complaints. Also, implement a double opt-in process to ensure that new subscribers are genuinely interested in receiving your emails.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that improving sender reputation involves authenticating your emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. These protocols help prove that your emails are legitimate and haven't been tampered with, which can help in getting delisted from Spamhaus and prevent future listings.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that no tools will expose the "spamtrap" to you, as they are kept secret for a reason.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that when addressing a Spamhaus blacklist, it's essential to understand their listing criteria. Spamhaus focuses on identifying and blocking sources of spam, so you need to demonstrate that you've stopped the activity that led to the listing and have implemented measures to prevent it from happening again. Simply stopping the spam isn't enough; you have to convince them you've addressed the root cause.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that to get delisted from Spamhaus, it's crucial to identify the specific reason for the listing. This often involves analyzing bounce messages and feedback loops to understand what triggered the listing and taking corrective action before requesting removal.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google explains that using Google Postmaster Tools can provide valuable insights into your email sending reputation with Gmail users. This tool can help you identify potential issues affecting your deliverability, such as high spam complaint rates or authentication problems, that could lead to a Spamhaus listing.
Documentation from Spamhaus.org explains that to delist from the SBL, you must identify and rectify the issue that caused the listing, which usually involves stopping the spam activity. Once the problem is resolved, you can request delisting through their website, providing details of the actions taken.
Documentation from Spamhaus.org provides that common reasons for being listed on the SBL include sending unsolicited bulk email (spam), having compromised servers or accounts, or using poor list management practices. Address these underlying causes to avoid future listings.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that leveraging SNDS (Smart Network Data Services) allows you to monitor your IP and domain health by observing complaint rates and spam trap hits. Use this data to identify problematic sending practices or compromised accounts that might be contributing to Spamhaus listing.