What to do when Microsoft is confused about automated alerts from your domain?
Summary
What email marketers say7Marketer opinions
Email marketer from SendGrid shares that subscribing to Microsoft's Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) and Junk Mail Reporting Program (JMRP) provides feedback on your sending practices, allowing you to identify and fix any issues that might be causing your automated alerts to be flagged.
Email marketer from EmailOnAcid explains that regularly clean your email lists to remove inactive or invalid email addresses. Sending to a high percentage of unresponsive recipients can negatively impact your sender reputation and cause Microsoft to flag your emails.
Email marketer from StackExchange notes that review the content of your automated alerts to ensure they don't contain spammy keywords or phrases that might trigger Microsoft's spam filters. Keep your content clean, relevant, and avoid excessive use of promotional language.
Email marketer from Reddit advises that if you're sending from a new IP address, gradually increase your sending volume over time (IP warming). This helps Microsoft learn that your emails are legitimate and prevents them from being flagged as suspicious. Starting with low volumes and slowly increasing it over a few weeks is recommended.
Email marketer from Litmus recommends testing your email authentication setup using tools like Mail-tester.com. This will help you identify any configuration errors and ensure that your SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records are properly configured.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests maintaining a consistent sending schedule. Erratic sending patterns can raise red flags with email providers like Microsoft. Stick to a regular schedule and avoid sudden spikes in email volume.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that maintaining a good IP reputation is crucial, as Microsoft heavily relies on IP reputation to filter emails. Monitor your IP reputation using tools like Sender Score and take steps to improve it if necessary.
What the experts say2Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that regularly monitoring your domain and IP address on various blocklists is essential. If you find yourself listed, it indicates that your sending practices are being perceived negatively, which can cause Microsoft to misinterpret your automated alerts.
Expert from Spamresource explains that implementing measures to prevent list bombing (where spammers sign up your email address to many lists) can help. This is because Microsoft might see these sign-up emails as suspicious automated alerts and flag your domain.
What the documentation says3Technical articles
Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains that setting up Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records correctly can help Microsoft servers validate that the emails from your domain are legitimate and not spam, thus preventing confusion about automated alerts.
Documentation from Google Workspace Admin Help shares that implementing a DMARC policy (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) and ensuring it passes, helps Microsoft to trust the email source and reduces the likelihood of automated alerts being misidentified.
Documentation from ietf.org details that ensuring your sending server has a valid PTR record (reverse DNS lookup) pointing to your domain can help resolve the confusion, as it provides a verifiable link between the IP address and domain name.