Why are my SendGrid transactional emails not appearing in Outlook inboxes?
Summary
What email marketers say10Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus explains that email deliverability problems are caused by not setting up authentication correctly. If you haven't done that you have an uphill battle with deliverability. Also to make sure you send emails people engage with, people are less likely to have issues.
Email marketer from Mailjet explains that emails might land in spam due to various factors, including a low sender score, being blacklisted, missing authentication records (SPF, DKIM), using spam trigger words, or having a high complaint rate. They advise monitoring your sender reputation and taking steps to improve it.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that if Outlook is blocking your emails, it could be due to a poor sender reputation, spam filters, or authentication issues. They suggest checking your IP address reputation, ensuring proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and avoiding spam trigger words.
Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that improving email deliverability involves cleaning your email list, segmenting your audience, warming up your IP address, and monitoring your sender reputation. They emphasize the importance of providing value to your subscribers and avoiding practices that could flag your emails as spam.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that if the issue is limited to a single recipient domain, local transport rules are likely the cause.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that Outlook may be marking emails as spam if the sender's IP address is on a blacklist, the email content contains spam trigger words, or the recipient has marked similar emails as spam in the past. They advise checking your IP address against blacklists and reviewing your email content.
Email marketer from StackOverflow shares that email deliverability issues can arise from a lack of email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), a poor sender reputation, or sending emails to invalid email addresses. They advise implementing proper authentication, cleaning your email list, and monitoring your bounce rate.
Email marketer from SendGrid shares that improving email deliverability requires proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining a clean email list, monitoring your sender reputation, and engaging with your subscribers. They also recommend warming up your IP address and avoiding spam trigger words.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that Microsoft may be 'ghosting' the emails due to reputation issues and recommends checking if the mailer is being sent to unqualified prospects, if bots can sign up for the email, and if people intentionally opted in. They also suggest exploring the triggers and checking if they're captcha protected, and checking if there's any incentive for the user to open the email.
Email marketer from Email on Acid explains that improving email deliverability requires optimizing your email content, segmenting your audience, and warming up your IP address. They emphasize the importance of providing value to your subscribers and avoiding practices that could flag your emails as spam.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Spam Resource explains that feedback loops (FBLs) are a mechanism by which mailbox providers notify senders when recipients mark their emails as spam. Participating in FBLs allows senders to identify and remove subscribers who are complaining, which can improve deliverability. They need to be set up per provider, you need to sign up to them.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Microsoft's SmartScreen filter learns from user behavior. If users consistently ignore or delete emails from a particular sender, SmartScreen may start filtering those emails into the Junk folder. He emphasizes the importance of good list hygiene and relevant content.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that 'delivered' only means the email was received by the mail server, not necessarily placed in the recipient's inbox.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that getting off of a blocklist is a process that depends on the blocklist. Some blocklists automatically remove you after a period of time, while others require you to contact them and request removal. She recommends identifying which blocklists you're on and following their specific removal processes.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from DKIM explains that DKIM protocol helps prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks by using digital signature that are encrypted. This helps prove you sent the message. This improves email deliverability and shows trust.
Documentation from Microsoft shares that using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC can help improve email deliverability by verifying the sender's identity and preventing spoofing. They explain how to configure these authentication methods for your domain.
Documentation from Microsoft explains that anti-spam message headers in Outlook can provide insights into why an email was marked as spam. These headers contain information about the sender's IP address, authentication results, and spam filtering results.
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF records specify which mail servers are authorized to send emails on behalf of your domain. This helps prevent spammers from forging your email address and improves email deliverability.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that the DMARC protocol helps prevent email spoofing and phishing attacks by allowing domain owners to specify how email receivers should handle messages that fail SPF and DKIM checks. Implementing DMARC can improve email deliverability by building trust with email providers.