Why are transactional emails being blocked by freenet.de and how to resolve it?

Summary

Transactional emails are being blocked by freenet.de due to a confluence of factors, primarily centered around their strict spam filtering policies. Key contributing issues include poor sender reputation stemming from spam complaints, high bounce rates, or blacklisting; missing or misconfigured email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC); and email content that triggers spam filters, such as spammy language, excessive links, poor HTML coding, lack of personalization, or the use of emojis. To resolve these blocks, it's essential to ensure proper email authentication, maintain a clean email list, monitor and improve sender reputation, optimize email content, gradually warm up IP addresses, and proactively contact freenet.de's postmaster for specific feedback and guidance.

Key findings

  • Strict Policies: Freenet.de employs strict spam filtering policies.
  • Reputation Matters: Sender reputation is a critical factor in deliverability to freenet.de.
  • Authentication is Key: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is essential for bypassing filters.
  • Content Sensitivity: Freenet.de is sensitive to email content, with certain elements increasing spam scores.
  • Proactive Contact: Direct communication with freenet.de's postmaster can facilitate resolution.
  • Holistic Assessment: Email providers like Microsoft assess content, reputation, and authentication to determine spam confidence levels.

Key considerations

  • Technical Checks: Verify authentication, reverse DNS, and transactional email status.
  • SMTP Analysis: Determine the SMTP transaction stage where blocking occurs to pinpoint the cause.
  • Reputation Management: Monitor reputation via tools like MXToolbox and Google Postmaster Tools.
  • Content Optimization: Use clean HTML, avoid excessive images, and ensure good text-to-image ratio.
  • Personalization: Personalize emails and avoid URL shorteners.
  • List Hygiene: Regularly remove inactive addresses.
  • IP Warmup: Gradually warm up new IP addresses.
  • Policy Compliance: Review and comply with freenet.de's postmaster guidelines.
  • Direct Communication: Contact <mailto:postmaster@freenet.de|postmaster@freenet.de> for support.

What email marketers say
9Marketer opinions

Transactional emails are often blocked by freenet.de due to strict spam filtering. Several factors contribute to this, including poor sender reputation stemming from high bounce rates, spam complaints, or being blacklisted. Incomplete or incorrect email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is another common reason. Content-related issues, such as spammy language, excessive links, poor HTML coding, and lack of personalization, can also trigger filters. Resolutions include contacting freenet.de's postmaster directly, maintaining a clean email list, monitoring and improving sender reputation, optimizing email content, and properly warming up IP addresses.

Key opinions

  • Sender Reputation: Poor sender reputation (due to spam complaints, high bounce rates, or blacklisting) is a major cause of blocked transactional emails.
  • Authentication: Missing or improperly configured email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is a common issue.
  • Content Issues: Spammy language, excessive links, poor HTML code, lack of personalization, and other content-related factors can trigger spam filters.
  • Freenet.de Sensitivity: Freenet.de has particularly strict spam filtering policies, making it crucial to comply with their guidelines.
  • Direct Contact: Contacting Freenet.de postmaster can help resolve specific issues and gain insights into their filtering practices.

Key considerations

  • Monitor Reputation: Regularly monitor your sender reputation using tools like MXToolbox and Google Postmaster Tools.
  • List Hygiene: Maintain a clean email list by removing inactive or invalid email addresses to reduce bounce rates.
  • Optimize Content: Optimize email content by using clean HTML code, avoiding excessive images, and ensuring a good text-to-image ratio.
  • Personalize Emails: Personalize transactional emails to avoid being filtered as spam. Also avoid using URL shorteners.
  • Warm-up IPs: If using a new IP address, warm it up gradually by starting with low sending volumes and increasing them over time.
  • Contact Freenet: Reach out to the Freenet.de postmaster for feedback and to resolve specific blocking issues.
Marketer view

Email marketer from Quora explains if you are experiencing consistent blocks with freenet.de, reach out to their postmaster team directly. Provide detailed information about your sending practices and ask for specific feedback on why your emails are being blocked. Direct communication can help identify and resolve the issues more quickly.

May 2024 - Quora
Marketer view

Email marketer from Gmass shares, ensure your transactional emails contain personalised content to help avoid spam filtering. Emails without personalisation are more likely to be filtered out as spam.

June 2021 - Gmass
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that optimizing email content is crucial for deliverability. This includes using a clean HTML code, avoiding excessive images, and ensuring a good text-to-image ratio. Spam filters often analyze email content to identify potentially harmful or unsolicited messages.

February 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus shares that maintaining a clean email list is essential for deliverability. Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses to reduce bounce rates and improve sender reputation. High bounce rates can negatively impact deliverability, causing providers like freenet.de to block emails.

July 2021 - Litmus
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Geeks recommends contacting <mailto:postmaster@freenet.de|postmaster@freenet.de>, noting that freenet.de can be sensitive to things like emojis in the subject line or using a company name instead of a person's name in the "From Name" field.

September 2022 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from StackOverflow advises checking the sender's IP address and domain reputation against various blacklists. A poor reputation can cause emails to be blocked by providers like freenet.de. They recommend using tools like MXToolbox to monitor reputation and resolve any issues.

November 2023 - StackOverflow
Marketer view

Email marketer from EmailOnAcid shares that common issues causing blocked transactional emails include poor sender reputation (due to high bounce rates or spam complaints), missing or incorrect authentication records, and content that triggers spam filters. They suggest monitoring reputation, validating email lists, and testing email content before sending.

June 2022 - EmailOnAcid
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit explains that freenet.de is known for having strict spam filtering policies and recommends ensuring emails are properly authenticated with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Also, avoid using URL shorteners, excessive links, or spammy language in transactional emails.

March 2021 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue shares if you are using a new IP address for sending emails, it's important to warm it up gradually. Start with low volumes and gradually increase them over time to establish a good sending reputation. This can help prevent providers like freenet.de from blocking your emails.

May 2024 - Sendinblue

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

Transactional emails are being blocked by freenet.de due to a combination of technical and content-related issues, compounded by their stringent spam filtering. Key factors include sender reputation, proper email authentication, and the content of the email. It's also important to understand at which point of the SMTP transaction the email is being blocked. Specific recommendations include checking reverse DNS, ensuring the mail is truly transactional, avoiding emojis, and directly contacting their postmaster to comply with their guidelines.

Key opinions

  • Sender Reputation: Poor sender reputation is a significant factor impacting deliverability to freenet.de.
  • Authentication: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and reverse DNS are critical for bypassing freenet.de's filters.
  • Content Sensitivity: Freenet.de is highly sensitive to email content, with certain elements (e.g., emojis) potentially increasing spam scores.
  • SMTP Transaction Stage: The point at which the email is rejected during the SMTP transaction (before or after DATA) can pinpoint the cause.
  • Stringent Policies: Freenet.de has stringent spam filtering policies that require careful adherence.

Key considerations

  • Check Authentication: Verify SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and reverse DNS are properly configured.
  • Monitor Reputation: Actively monitor and improve sender reputation by cleaning email lists and reducing spam complaints.
  • Review Content: Review email content for potential spam triggers, avoiding emojis and other problematic elements.
  • Contact Postmaster: Reach out to freenet.de's postmaster for specific guidance and to resolve persistent blocking issues.
  • Adhere to Guidelines: Comply with Freenet.de's postmaster guidelines by knowing what they want, and making sure to adhere to it.
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests checking technical aspects like authentication and reverse DNS, and ensuring the mail is transactional. Mentions <mailto:fp-request@freenet.de|fp-request@freenet.de> as a potential contact for false positive listings.

September 2024 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks asks if the rejection occurs before or after DATA in the SMTP transaction. If before DATA, it could be IP reputation, domain in the 5321.from address, or EHLO/SPF issues. If after DATA, it could be other factors.

December 2023 - Email Geeks
Expert view

Expert from Spam Resource explains that sender reputation is a crucial factor affecting email deliverability, especially with providers like freenet.de. A poor sender reputation, caused by spam complaints, high bounce rates, or being listed on blacklists, can lead to transactional emails being blocked. Actively monitor your sender reputation and take steps to improve it, such as cleaning your email list and ensuring proper authentication.

October 2024 - Spam Resource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise shares that specific domains, like freenet.de, are known to have stringent spam filtering policies. They suggest ensuring compliance with their guidelines, which may include avoiding certain keywords or formatting elements in your email content. Regularly review their postmaster guidelines and adjust your sending practices accordingly.

February 2024 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks states that freenet.de is content-sensitive and suggests avoiding emojis in the subject line to prevent increasing spam scores. Also recommends contacting their postmaster and ensuring proper DKIM and rDNS setup.

May 2024 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
5Technical articles

Transactional emails blocked by freenet.de are primarily due to content sensitivity, poor sender reputation, and authentication failures. Freenet.de, like many providers (assessed by systems like Microsoft's SmartScreen), aims to block unsolicited bulk email. Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial, as is maintaining a good sender reputation by monitoring spam rates and IP/domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. A 550 SMTP error code signals a rejection for policy reasons, linking to reputation, authentication, or content.

Key findings

  • Content Sensitivity: Freenet.de's spam filters are content-sensitive, designed to block unsolicited bulk email.
  • Authentication Importance: Proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is vital for deliverability.
  • Sender Reputation Crucial: Maintaining a good sender reputation is crucial for reaching inboxes.
  • 550 Error Indication: A 550 SMTP error indicates rejection due to policy reasons, often related to reputation, authentication, or content.
  • Holistic Assessment: Email providers like Microsoft assess content, reputation, and authentication to determine spam confidence levels.

Key considerations

  • Implement Authentication: Ensure correct setup of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records.
  • Monitor Reputation: Use Google Postmaster Tools to track spam rates, domain reputation, and IP reputation.
  • Review Content: Avoid spam triggers in email content that may flag emails as unsolicited.
  • Understand Rejection Codes: Investigate the specific reasons behind 550 SMTP errors to identify the root cause of deliverability issues.
  • Proactive Monitoring: Implement continuous monitoring of sending practices.
Technical article

Documentation from Freenet.de explains that Freenet's spam filters are content-sensitive and designed to block unsolicited bulk email. They recommend ensuring proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintaining a good sender reputation, and avoiding spam triggers in email content.

January 2022 - Freenet.de
Technical article

Documentation from Google explains how to use Google Postmaster Tools to monitor sender reputation. Maintaining a good reputation is crucial for ensuring emails reach the inbox. They explain how to check spam rates, domain reputation, and IP reputation to identify and address deliverability issues.

November 2022 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft details how the SmartScreen filter works and how it influences deliverability. This details how the content, reputation and authentication are assessed to assign a spam confidence level to each email. Microsoft use it's own reputation networks to assess senders.

August 2021 - Microsoft
Technical article

Documentation from RFC explains that a 550 SMTP error code typically indicates that the email was rejected for policy reasons, such as spam filtering. The specific reason for the rejection can vary, but it often relates to sender reputation, authentication failures, or content-related issues.

November 2023 - RFC-Editor
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost details the importance of proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) to improve deliverability. It explains how to set up these records correctly and monitor their performance to prevent emails from being flagged as spam.

August 2024 - SparkPost