Why is AT&T blocking my emails and what can I do?
Summary
What email marketers say17Marketer opinions
Email marketer from StackOverflow suggests using double opt-in to ensure list quality. Confirmed opt-in helps ensure that you aren't accidentally mailing to email addresses that haven't signed up for emails, thus ensuring a higher chance of avoiding blocks.
Email marketer from Mailjet Blog explains that AT&T, like other ISPs, uses content filters to identify and block spam. Avoid using spam trigger words, excessive capitalization, and large attachments in your emails.
Email marketer from Email on Acid Blog shares that testing your emails before sending them can help identify and fix potential deliverability issues, such as broken links, rendering problems, and spam trigger words, reducing the risk of AT&T blocking your emails.
Email marketer from Litmus Blog explains that ensuring your emails render correctly across different devices and email clients (including those used by AT&T customers) is important for a positive user experience. Poor rendering can lead to engagement issues and potentially affect deliverability.
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends BriteVerify, XVerify, & NeverBounce as email validation services.
Marketer from Email Geeks reiterates that SMTP responses should provide clues to the issue and if the AT&T MX servers are bouncing emails, it likely indicates a block due to the IP address and should include information on how to get support.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that the bounce messages from AT&T servers indicate sending to non-existent users, suggesting that the help from the postmaster team should be sufficient and recommends reading sending best practices.
Email marketer from Quora recommends checking if your IP address or domain is blacklisted. Blacklisted IPs are almost certain to get blocked from sending. Removing yourself can prevent blocks.
Email marketer from GMass Blog shares that gradually warming up your IP address by slowly increasing sending volume can help build a positive sender reputation with AT&T. Avoid sending large volumes of email from a new IP address all at once.
Marketer from Email Geeks emphasizes the point about non-existent users, suggesting that at least part of the mailing list was not built with actual consent.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that sending to a large number of inactive or invalid email addresses can damage your sender reputation and lead to AT&T blocking your emails. Regularly cleaning your email list is recommended.
Email marketer from SendGrid Blog shares that monitoring feedback loops and promptly addressing complaints can help improve your sender reputation and reduce the chances of being blocked by AT&T. They also advise ensuring an easy unsubscribe process.
Email marketer from SuperUser explains the importance of practicing proper email marketing techniques. These include but aren't limited to relevant content and a good sender reputation that can help to avoid blocks.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that if blocked by the AT&T MX servers, the bounces should indicate the reason for the block.
Email marketer from EmailGeek Community Forums shares that a poor IP reputation is a frequent cause of AT&T blocking emails. They suggest checking your IP's reputation using online tools and contacting AT&T's postmaster team to request delisting if necessary.
Marketer from Email Geeks advises ensuring contacts are valid before sending, suggesting an email validation pass and securing the signup process.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests providing more information about the nature of the emails, whether they are cold emails, the duration of the issue, the sending platform, and whether the IP address is shared or dedicated.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that lack of engagement (opens, clicks) can lead to AT&T blocking emails. AT&T, like other mailbox providers, uses engagement data to determine which emails are relevant to users. Low engagement signals that the emails are unwanted, leading to filtering or blocking.
Expert from Spam Resource, Hal Helms, shares that AT&T relies heavily on user feedback, such as marking emails as spam, to refine its filtering. If a significant number of AT&T users mark your emails as spam, it can trigger blocking, regardless of other sender reputation factors.
Expert from Spam Resource, John Levine, explains that AT&T and other providers often block emails due to poor list acquisition practices. Purchasing lists or scraping addresses leads to high bounce rates and spam complaints, resulting in blocking.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from AT&T Postmaster Website explains that common reasons for blocking emails include poor sender reputation, high complaint rates, sending to invalid email addresses, and failing to authenticate emails using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is crucial for improving deliverability. It helps AT&T verify that you are a legitimate sender and reduces the likelihood of your emails being blocked.
Documentation from RFC explains how to correctly set up an SPF record to authorize sending servers. Incorrectly configured or missing SPF records can cause AT&T to flag your emails as suspicious.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing a DMARC policy can help protect your domain from email spoofing and phishing attacks. A strong DMARC policy can improve your sender reputation and reduce the likelihood of AT&T blocking your emails.