Why is Comcast blocking my emails and what steps can I take to prevent it?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Litmus explains that you should only email people who have explicitly given you permission to do so, and that you should respect their preferences. Don't hide subscription information, and make unsubscribing as easy as possible.
Email marketer from Quora suggests implementing double opt-in for all new subscribers. This ensures that only genuinely interested users are added to your list, which reduces the chance of spam complaints and improves engagement.
Email marketer from Mailjet recommends checking your IP and domain reputation using tools like Google Postmaster Tools. Maintaining a good reputation is crucial for avoiding blocks. This includes monitoring spam complaints and bounce rates.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that you should try to determine why people are reporting mail as spam/unsubbing and then fix those reasons. Merely letting people off the list when they want off isn't a solution; you need to send to people who overwhelmingly demonstrate they want the mail which generally means improving your acquisition process and content.
Email marketer from GMass advises to automatically remove recipients who haven't opened your emails in three to six months. Continually mailing to unengaged recipients drags down your sender reputation.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester explains that you should regularly check if your IP address or domain is listed on any email blacklists. If you find yourself on a blacklist, take immediate steps to resolve the issue, such as contacting the blacklist provider to request removal.
Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum suggests carefully reviewing the content of your emails. Avoid using spam trigger words, excessive links, and large attachments. Ensure your email design is clean and professional.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow recommends segmenting your email lists to send more relevant content to each segment. This increases engagement and reduces the likelihood of users marking your emails as spam. Tailor your messages.
Email marketer from Email Geeks explains that the messages were being flagged as spam and foldered, likely based on complaints. After a threshold is reached, the system believes there's a bad entity sending spam, and institutes an IP-based block.
Email marketer from Reddit user /u/EmailNoob suggests warming up your IP address gradually, especially if it's new. Start with small volumes of emails to engaged users and gradually increase the volume over time to establish a positive sending reputation with ISPs like Comcast.
Email marketer from Email Vendor Selection suggests maintaining good list hygiene. Regularly remove inactive subscribers and those who haven't engaged with your emails in a while. This helps reduce spam complaints and improves your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks shares that if you're responsible for the marketing stream, just ensure that your recipients want your messages (track for engagement, etc), and ensure your ESP is unsubscribing those who complain or request unsubscribe.
What the experts say6Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks explains that sudden email blocking often isn't sudden at all, but the result of a gradual decline in email reputation due to users not engaging with emails and marking them as spam over time.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains the best way to avoid blocks are to get email authentication (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) working. These technologies prove you are who you say you are.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, shares that a key step to preventing blocks is only sending email to those who actively want it. Ensure clear consent is obtained and respected. Hidden consent practices lead to spam complaints and blocks.
Expert from Word to the Wise, Laura Atkins, explains that deliverability issues, like Comcast blocking, are rarely sudden. They build up over time due to reputation damage from sending to unengaged users, which leads to negative signals ISPs use. Fixing this requires actively managing your recipient list and engagement metrics.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that to fix email blocking issues, you need to stop sending mail to people who don't want it. Reconfirming recipients is one way. Making it easier for folks to unsubscribe by putting the unsub link at the top of the message, and giving them a choice at signup time as to whether or not they want other communications may help lower your complaint rate enough to let your reputation improve.
Expert from Spam Resource, Laura Atkins, explains that it's important to ensure your emails aren't 'spammy'. You should ensure all links are working, not sending emails from changing IP addresses, check your copy, and don't send emails that look like phishing attempts.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC standards highlights the need for feedback loops with ISPs like Comcast. These feedback loops alert the sender when recipients mark emails as spam, allowing for proactive removal of those recipients and improvements to sending practices.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains using their tools to monitor your domain and IP reputation with Gmail users. While not directly Comcast, a good reputation with Gmail often translates to better deliverability with other ISPs as well. Watch out for spam complaints and feedback loop reports.
Documentation from Comcast Postmaster explains that Comcast blocks emails when it determines that email from a sending server has been sent in patterns characteristic of spam. Reasons can include spam content, high complaint rates, or poor sender reputation.
Documentation from SparkPost highlights the importance of email authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. Implementing these helps verify that your emails are legitimate and reduces the chances of being blocked. It helps ISPs trust your mail.