Why is my email deliverability to iCloud so poor compared to Gmail, and how can I fix it?

Email marketer from Validity shares that Apple's Mail Privacy Protection (MPP) affects open rates, which can indirectly impact deliverability. MPP can inflate open rates, making it harder to identify engaged users. To compensate, focus on other engagement metrics like clicks and conversions, and ensure proper list hygiene to avoid sending to unengaged users.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that improving email engagement is key to better deliverability. Focus on creating valuable content, segmenting your audience, personalizing emails, and making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe. High engagement signals like opens, clicks, and replies indicate that your emails are welcome and improve your sender reputation.

Email marketer from EmailToolTester shares that IP warming is the process of gradually increasing the volume of emails sent from a new IP address to establish a positive sending reputation with email providers. Start with a small volume and gradually increase it over several weeks, monitoring deliverability and engagement metrics to avoid being flagged as spam.

Email marketer from GlockApps shares that low inbox placement with iCloud can be diagnosed through inbox placement tests. This will show where your emails are landing. They also suggest ensuring proper authentication, monitoring sender reputation with tools like Google Postmaster Tools and Microsoft SNDS, and segmenting your list to send targeted emails.

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that double opt-in is the process where new subscribers confirm their email address before being added to your email list. This ensures that subscribers genuinely want to receive your emails, which improves list quality and reduces the likelihood of spam complaints. This also improves deliverability.

Email marketer from Reddit explains that iCloud is known to have stricter spam filters than Gmail. Possible reasons for low deliverability include poor sender reputation, low engagement from iCloud users, or sending to outdated email addresses. It's recommended to clean your list, improve engagement by using double opt-in, and warm up your IP address.

Email marketer from HubSpot explains that email list segmentation involves dividing your email subscribers into smaller groups based on specific criteria, such as demographics, behavior, or interests. Segmentation allows you to send more targeted and personalized emails, which can improve engagement and deliverability. This can be acheived by using tags and lists based on behaviour.

Email marketer from Mailjet explains that Gmail and iCloud use different algorithms and spam filters, leading to varying deliverability. Factors include sender reputation, content quality, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and engagement metrics. iCloud may have stricter filtering rules or prioritize different signals than Gmail.

Email marketer from Postmark explains that Feedback Loops (FBLs) are a mechanism that allows email senders to receive reports when their emails are marked as spam by recipients. By subscribing to FBLs, senders can identify and remove subscribers who are marking their emails as spam, which can improve their sender reputation and deliverability.

Email marketer from Email Geeks (Validity) shares they have seen high spam filtering for the majority of their senders for a couple of months, and Apple has acknowledged this and is working on identifying the root cause, stating it's likely an issue on Apple's side and not related to sender reputation.

Expert from Email Geeks advises reaching out to iCloud again after a month and carefully reviewing their recommendations. They also suggest ensuring that iCloud addresses haven't been purged due to 5xx responses and potentially pausing sending to iCloud to allow reputation to reset, as consistently sending mail to bulk can harm deliverability.

Expert from Word to the Wise discusses the impact of Apple Mail Privacy Protection (MPP). It highlights that MPP inflates open rates, making it harder to gauge actual engagement. It suggests a shift in focus towards other metrics like click-through rates and conversions, and focusing on ensuring list hygiene and deliverability practices to mitigate the effects of inflated open rates.

Expert from Email Geeks recommends contacting Apple directly rather than relying solely on the ESP. He suggests explaining acquisition methods, unsubscribe processes, and honor speed. He also suggests segmenting apple recipients to cut back the emails or reducing the threshold for inactive users to improve deliverability

Expert from Spamresource explains that iCloud's aggressive filtering, while not always transparent, can be due to a variety of factors including spam complaints, low engagement, or content triggers. They advise to diligently review sending practices, focusing on list hygiene, authentication and engaging content as crucial to improve iCloud inboxing.

Expert from Email Geeks explains that Google prioritizes keeping users in the inbox for ad views, while iCloud focuses on promoting its services to sell hardware. The audiences and filtering drivers also differ, with iCloud users being distinct from Gmail users.

Documentation from Microsoft explains that the Smart Network Data Services (SNDS) allows senders to monitor the health and reputation of their sending IPs. It provides data on spam complaints, traffic volume, and other metrics, which can help identify deliverability issues with Microsoft services.

Documentation from Apple shares guidance on sending bulk email, which includes authenticating your email using SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. It's also important to monitor your sender reputation and follow best practices for list management. They stress that their systems prioritize user experience and may filter emails that don't meet their standards.

Documentation from DMARC.org explains DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) works with SPF and DKIM to provide a policy for email receivers on how to handle messages that fail authentication checks. DMARC also provides reporting mechanisms, allowing senders to monitor their email authentication performance and identify potential issues.

Documentation from RFC Editor explains that SPF is a technical standard that prevents email spoofing by verifying the sender's IP address against a list of authorized IP addresses published in the domain's DNS records. Implementing SPF helps email providers identify legitimate senders and reduces the risk of spam and phishing.