How to Avoid Those Blacklist Blues
How to stay off blacklists (and what to do if you land on one).
How to stay off blacklists (and what to do if you land on one).
We talked about how email blacklists and whitelists work last time. A receiving email system interrogates one or more existing databases to determine whether the email sender’s IP address matches that of a known spammer or a known “good guy.” If there’s a match, the receiving system often makes the delivery decision based on that match. It rejects the email in the case of a blacklist or delivers it in the case of a whitelist.
Today, we’ll focus on blacklists. First and foremost: beginning a conversation with “What gives you the right…?!” is guaranteed not to have the desired effect.
Rather, focus on staying off their radar, and know what to do if you suddenly find yourself on such a list. Remember, there’s a direct relationship between how reliable and responsible a blacklist is and how widely it’s used and how hard it is to get listed. You have to try really hard to land on the more well-respected, widely used blacklists.
To stay off blacklists:
If, despite all the above, you find yourself on a blacklist, here’s what to do. First, take a deep breath; it’ll be OK. Then, gather the following information:
If the problem mailing originated with one of your customers, you’ll need to obtain some of this information from them. Remember, you’re responsible for the practices of those who use your mailing resources.
Next, examine this information very carefully to determine what likely caused the blacklisting. If you figure it out, fix it.
Then go to the blacklist’s Web site. Many let you look up your own record to determine what lead to the listing. If you’ve already fixed the problem, you may be able to initiate a removal on the spot.
After you review everything, contact both the blacklist maintainer and the ISPs rejecting your email based on the listing. If you can show proof of opt-in or that you’ve fixed any problem, the list maintainer should remove your IP address from the blocklist. If it doesn’t, the ISP should whitelist the IP address.
By engaging in responsible email practices, instituting appropriate policies, and taking proactive measures such as those outlined above, you can help ensure your email is delivered, not sidelined by a blacklist.
Want more email marketing information? ClickZ E-Mail Reference is an archive of all our email columns, organized by topic.
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