You put time and effort into crafting the best marketing emails to promote your brand. But these emails will only help your brand if they reach your recipients’ inboxes. An email blacklist can prevent your messages from getting through to your email subscribers.
To give your email marketing campaigns the best chance of success, you need to understand blacklist emails and the steps you can take to avoid getting blacklisted. Learn the key details about blacklist email in this comprehensive guide.
What is a blacklist email?
An email blacklist is a list of IP addresses and domains associated with sending spam or malicious content. These blacklists are regularly updated with new addresses flagged for spam.
Ending up on an email blacklist can significantly damage a sender’s ability to reach their email recipients. Once you’re on a blacklist, internet service providers (ISPs) and email service providers may filter out your messages and block them from arriving in your recipients’ inboxes.
Some of the potential consequences of being on email blacklists include:
- Lower deliverability rates
- Lower email open rates
- Reduced engagement
- Damaged business reputation
- Missing key email communications
Your goal should always be to avoid ending up on any email blacklists. The effectiveness of your email digital marketing campaigns depends on it.
The purpose and function of email blacklists
Email blacklists exist to help prevent unwanted or suspicious messages from reaching people’s inboxes. They make it more difficult for cybercriminals and spammers to take advantage of email users.
These blacklists aren’t perfect, however. Senders can end up on the lists even if they don’t have any bad intentions. That’s why it’s so important to understand and avoid the behaviors that will put you on a blacklist email.
Types of email blacklists
Different email blacklists focus on different suspicious behaviors. You may end up on certain types of blacklists and not others depending on how you’re running your email marketing campaigns.
Below we dive into the four main types of email blacklists:
- New domain email blacklists
- Spam trap email blacklists
- Phishing and ransomware blacklists
- General spam list
New domain email blacklists
Immediately after you create your new email domain, it will probably appear on some new domain email blacklists. These lists include most new domains for a few weeks after their creation. Once a few weeks pass, your domain will come off the blacklist.
The purpose of new domain email blacklists is to prevent spammers from simply buying new domains every time they damage their sender reputation on other domains. Without these lists, anyone could send bulk spam emails whenever they create a new domain.
Spam trap email blacklists
ISPs use old, abandoned emails to find people sending spam in a “spam trap.” If you send a message to one of these defunct emails, they will add you to a spam trap email blacklist.
The best way to avoid getting caught in these traps is never to purchase an email list. You cannot verify the emails on a purchased list, and you could seriously damage your reputation by sending messages to these recipients. Also, regularly audit your email list and remove any old or incorrect addresses.
Phishing and ransomware blacklists
Phishing and ransomware blacklists flag senders who include malware or scams in their messages. Sending malware or phishing messages is a crime, and it’s very challenging to get off these blacklists once you’re on them. Avoid sending file attachments in your mass emails whenever possible since files can seem suspicious.
General spam blacklists
General spam blacklists are the easiest to get caught in accidentally. You may end up on one of these lists if many people report your messages as spam or if you use a lot of spam trigger phrases like “act fast!” or “please open.” If you repair your sender reputation and adjust your messages, you should be able to get your brand removed from these lists.
Reasons for getting blacklisted
The biggest question business owners ask after finding out their business is on an email blacklist is, “Why?” Understand the reasons for getting blacklisted so you can avoid them. These are some of the most common:
- Poor email hygiene: Not regularly checking and updating your email list to make sure it only contains accurate, active email addresses can get you on email blacklists.
- High email bounce rate. Your bounce rate is the percentage of email messages that don’t reach your recipients. The higher it is, the more likely you are to end up on blacklists.
- Excessive spam complaints: If too many of your email recipients flag your messages as spam, you’ll end up on a blacklist.
- Overuse of mass email campaigns: Sending out high volumes of emails over short periods can look suspicious and may get you added to blacklists.
Checking if you are on a blacklist
You can be on a blacklist without even knowing it. So, you may wonder, “How do I know if I am blacklisted?”
Luckily, there are a few methods to check email blacklists for your business. Try the following approaches.
Using blacklist checker websites
The easiest way to determine whether your IP address or domain appears on email blacklists is to use blacklist checker websites. These websites compare your domain and IP address to email blacklists to see if there are any matches. If you are on any of the searched blacklists, they’ll appear in a list. Then, you can take action and start working toward getting your address or domain off of those lists.
Some of the websites where you can check your email address for blacklists include:
- EmailListVerify
- MXToolbox
- DNS Checker
- Debouncer
Conducting test emails
You can also conduct tests to see if ISPs and email providers are blocking your messages to recipients. Send a sample message to a short list of email addresses (ideally from different email providers) you can access.
Then open up those inboxes to see if your message arrived. If the test email didn’t arrive, that’s a red flag that you’re on at least one email blacklist. It’s another email blacklist check that should prompt you to investigate further.
Monitoring email campaign metrics
If you’re already running email campaigns, you may still wonder, “How do I know if my email sender is blacklisted?” In that case, keeping track of your campaign metrics over time is essential.
A sudden drop in your deliverability rates or a spike in your bounce rate may indicate a blacklist issue. Look for considerable swings in your email campaign metrics and dig deeper if you see changes like these that are concerning.
Steps to remove your IP/domain from a blacklist
If you find out you are on a blacklist, it’s okay. You can change that. So, how do I clear my blacklist email?
By following a few steps, you should be able to remove yourself from those lists.
Identifying the blacklist and removal process
The first step is determining which blacklists you’re on. Your email address blacklist check should give you a list.
From there, determine each blacklist’s specific removal process. Follow the instructions the blacklist provides on their website.
Communicating with blacklist operators
In some cases, you may need to contact the blacklist operators directly by phone or email to resolve the issue. Answer any questions they have and make a note of any tips they share for getting off the blacklist.
Implementing necessary changes for removal
For the operators to remove you, you must show that you have changed your email practices. For example, if you were sending suspicious file attachments before, you’ll need to stop.
The blacklist operators will only take you off the blacklists once you improve your email marketing practices. You need to show that you’re a reliable sender.
Best practices to avoid being blacklisted
By implementing email marketing best practices, you significantly reduce your chances of ending up on email blacklists. Make sure you’re following these guidelines.
Use consent- and subscription-based emailing
Sending messages to people who don’t want to hear from your business is an easy way to receive spam reports and get blacklisted. Avoid this pitfall with consent- and subscription-based emailing.
In this approach, you only email people who show interest in your brand and subscribe to your email list. Choose email sign-up tools that use double opt-in to confirm that new subscribers provided accurate email addresses.
Validating new subscribers’ email addresses
Some people misspell their email addresses or potentially provide false addresses when signing up for email lists. You could be flagged as an untrustworthy sender if you send messages to those invalid addresses.
Avoid the issue by validating each new subscriber’s address. Require them to confirm their address by clicking a link in an email you send before adding them to your list.
Optimizing email content
Readers don’t generally report interesting, valuable email content as spam. Improve your content to reduce the odds of ending up on a blacklist.
Monitoring campaign analytics and sender reputation
Keep an eye on your campaign metrics for any sudden changes. If you’re added to a blacklist, your campaign metrics will most likely change significantly.
Email campaign design for better engagement
Designing better email campaigns will not only protect you from ending up on blacklists, but it will also help you achieve better engagement rates. Make sure your campaigns include design elements such as the following.
Effective email subject lines
Your email subject lines should be attention-grabbing without using cheap tricks like misleading messages. Avoid words and phrases that trigger spam filters in your subject lines.
Inverted pyramid model for CTAs
To direct your readers’ eyes to your CTA button, use an inverted pyramid. This structure places the most eye-catching, important information at the top, followed by slightly less important details, and then the CTA.
Mobile-first email design
More than half of all email traffic comes from mobile devices. You need to optimize your emails for mobile so you can reach those users. Make sure your buttons are large enough to click easily on a touchscreen and use plenty of white space.
Avoiding trigger words and phrases
Every email marketer wants to catch their audience’s attention and persuade recipients to open their emails. Unfortunately, that enthusiasm can lead marketers to use spam trigger words and phrases that are ultimately counterproductive. Spam filters flag emails with these phrases and often dump senders onto blacklists for overusing them.
Don’t put spam trigger words and phrases in your subject lines and email body content. These phrases include:
- Hurry
- Running out
- Exclusive deal
- Free
- Act fast!
- Don’t miss out
- Now
- Please open
- Instant
Utilizing the right email tools
Certain email service providers offer tools that help you avoid blacklists. For example, an email list checker can help you find and eliminate outdated email addresses on your email list. Getting rid of defunct emails will ensure you steer clear of spam traps.
Consider using other tools that help you design effective messages and track and analyze your campaign metrics. Constant Contact offers various email marketing tools, including pre-designed templates, AI writing tools, and campaign analysis.
These features make it easy to create and launch stand-out email marketing campaigns. Sign up for a free trial of Constant Contact today.
Additional resources and recommended reading
Even small changes to your emails can affect your campaign outcomes. The more you can learn about email blacklists and other factors that can threaten your campaign, the better.
To optimize your campaigns further, check out articles like The Best Time to Send a Marketing Email and How To Improve Sender Score and Email Reputation.
Stay off email blacklists for better marketing results
It’s important to always stay on top of developments in the email marketing space. This industry is constantly evolving, and you need to adapt to ensure your email marketing campaigns are as successful as possible. Avoiding email blacklists, even as they adjust their criteria, is essential.
Simple measures like practicing email hygiene, monitoring your campaign metrics, and optimizing your email content go a long way toward keeping you off blacklists. And if you do end up on a blacklist, don’t panic. By changing your email practices and contacting the blacklist operator, you can often remove your business from those lists and keep providing your audience with great content.
