What is an Email Blacklist – 7 Ways to Avoid Getting on Blacklists

Wondering what are email blacklists and how to stay away from them? You’ve landed on the right page.

When you set up an email marketing campaign, sometimes there are chances of your email getting blacklisted. That means you may notice a sudden rise in the bounce rate. Of course, you haven’t done things intentionally, but if you find yourself blacklisted, it’s not a big deal to get off it.

In this blog post, you’ll learn what is email blacklists, how they work, why you became the victim, and remedies/precautions to get your IP removed from it.

What is an Email Blacklist?

An email blacklist is a collection of those domain names or IP addresses that are blocked from sending emails to users after suspecting spam activity. It is also known as DNSBL (Domain Name System-based Blackhole List) or RBL Real-time Blackhole List.

Email service providers (Gmails, Outlook, etc.), Internet service providers, and Anti-spam agencies rely on email blacklists to detect and block any spam email incoming through their network.

Why did you get on Blacklists?

Bad email lists and spam complaints cause your IP addresses to get on blacklists. Some more reasons that lead to blacklisting are:

  • If your email recipients click the spam button for your email, the ISPs think your email has poor content. Even clean and opted lists can have this happen but are marked as spam complaints. If the complaints are more, chances are high for your IP to get on a blacklist.
  • Many times bounced email addresses signal ISPs that your list doesn’t opt-in. Many blacklists use spamtrap addresses i.e. a non-existing email address but maybe still found publicly or scraped for lists. Any email sent to such addresses is not from opted-in lists and is found on old lists.
  • With time, your email marketing list will grow as new subscribers will sign up to receive emails. If ISPs find a sudden increase in the size of your email lists in a short period, they will suspect a list purchase.
  • You may think, ‘I am not a spammer. Still, why have I got on blacklists’. Yes. Sometimes things aren’t done intentionally but you may have taken the wrong approach due to which you keep getting red cards for being blacklisted. For example, sending messages to unverified emails, sending emails to a huge amount of recipients, lack of personalization, using too many spam words, and sending emails frequently throughout the day.

Why are Email Blacklists bad for you?

Email blacklists aim to stop spam content from reaching users.

Having your IP or domain on a blacklist can be annoying since it severely affects your email deliverability since your emails end up in the user’s spam folder instead of inbox.

In addition, if your emails don’t land in your readers’ primary inbox, many marketing dollars are wasted as your team spends time crafting emails only to never read. Also, you’ve to take the pain of getting off of email blacklists. It takes considerable time and effort to get your IP or domain name back to a previously good reputation.

In some cases, sending a spam email unknowingly or without any knowledge of good email writing may land you with legal issues. With evolving data and privacy laws, the rules and regulations for spam filters are strictly defined and enforced.

Types of Email Blacklist

Email blacklists are divided into three types depending upon the identifiers used to check the spam source:

IP blacklists – Every server has a unique IP address that defines its location on the internet. They’re also known as public blacklists and are accessible to everybody. IP blacklists can be checked from anywhere.

Domain blacklists – A domain is associated with every email you send. Such a domain is known as an email sending domain. This domain can be seen in From-address, Return-address, and Also in the DKIM signing domain.

Span firewalls – A system of firewalls and blacklists used by companies to secure their internal servers. For example, McAfee.

How do Email Blacklists Operate?

Before finding out the reasons behind email blacklists, let’s learn how blacklists work. Refer to the diagram below.

Source

The spam traps fall into any one of the three types:

1. Recycled spam traps

The email addresses here were once authentic, but are inactive and haven’t engaged with any email for a long time. When messages are sent to such email addresses, they get bounced by the receiving server for more than a year before they are reactivated as spam trap addresses.

2. Typo Traps

Here the email addresses reach recipient lists because of user error. For example, typing abc@gmeil.com instead of abc@gmail.com. These addresses never click any messages they receive. The anti-abuse community sees this as poor list acquisition practices.

3. Pristine Traps

Here the email addresses are never used to sign-up and receive email. Pristine traps occur when senders purchase or scrape email addresses.

How to Check if your Emails are Blacklisted

If you notice a sudden drop in email open rates, chances are you might have been blacklisted.

Sometimes, your email or internet service provider will notify the same but still, you have to check manually. So, how to check?

1. Check for your bounce-back emails.

Several blacklisting services and ISPs send error codes on bounce-back emails. With this, you’ll understand the reason for being blacklisted and identify it based on SMTP error codes.

2. The Spamhaus Project

Services like Spamhaus track spammers. Spamhaus is one of the oldest and most popular companies that provide a panel where you get to see all of the SMTP errors from your domain. To check them, sign up on their website for free and you will see the status and reasons for the drop in emails by checking their SMTP error code table.

3. Real-time blackhole lists (RBLs) such as SURBL and Uribl

They also give you more information about email blacklisting. However, checking with these isn’t enough. There are hundreds of RBLs blacklist services online and checking manually with each of them is time-wasting. In such a case, you can take the help of those services that maintain a list of live RBL directories to check for your domain or IP blacklisting.

Some of the popular tools to check to the blacklist are:

DNSBL.info: A free DNSBL lookup website that scans 100+ DNSBL lists to check IP blacklisting and also shows steps to get off your domain from the blacklist. The service is owned and operated by CGP Holdings, a US-based company with 15+ years of experience in developing dynamic content websites.

MXToolBox: This is another software to check for your domain blacklisting in multiple RBL lists. Similar to MultiRBL, it provides details for the blacklisting and suggestions on your domain’s blacklisting and current status.

MultiRBL.valli.org: This is one of the best and most comprehensive software to check your domain for email blacklisting. It consults over 120 different email blacklist databases. With this checker, you can perform FCrDNS and DNSBL lookups on your IP addresses or domain names. This tool is completely free and performs checks quickly.

How to Get off an Email Blacklist?

If you find your IP or domain blacklisted, don’t panic. This only indicates that something is going wrong with your email marketing strategies. But that’s a different topic. Let’s talk about how to get your domain or IP off the blacklist.

Sometimes, you can simply send a request to remove your IP from the blacklists. Other times, you may have to work with the blacklist operator and assure them that you’ve addressed the issue that got them suspect you.

You may have to follow the instructions given by blacklist operators such as-

  • Remove those email ids that you added after a certain date.
  • Send re-permission request emails to those email ids added after a certain date.
  • Use a double opt-in subscription method for all your subscribers.
  • Terminate the relationship with those affiliate partners that landed you on blacklists.
  • All you have to do is follow the rules established by the blacklists and inbox providers and create a better email experience for your subscribers.

7 Methods to Avoid Email Blacklist

1. Building a List of Verified Email addresses

Do you regularly verify your email list?

After listing 100s of email addresses, proceeding without verification is a direct invitation to low email open rates and ultimately landing on blacklists.

So, how to verify your mailing list?

By using AeroLeads email verifier software. Email verification is of utmost necessity to identify fake emails and delete them from your mailing list. Once you confirm the authenticity of all of your emails, you can confidently connect with your prospects and present them with your product/service via email.

AeroLeads email verifier validates your emails at multiple stages including

  • Format
  • Domain information
  • SMTP check
  • The response of email servers
  • Accept-all domain
  • Compared with its unique base of more than 100 million professional email ids

Head towards AeroLeads verifier and enter the email for verification. Hit enter and you will see the results.

AeroLeads offers four types of pricing plans.

  • Take Off $49/month – 2000 credits, find emails, names, company names, etc., only 1 user.
  • Climb $149/month – 8000 credits, find all contact details, integrations, and 5 users.
  • Cruise $499/month – 30,000 credits, all contact details, unlimited users, and integrations.
  • Enterprise – As per your requirements

Build verified email lists with AeroLeads now!

2. Avoid purchasing email lists

Do you know that more than 90% of the purchased list from external sources includes spam traps? Such spam traps play a major role in your IP or domain getting blacklisted. As mentioned before, a sudden surge in subscriber count signals ISPs that you’ve purchased the lists, and they immediately block your IP.

3. Value-added Email content

A good and experienced email marketer is aware of the importance of value-added email content. But if you’re a novice, better learn the best email writing practices to avoid falling into trap of blacklists.

Your email content must keep readers interested and engaged. Sending blanket emails to everybody can receive spam complaints. Avoid using too many links, images, or spam words. Personalize the emails and content based on their interests and expectations. Avoid direct marketing, offer value instead.

4. Seek their permission

Yes. You’ve to ask their permission for allowing you to send regular emails. Use double opt-in forms to confirm emails and add subscribers via self-initiated subscriptions.

5. Regular update of your email lists

Many times subscribers change their email addresses or delete their existing accounts for personal reasons. If you send emails to those ids, you receive bounce email notifications. If you continue sending emails to inactive ids, MSPs or ISPs get the sign that you aren’t following email sending rules and may blacklist you.

Hence, keep checking your existing email addresses regularly. Use email verifier software like AeroLeads that verifies bulk emails in minutes.

6. Segment your emails

Ensure your readers are getting what they need. Email segmentation refers to sorting out emails based on the audience’s interests, age, occupation, location, expectations, and more. Segmenting emails will not only save you from being blacklisted but also enables sending the right emails to the right person.

7. Avoid sudden increase in mailing volumes

Send emails regularly but steadily. Avoid emailing in irregular patterns such as 4 times for a week or 10 times next week. Such a drastic rise in emailing alters MSPs and your IP may get blacklisted.

It’s a Wrap!

Getting your IP or domain blacklisted is a nightmare. And, it’s heartbreaking when you don’t have any such spam-making intentions yet you get blacklisted.  But remember, if your IP gets blacklisted it’s not a big deal or the end of the world. You can always retrieve back your IP or domain by following the steps mentioned in this article.

As they say, ‘Prevention is always better than cure“, do email marketing ethically and avoid getting blacklisted right in the first place.

Have you experienced getting your domain or IP blacklisted during email marketing? How did you cope with it? Share your experience with us via comments right now.

FAQs

Why would an email be blacklisted?

An email or domain gets blacklisted if  ISPs detect a high number of spam complaints, bad email lists or if the email appears to be an unsolicited promotion. If there is a sudden surge in the email list size, ISPs suspect that the sender might have purchased email lists and blacklists his domain or IP.

How to get off the Email Blacklist?

To get your domain/Ip off the blacklist, submit a removal request to blacklists operators. In serious cases, you have to work with them and satisfy them that you have resolved the problem that landed you on their blacklists. It’s always recommended to avoid getting blacklisted in the first place by observing some ethical email marketing practices because getting off the blacklist is a troublesome process and you may waste your business time and dollars.

Is being blacklisted permanent?

No. Email blacklisting is not permanent. If you submit the request or assure blacklist operators of following the right email practices, you can easily get off the blacklists.

How long does it take to get off a blacklist?

Most blacklists follow the automatic process that removes lower-level IP listings (light offenders) within a week or two. But if the IP address had sent serious spam more than once or in high volume, it can take months

About Rashmi Chimmalgi

Rashmi Chimmalgi is a professional SEO/B2B SaaS Freelance Writer and helps potential business professionals to fulfill their website Content Writing and Lead Generation needs. Meet her on LinkedIn.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

[simple-author-box]

Post Navigation