An email blacklist is a list of email addresses that have been flagged for sending spam or other unwanted email content. Email blacklists are used by email service providers and anti-spam organizations to block incoming emails from known sources of spam, phishing, or other malicious email activity.
Understanding email blacklists is deeply important for any email marketer. Being added to an email blacklist can have serious consequences for email deliverability, because emails sent from a blacklisted address are filtered or blocked by email service providers.
This can result in your emails not being delivered to your subscribers, or being marked as spam. That, in turn, can damage your sender reputation and impact the effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.
How to Tell If Your Email Address is Blacklisted
There are several ways to tell if your email address is on a blacklist. Here are avenues to explore:
Checking your email deliverability
If you notice that your emails are not being delivered to some or all of your subscribers, or if your email engagement rates have suddenly dropped, it could indicate that your email server or domain has been blacklisted.
Using blacklist checker tools
There are several free and paid tools available online that can help you check if your email server or domain is on a blacklist. Some popular tools include MXToolbox, BlacklistCheck, and Spamhaus.
These tools check if your email server or domain is blacklisted. They do so by querying a number of publicly available blacklist databases and providing you with a report of whether your email address is listed in any of these collections. If you are listed, the tool will usually provide information about the reason for the listing and instructions on how to get off the blacklist.
Monitor email bounce rates
If you’re experiencing a high number of bounced emails, it may be a sign that your emails are being blocked by email service providers due to blacklisting.
Check email server logs
You can also check your email server logs for any error messages related to blacklisting, such as “blocked by DNSBL” or “rejected due to spam.”
“Blocked by DNSBL” means that your email server or domain has been added to a DNS-based blacklist (DNSBL), which is a list of IP addresses or domain names that have been identified as sources of spam or other types of malicious activity. DNSBLs are maintained by various organizations that track and monitor email traffic, and email service providers and other groups use these lists to block emails from known spam sources.
Why Your Emails Are Getting Blacklisted
Blacklists are used to block spammers from sending malicious emails to recipients. However, if you’re a simple email marketer, it’s natural to be puzzled on why your email address is getting blacklisted. You aren’t sending harmful emails, so what happened?
There are several reasons why your emails may get sent to a blacklist, even if you don’t send spam, such as:
- Email content: Your email content may trigger spam filters, even if you’re not intentionally sending spam. This may happen if you use certain keywords, phrases, or formatting in your email content that are commonly associated with spam, such as “free” or “cash.”
- Email volume: Even if you’re creating legitimate emails, sending a large volume of emails in a short period of time can trigger spam filters and lead to blacklisting. That’s why it’s important to follow best practices for email marketing and avoid sending too many emails at once.
- Compromised email account: If your email account has been compromised or hacked, it could be used to send spam without your knowledge. This can lead to blacklisting and damage to your sender reputation.
- IP address reputation: Your emails may be sent to a blacklist if your IP address has a poor reputation, often due to previous spamming activity by other senders who shared the same IP address. This can happen if you’re using a shared email server or if your email service provider has a poor reputation.
How to Get Your Email Address of an Email Blacklist
If you discover that your email server or domain is on an email blacklist, you should take immediate action to identify and address the issue. To get off an email blacklist, take the following steps:
- Identify the blacklist: Determine which email blacklist your domain or IP address has been added to. Do this by using an online blacklist checker tool or checking your email server logs.
- Investigate the cause: Once you’ve identified the list, investigate the cause of the blacklisting. This may involve checking your email server configuration, looking for security vulnerabilities, or reviewing email engagement metrics to identify potential spam complaints or other issues.
- Fix the issue: Once you’ve identified the cause of the blacklisting, take steps to fix the problem. This may involve updating your email server configuration, securing your server or domain, or addressing any complaints or issues raised by your email recipients.
- Request removal: After you’ve addressed the issue, you can request removal from the email blacklist. This typically involves filling out a removal request form on the blacklist provider’s website, providing information about the steps you’ve taken to resolve the issue, and providing proof of your identity as the domain or server owner.
- Monitor email deliverability: Once you’ve been removed from the email blacklist, monitor your email deliverability and engagement metrics. This will help you ensure that your emails are being delivered to your subscribers and that your sender reputation remains positive.
Note that removal from an email blacklist may take time, and some blacklist providers require multiple requests or additional steps to ensure that the issue has been fully resolved.
Tips to Prevent Your Emails from Getting Blacklisted
To prevent getting blacklisted, you should follow best practices for email marketing and regularly monitor your email deliverability metrics. Here are tips to help you prevent blacklisting:
- Obtain permission: Only send emails to subscribers who have opted in to receive them. Avoid purchasing email lists or adding subscribers without their permission, as this can lead to high spam complaint rates and blacklisting, since the recipients did not ask to receive emails from you.
- Avoid spam triggers: Avoid using spam trigger words or phrases in your email subject lines and content, as these can trigger spam filters and lead to blacklisting. Examples of spam trigger words include “free,” “cash,” “credit,” and “earn money.”
- Authenticate your email: Use email authentication protocols – such as Sender Policy Framework (SPF), DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) – to verify your email and help prevent spoofing and phishing attacks. These three are email authentication technologies used to help prevent email fraud and ensure email deliverability.
- Monitor email engagement metrics: Regularly monitor your email engagement metrics, such as open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates, to identify any issues or anomalies that could lead to blacklisting.
- Remove inactive or invalid email addresses: Regularly remove inactive or invalid email addresses from your list, as these can lead to high bounce rates and spam complaints. Even if these addresses opted in to receive emails from you in the past, when recipients lose interest in your emails, many simply mark your address as spam instead of unsubscribing.
- Respond to complaints: Respond promptly and appropriately to any complaints or issues raised by your email recipients, and provide an easy way for subscribers to unsubscribe from your list. Listening to recipient feedback can even help you identify issues you couldn’t spot while analyzing your engagement metrics.
