In short, this is an Email Manager’s worst nightmare.
Depending on your background, IP Blacklisting can mean different things to you. Simply put, an IP Blacklist (also referred to as an IP Blocklist) is a list that contains a combination of IP addresses and domains that are deemed spam related and may have done something to oppose a provider’s terms of service.
No matter how skilled your words are… they will never reach the target audience. You can have the perfect subject line, lead in, and call to action. It’ll be all for nothing. That’s a frustrating list to be on as it results in a lot of wasted effort.
Even worse!… The more often your IP address and domain get flagged, the easier it is to get blacklisted in the future. It is a slippery slope that can get you nowhere fast. Conversely, as an average person on the computer, IP blacklisting is your best friend. Spam isn’t the only thing it protects you from. Viruses and Malware attacks are also prevented using these techniques. Ultimately, you can conclude that IP Blacklisting is a necessary evil.
An evil you can learn to overcome and beat as you continue to read this article.
What lands you on the naughty list?
Fundamentals are important in any skillful endeavor. It is no different in the practice of great email hygiene. You may find some of these IP Blacklist sins familiar as they are the inverse of proper email hygiene. They may also ring a bell because InboxAlly has covered a variety of these topics in previous blogs.
Without further ado this is what not to do:
- Using an email that hasn’t been warmed up and, in turn, sending an uncharacteristically large volume of emails
- If your PC/device is infected by a virus the IP address will then be listed and that’s bad news for any emails sent from the listed address
- Having your IP or domain flagged as spam too often
- Cloud services where your vendor goes behind your back and re-uses the IP address with another customer that is already blacklisted
- Already compromised web servers and/or user accounts
- Your Email list has a high hard bounce rate. This is a big red alarm that your recipients haven’t opted into newsletters, cold emails, etc
- Using apps, software, or browsers that are uncommon/unknown may be deemed insecure resulting in a blacklisting
- Sharing hosting could be a mysterious culprit as other accounts and websites may not have read this list and committed the crimes you haven’t
- Purchased lead lists that have incorrect, dead, non-existent, or spam trap emails
- Using certain keywords that are recognized as spam
- Ignoring unsubscribe requests from recipients
- An overly complicated unsubscribe process that leads to a lazy recipient simply marking you as spam
- Direct complaints from recipients to blacklist providers
Some of these are seemingly unavoidable. Writing great, engaging copy is a challenge enough without these silly hurdles. So, let’s go over what you can do before or after ending up on an IP Blacklist.
The Best Preventative Measures
You may know some of these as they are a part of proper email list etiquette. Here is a list of all the things you can do to avoid the issues mentioned above so you don’t end up on a Blacklist.
- Revise and edit your lead list to ensure there are no typos or incorrect email addresses
- Continue to edit the mailing list based on its performance in the Email Campaign to minimize bounce rates
- Include a 2-step subscription verification process for acquiring new subscribers
- Always include an unsubscribe option
- Simplify the ability to unsubscribe
- Honor said unsubscribe option
- Prioritizing high deliverability with engaging subject lines, personalized content, etc
- Stay on top of which devices use your network in case they are compromised
- Check to see if your PC or website has viruses
- Make sure the configuration of the server is correct
- Having an up-to-date server security
- Take a look at VPNs or proxies to avoid spoiled IP addresses
- Verify that no unauthorized traffic is going out on your behalf
- Using a static IP Address over a dynamic one
- Employ a trusted hosting provider
- Grow the mailing list organically over time
- Using an email deliverability tool like InboxAlly to make this list less cumbersome…
The intention of providing an exhaustive list like this is to best prepare you for success. It is a tall order to plan, create, and monitor an Email campaign. If you are a solo freelancer or part of a small team, outsourcing as much as you can to dependable tools and services can lessen this dull pain.
How to check for and de-list your IP/Domain
If you are using Email Deliverability tools like InboxAlly , you will be notified how often your emails end up in the spam folder. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have been blacklisted. It is best to go directly to blacklisting sites and go through their specific removal process.
Some common IP Blacklist providers are Barracuda, Spamhaus, and Sorbs. A few blacklisting tools make it easy and offer a self-service removal process.
The important thing to note here is to solve the email deliverability issue or you will likely get blacklisted again. If you are reading this article in aims to escape this online death sentence, InboxAlly can be an illuminating adversary to the necessary evils of Blacklist services. The customizable actions InboxAlly adds to your email’s behavioral history can even boost your reputation beyond what it originally was.
By increasing your personal proficiency and delegating intelligently… it will be virtually impossible to get blacklisted again.
It can become quite a complex topic, so it is in high hopes that you have learned all you need to know about IP Blacklisting from this article. If you have any questions about increasing email campaign success, feel free to contact a deliverability expert at InboxAlly to fill in the blanks.