Print
Email notifications and SPAM/JUNK
You may find that emails sent to Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, or another major provider are being sent to the spam/junk folder.
This can usually happens for 2 reasons:
- The sending party (Xen.Ed) is blacklisted (IP, DNSBL).
- The domain name and account for the sender is not configured correctly (SPF, DKIM)
How does Xen.Ed prevent its IP addresses from appearing on DNSBLs?
Domain Name System-based Blackhole Lists (DNSBLs)—sometimes referred to as Realtime Blackhole Lists (RBLs), deny lists, blocklists, or blacklists—are intended to inform email providers of IP addresses that are suspected of sending unwanted email.
Our systems look for signs of abuse. If we detect sending patterns or other characteristics that could lead to an IP address being added to a DNSBL, we send a notification to the sender. If the situation is severe, or if the sender doesn't fix the issue after we send the notification, we'll pause the sender's ability to send email until they resolve the issue. Enforcing our sending policies in this way helps reduce the chances that our IP addresses end up on DNSBLs.
Our systems look for signs of abuse. If we detect sending patterns or other characteristics that could lead to an IP address being added to a DNSBL, we send a notification to the sender. If the situation is severe, or if the sender doesn't fix the issue after we send the notification, we'll pause the sender's ability to send email until they resolve the issue. Enforcing our sending policies in this way helps reduce the chances that our IP addresses end up on DNSBLs.
Is this happening because my sending IP address is on a DNSBL?
Probably not. If an IP address is listed by a DNSBL with significant impact, such as one of the DNSBLs from Spamhaus, major email providers will reject email from that IP address completely, rather than sending it to the spam folder.
How do I configure the domain for Xen.Ed to use?
We have prepared a dedicated guide which you can find at this address: https://help.xen.education/docs/en/77940951-sending-notifications-from-your-own-email-domain.
I have configured everything, but emails are still going to SPAM/JUNK. Why?
When major email providers accept an email (rather than rejecting it, which would be a blacklisting issue as stated above), they usually consider user engagement when considering whether to place the message in the inbox or in the spam folder. User engagement refers to the ways in which users interacted with the messages you sent them previously.
To increase the chances that your messages reach your customers' inboxes, you should implement all of the following best practices:
To increase the chances that your messages reach your customers' inboxes, you should implement all of the following best practices:
- Never rent or purchase lists of email addresses. Renting or purchasing lists is a violation of the Mastedly Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) and isn't allowed on Xen.Ed under any circumstances.
- Only send email to customers who explicitly asked to receive email from you. In many countries and jurisdictions around the world, it's illegal to send email to recipients who didn't explicitly agree to receive email from you.
- Stop sending email to customers who haven't opened or clicked links in messages that you've sent in the past 30–90 days. This step can help to keep your engagement rates high, which increases the chances that the messages you send in the future arrive in recipients' inboxes.
- Use consistent design elements and writing styles in each message that you send to ensure that customers can easily identify messages from you.
- Use email authentication mechanisms, such as SPF and DKIM.
- When customers use a web form to subscribe to your content, send them an email to confirm that they want to receive email from you. Don't send them any additional email until they confirm that they want to receive email from you. This process is known as confirmed opt-in or double opt-in.
- Make it easy for your customers to unsubscribe, and honor unsubscribe requests immediately.
- If you send email that contains links, check those links against the Spamhaus Domain Block List (DBL). To test your links, use the Domain Lookup Tool on the Spamhaus website.
By implementing these practices, you can improve your sender reputation, which increases the likelihood that the email you send reaches recipients' inboxes. Implementing these practices also helps keep the bounce and complaint rates low for your account, and reduces the risk of sending email to spamtraps.
FROGED