What is Email Blacklist? How to Check and Avoid it {Complete Guide}

Email blacklisting is the biggest cause of email delivery issues. Once a domain or IP address is blocked, you will see an increase in spam complaints and hard bounces. All of these things can affect your reputation, which in turn will reduce your email open rates. 

Email Blacklist Checker is essential for those who use email marketing as their primary marketing strategy to generate revenue and leads.

Email blacklisting can be done for two reasons, one is the IP address of the mail server, and the second is the domain name of the email address to which it is sent.

Sending emails through a named domain will reduce the delivery rate of emails. Most international mailbox providers such as Gmail, Yahoo, and Outlook delete emails from sender domains that have been named and determine low reputation status.

What is Email Blacklist?

An email blacklist is an actual database of IP addresses and locations used to determine which emails are considered spam. The sender’s IP address is managed in this database and is considered spam based on the defined parameters.

It is a filter that determines whether or not an email reaches its intended inbox. If your email or IP address is listed on one of these blocklists, it may affect your email delivery and decline your sales.

How does an email blacklist work?

When you send an email, your ISP (Internet Service Provider) receives it and has the final authority to determine whether your email is valid.

The ISP ensures that your IP address is not previously blacklisted. When the spam filter shows a green icon, it goes to the subscriber’s mailbox.

ISPs use email blacklisting to ensure an email address is valid.

All blacklist criteria are based on ISP policies. Therefore, you should write your email according to the instructions provided by your internet service provider.

Why is spam blacklisted?

It is important to understand that different people have different knowledge about spam. Spam is often referred to as unsolicited email. The purpose of malicious messages is to introduce malware, or viruses into your system. They usually come with a call to action that prompts you to do something that breaks the system.

Spam, on the other hand, is an email that you still need to sign in to but that you have yet to receive. These are not harmful to your computer but a nuisance to your inbox. Internet service providers (ISPs) and anti-spam vendors use spam filters or blacklists to prevent spam from entering their systems or networks.

How does blacklisting happen?

When you send an email, your ISP receives it and compares it to a list of blacklists. Your ISP manages your IP address or domain through a database. Whether in this database or not, your email may be rejected or sent to the recipient’s inbox.

Additionally, email cancellation is determined by Internet service provider policies. 

How to check the email blacklist?

You’ll know you’ve been blacklisted when an undelivered email generates an error message notifying you that you’ve been blacklisted.

However, if you do not receive such a notification and notice that your shipping costs have suddenly dropped, check your email blacklist.

The easiest way to do this is to visit the websites of the most popular blacklist suppliers and check their blacklists directly. These sites usually have search tools that allow you to enter an IP address or domain name and perform a search. It’s that simple.

How to check if you are blacklisted?

Confidence is good, but overconfidence can lead to train wrecks.

“Is my email blacklisted?” Instead of thinking like that, you should ensure you are not blacklisted in your email.

To check if you are blacklisted, follow the steps below.

Step 1: Take the test

You should always test the following tools to see any problems with your email.

• Postal worker
• Glock app
• No spam

When you open one of these sites, you will be prompted to send an email to that site’s email address.

After they receive your email, they will analyze it and tell you how spammy it is. Be sure to make the recommended changes as well.

Step 2: Check the blacklist

If you’re tracking engagement and it’s dropping, you can blame the blacklist.

You need to manually check the various blacklists to find the reason for the low open rate. These blacklists are public.

You can check directly from the domain name. Use the below-listed websites to check if your domain is blacklisted.

• Spamhaus
• Microsoft
• Proofpoint
• Barracuda
• Cisco/Ironport

If you’re blacklisted, make sure you’re not a spammer and ask to be removed.

Once you receive a confirmation message, it will be removed from your list. This whole process takes about 24 hours.

How to avoid being blacklisted?

Marketers must avoid being blacklisted from successful email marketing campaigns. You must use the best strategy to get your emails through spam filters. 

You can use different methods, such as:

1. Spam test

Always check the viability of your email campaigns with a spam test. There are many tools and methods for checking domain names against multiple blacklists. It allows for timely corrective action.

2. Don’t buy the listings

When you subscribe to a mailing list, you are more likely to fall victim to spam traps set up by your ISP. Furthermore, they often contain old, expired, and illegal email addresses.

3. Filter your mailing list

Email cleanliness is an important factor here. Delete old, unused, and bounced email addresses from time to time. Monitor performance with data analysis tools. Pay attention to your email open and click rate metrics and any noticeable changes.

4. Segment your mailing list

Segmentation is important in determining your target audience and understanding their needs and requirements. You need to properly segment your mailing list and format your emails according to the needs of your target audience.

5. Keep emails consistent

Engagement, personalization, communication, and consistency are key components of long-term audience retention. Your emails should include personalized, timely, and interactive content—view email sending frequency. Add as much value as possible and give them what they want.

Conclusion

Getting blacklisted is a common problem for companies running email marketing campaigns. The most important thing is that you learn the rules of this game so that none of your campaigns fail from the beginning. Being tactically minded and building a smart strategy can reduce your chances of getting blacklisted.

Interactive content is the best way to develop long-term relationships with customers. It reduces spam complaints and increases email deliverability and click-through rates.

Also, to get more help on email marketing campaigns, schedule a demo with NotifyVisitors.

FAQs

1. Is it possible to check if my email is blacklisted?

You can be sure by checking out one of the many free blacklist checkers. You can pick and choose sites on Google. Alternatively, you can be notified of incoming emails. If your email emails are bouncing around, you should check your status. You also use metrics like open rates, click-through rates, and email-sending authority.

2. How can I stop my email from being blacklisted?

It’s easy to avoid an email blacklist. Avoid buying email lists, send great content optimized for both desktop and mobile devices, keep a close eye on your email statistics, and make sure you segment your mailing list.

3. How many emails can I send without being blacklisted?

Starting with large lists, you will run into problems, especially if the bounce rate is high. Start small, warm up your IP address, and build your reputation. 150-400 emails per day are perfect. As your list grows, you’ll know when to increase the size.

Also Read:

• 15 Reasons Why Your Email is Going to the Spam Folder
• Shopify Emails Going to Spam? Reasons + Tips to Stop it
• 18 Worst Email Marketing Mistakes You Should Avoid
• 14 Best Email Automation Tools to Try [Compared]
• 19 Best eCommerce Email Marketing Software