{"id":5791,"date":"2019-03-21T14:00:05","date_gmt":"2019-03-21T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/?p=5791"},"modified":"2025-06-25T14:01:31","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T13:01:31","slug":"avoid-email-blacklist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodpecker.co\/blog\/avoid-email-blacklist\/","title":{"rendered":"What Do I Need to Know About Email Blacklists?"},"content":{"rendered":"

You set up a cold email<\/span><\/a> campaign and everything seems to run smoothly until you have a look at the statistics and notice a very high bounce rate. This may be a sign that you got blacklisted. First of all – don\u2019t panic. Provided you landed on a blacklist unintentionally, it\u2019s not such a big deal to get yourself off it. What costs much more effort, though, is regaining good sending reputation afterward. But first let me explain to you how blacklists work, why you landed on one and what you can do to get your IP removed from it.<\/p>\n

How do email blacklists work?<\/h2>\n

Email<\/span> blacklist is a dark, murky place for those who have been caught red-handed spamming. But in some cases, you may get yourself on a blacklist out of unawareness or by accident. To find out the reason behind it, you need to learn how blacklists work first.<\/p>\n

Blacklisting is like putting a finger at spammers. It\u2019s a process of identifying the IPs and domains that are used to send out mass email<\/span> spam and compile them on a list.<\/p>\n

If the recipient\u2019s email or internet service provider uses blacklists, the IP of each incoming email sender is checked against such a list. It works kinda like a bouncer in a club who checks each entering person against a guest list. If the IP happens to appear on a blacklist, the email<\/span> is rejected and never gets delivered to the recipient\u2019s inbox<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Then, the email<\/span> goes through a spam filter. If everything is ok, a spam filter gives the email<\/span> a green light to reach its destination, namely the recipient\u2019s inbox<\/span>. If the email<\/span> looks suspicious to the spam filters, it is flagged as spam and finds its miserable end in the spam folder or may get bounced.<\/p>\n

How a blacklist database is built?<\/h4>\n

Blacklists build their database based largely on the spam reports. Every time an email<\/span> is marked as spam either manually by a human or automatically by a spam filter, a note is given to a blacklist. The sender collects yellow cards. Once there are enough complaints to meet the blacklist criteria, a sender\u2019s IP or domain gets blacklisted. The sender finally receives a red card.<\/p>\n

Another way of landing on one of the infamous lists is when someone sends a personal request to blacklist certain IPs or domains. Such a request must be accompanied by a proper justification or proof that a sender is a notorious spammer.<\/p>\n

One more factor that determines whether an IP address or domain should be blacklisted is a high bounce rate. Both email<\/span> service and internet service providers monitor a sender\u2019s bounce rate as it is often connected with spamming activity.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why it\u2019s so important to maintain an up-to-date and high-quality email<\/span> list. If the bounce rate stays at a high level, the email<\/span> or internet service provider tips off a blacklist. You know the end of the story.<\/p>\n

Last, but not least, the email<\/span> engagement level plays a huge role in determining email<\/span> sending reputation. The way the recipients interact with the emails<\/span> gives an email<\/span> service provider a sign that the messages are either welcome or unwanted. If the emails<\/span> are being opened, read and replied to, the sender doesn\u2019t raise any suspicion. On the contrary, if all the emails<\/span> get deleted without being opened or there are no replies, that\u2019s enough to raise a red flag.<\/p>\n

Although not all the email providers take the engagement level into account when assessing user’s sending reputation, it’s better\u00a0to keep it in mind and make sure your emails<\/span> get prospects’ interest.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019m not a spammer. Why have I been blacklisted then?<\/h4>\n

Very often senders unintentionally keep getting red cards resulting in being blacklisted due to their wrong approach to sending emails<\/span> at scale. What are the most serious mistakes? For example, sending to unverified email addresses<\/span>, not taking enough care of the email database quality, extremely high volume of outcoming mail, the lack of personalization or using spam words<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Avoiding spam words<\/a> can be especially difficult in certain industries, for example, finance and real estate, but we have a few tips on how to minimize the problem:<\/p>\n

A Pain of Cold Emailing in Finance\/Real Estate, and How to Overcome it >><\/a><\/p>\n

Each blacklist has its own criteria for red-flagging an IP. Usually, the reason is not a secret and you can check it on a blacklist\u2019s website. Most often the cause is technical or policy-based.<\/p>\n

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