Remove any Bounces that contain the following DSN Immediately
- '%'t have a yahoo.com account%'
- '%user unknown%'
- '%illegal alias%'
- '%unknown user%'
- '%mailbox not found%'
- '%unknown address%'
- '%no mailbox%'
- '%free AIM%'
- '%no such%'
- '%disabled or discontinued%'
- '%not a valid%'
- '%undeliverable address%'
Manage bounces correctly: Bounce management is critical to a good reputation and deliverability. However, there are literally thousands of bounce codes and they are constantly changing as ISPs continue to battle spammers, so managing bounces can become difficult and time consuming.
Hard bounces are permanent delivery errors, such as invalid, closed, or non-existent addresses, and they must be removed from your list immediately as mailing to these addresses will damage your reputation. Soft bounces, or transient bounces, are temporary delivery errors caused when a server is down, the network connection is bad, or an inbox is full. It is okay to resend the messages to these subscribers, but you must review your bounce reports first to be sure you take the correct action on the different failure codes so you do not continue to send messages when there is a good chance that the delivery will fail. Monitoring your bounce data allows you to identify if a particular email server is blocking your messages so you may resolve the issue quickly and save your reputation.
Follow list acquisition best practices: The best way to avoid complaints is to make your opt-in process memorable to your subscribers while clearly communicating your delivery schedule and setting expectations. Using tactics such as closed-loop confirmation, allowing your subscribers to set their own preferences for frequency and content, and providing log-in information to your preference center so your subscribers can manage their online accounts, will greatly decrease the amount of complaints you receive. It will also ensure that your list does not include spam traps, which are valid email addresses that are set up to capture unsolicited messages.
You should review your subscription process regularly, making sure to update the process as necessary. For example, it is no longer safe to assume you have someone’s permission to send them an email, you must ask for it. Have subscribers select the emails they wish to receive by selecting unchecked subscription boxes. Also, if you are still automatically subscribing email addresses you obtained through tradeshow giveaways or other gimmicks, stop. A better practice is to send a follow up email inviting the recipients to subscribe to your email list. Slight modifications of your subscription process will reduce the number of spam complaints you receive and will ensure your reputation remains intact.
