The Ultimate Guide to Email BlacklistsHenry Gutierrez and Sarah MatthewsProfessional Services ConsultantsReturn Path@returnpath

The Blacklist that Stole Christmas

One retailer experienced losses in millions due to a blacklisting event that happened right after Black Friday. The mistakes they made are usually the same mistakes everyone makes:

Not monitoring for blacklistsNot knowing how to resolve the listing properlyNot knowing why businesses get blocked

Are blacklists really that bad?

In another extreme example, one company decided to do absolutely nothing about a blacklisting at one of the world’s largest blacklists. As a result, they went out of business within a few short months.

Way back when….

Way back when….

AHBL, ANT, Backscatter.org, BARRACUDA, BURNT-TECH, CASA-CBL, CASA-CBL+, CASA-CDL, CBL, CYBERLOGIC, DEADBEEF, DNSBLINFO, DULRU, EMAILBASURA, FABELSOURCES, FIVETEN, GIRL, GRIP, HIL, HIL, HILLI, ICMFORBIDDEN, IMP-SPAM, IMP-WORM, INTERSIL, ivmSIP, ivmSIP/24, KEMPTBL, KUNDENSERVER, LASHBACK, LNSGBLOCK, LNSGBULK, LNSGDUL, LNSGMULTI, LNSGOR, LNSGSRC, SRBLCombined, MSRBL-Images, MSRBL-Phising, MSRBL-Spam, MSRBL-Viruses, NERD, NETHERRELAYS, NETHERUNSURE, NIXSPAM, NJABL, NJABLDUL, NJABLFORMMAIL, NJABLMULTI, NJABLPROXIES, NJABLSOURCES, NLKUNBLACKLIST, NLKUNWHITELIST, NOFALSEPOSITIVE, NOMOREFUNN, ORID, OSPAM, PDL, PSBL, RANGERSBL, RATS-Dyna, RATS-NoPtr, RATS-Spam, REDHAWK, RRBL, SCHULTE, SDERB, SENDERBASE, SERVICESNET, SOLID, SORBS-BLOCK, SORBS-DUHL, SORBS-HTTP, SORBS-MISC, SORBS-SMTP, SORBS-SOCKS, SORBSSPAM, SORBS-WEB, SORBS-ZOMBIE, SPAMCANNIBAL, SPAMCOP, Spamhaus-ZEN, SPAMSOURCES, SPEWS1, SPEWS2, SWINOG, TECHNOVISION, TRIUMF, UCEPROTECTL1, UCEPROTECTL2, UCEPROTECTL3, VIRBL, WPBL, WSFF, ZONEEDIT, CSMA, DUINV, ORVEDB, RSBL, SPAMRBL

Who, What, When, Where & Why!

Inbox,  Spam  or  Blocked?  

Content  Filtering  

Whitelists  Blacklists  

Part of a bigger picture

Spam  Trap  Hits  

Hard  Bounces  

RFC  Compliance  

Sender  Reputa@on  

Return  Path  Cer@fica@on  

Complaints  Subscriber  Engagement  

Sender  Compliance  

•  RBL (Real-time Black List)•  DNSBL

(Domain Name Server Black List)

Types of blacklist

•  SURBL (Spam URL Real-time Blocklist)

Other types of blacklist

•  Return Path Reputation Network Blacklist•  SpamCop•  CBL•  Spamhaus•  UBL

Which ones are important?

What Countries See the Most Blacklistings?

Checking for Blacklistings: Query the Blacklist site

Checking for Blacklistings: Query the Blacklist site

Checking for Blacklistings: Blacklist Monitor

Checking for Blacklistings: Be proactive with Inbox Preview

Automatically check for new listings using Blacklist MonitorRun new email campaigns prior to deployment to check for domain blacklists

Common Reasons for getting Blacklisted

• rDNS• Dynamic IP range

Infrastructure

The Different Types of Spam Traps

Pristine / Honey Pot / True Trap

Recycled Traps

Data is Key for Understanding Why

• Return Path

• SNDS

Spam Trap Data Sources

What can I do about a blacklisting?

Dealing with Blacklist Operators the Right Way

• Two ears, one mouth• Ten fingers?!• Your are listed/blocked for a reason• Ask for information and insight• Remember: they have different data

Do: Listen Before Talking

• Emailing from your company domain helps prove IP ownership of the problem IP space•  Include all IP addresses and error messages• Where do you see the block listed?

Do: Prove Identity and Problem Up Front

• List acquisition sources and any recent changes to your database

• Frequency and types of mailings

•  Important Metrics•  Complaint Rates•  Reputation Scores

• List Management Practices•  Inactive removals•  Feedback Loops•  Bounce Management

Do: Have Plenty of Data

Do: Be Truthful

• Dishonesty never helps• Future communications are derailed• The data tells its own story

Do: Use a Translator

• Email Service Provider • Deliverability Consultant (like Return Path!) • Experience communicating with Blacklist Operators • Leverage those relationships! • Limit Blacklist contact to Senior Staff

What {not} to do

“Hey Friend – we met at that conference. Can you do me a favor?”

• What the Blacklist operator hears: I’m too important for your process• Go through the proper channels first• Use the published removal procedures on the website• Avoid reaching out to personal contacts•  If you must escalate, have a good case and explain why

Don’t: Go Through the Back Door

“Remove me from your blacklist now. I am NOT a spammer!!!”

• What they hear: “Do your job” and “I’m really a spammer.”• Demands are never received well.• Removal is the obvious request.• Removal only happens when the problem is fixed.• That’s their job!

Don’t: Demand Removal

Don’t: Mention CAN-SPAM

“But I’m CAN-SPAM compliant.”

• What they hear: “I’m following the law, but not much more than that.”• CAN-SPAM is a US law only.• For most Blacklist operators, CAN-SPAM means “I Can

Spam!”•  If a Blacklist operator stats you’re not following CAN-

SPAM, that’s really, really bad news.

Prevention is Always Better than the Cure

Preventing blacklisting(It’s all about list hygiene)

Do not buy email addresses

Obtain and keep proof of permission

Send only to people who are reading your email

Employ rigorous bounce processing procedures

Have an obvious & working unsubscribe method

Provide a feedback mechanism (reply address)

Register with Abuse.net

Maintain clear & accurate domain information

Monitor & act on all complaints

Hygiene: Remove Unknown Users

• Reject malformed addresses:•  me@hotmai.com•  hi@geemail.com• Reject abuse@ and postmaster@ addresses• Reject role accounts•  sales@company.com•  customerservice@company.com

Hygiene: Reject Malformations and Role Accounts

Inactive Strategies

Re-permission Inactive addresses

• Bounce Processing Guide:http://landing.returnpath.com/email-bounce-processing-whitepaper

• Win-back Studyhttp://landing.returnpath.com/email-win-back-report

Blacklist Guide Infographic:http://www.returnpath.com/resource/email-blacklists/

@ReturnPath

FURTHER RESOURCES