When the script doesn't work

DJ asks in the comments of Friday’s post:

As Seth said, great reminder. For those that have great processes/channels in place, I’ve found incredible success. However, sometimes I’ve found my answer on Twitter (i.e., @godaddyguy). Also, there have been times where I’ve gone through the script (i.e., shaw.ca) and have never heard back. What then?

This is the reason ISP relations folks get paid the big bucks, DJ! To sort these kinds of problems out.
Generally, if I’m having problems getting a response from an ISP, and a client is having problems delivering mail I sit down with the client to have a discussion about how important that domain is. We look at data including percentage of addresses on the list affected by the block and the monetary value of those addresses on the list. If the client decides that this is a block worth getting lifted then we try to determine the type of block. Content based blocks are different than URL based blocks are different than IP based blocks.
If we decide the block is probably content or URL based then we start making changes to the email to see if that resolves the issue. Most of these kinds of blocks are “bucket” blocks and tweaking things can often keep the bucket from overflowing. Senders have quite a bit of control over what is happening for this type of block, and usually can restart email delivery without contacting the ISPs just by changing how they send email.
If the block is IP based, that’s a little harder to resolve without ISP involvement, but if the block is IP based and the ISP does not respond to requests for help, then that itself is a very telling piece of data. It usually means that something the sender has done has convinced the ISP that the sender is a spammer. The ISP isn’t interested in resolving the issue. If the ISP is large, this can be a problem for the sender and may take enlisting the help of a 3rd party to act as an independent negotiation. If the ISP (or domain) is small, the sender may find it easier to write off those recipients and just ignore the block.
My client base is a mix of issues. Some of them get advice from me and blocks get resolved without having to contact the ISP at all. For those who have hard blocks and ISPs won’t talk to them, most of my time is spent collecting data from the ISPs and providing the client with a roadmap to externally visible changes. Once the changes are implemented, then I approach the ISP on their behalf. Usually, if there are real changes in sending, the ISPs are much more likely to listen, whether I’m using their scripts or using a backchannel.

Following the script
Yahoo FBL returns

Related Posts

Breaking through the script

In handling day to day issues I use the ISP designated channels. This means I frequently get dragged into long conversations with people, probably outsourced to the far east, who can do nothing beyond send me a boilerplate.
This can be a frustrating experience when the issue you’re trying to deal with is not handled by the script. Generally, by the time someone has come to me for help, they are “off script” and I do need to actually talk to a human to get resolution.
With Hotmail, I’ve found that persistent repeating of very simple phrases will eventually get the issue kicked up to someone who can respond with something beyond another boilerplate. This can take days, but it is possible.
I’ve recently run into a Yahoo issue where I am trying to punch through the script, but have so far been unable to.
One of the services Word to the Wise offers is whitelisting. I collect info from customers, verify that what they’re doing will get them whitelisted at the ISPs that offer it, and then submit the information to the ISPs. Yahoo has recently moved to an online submission form for their whitelisting process, which is great for me. No more creating a giant document and then cutting and pasting the document into an email and then mailing it off.
The problem is, there seems to be a minor problem with the Yahoo Whitelisting submission form. When submitting an online application to Yahoo, they respond with a message that says “this application is not complete.”
I’ve been attempting to break through the script in order to find out what about the application is not complete. The webform has data checking, and you cannot submit a form while leaving any of the questions blank. Asking “what is wrong” when the application is kicked back has resulted in me having multiple copies of the whitelisting submission form.
It’s gotten so frustrating that I’ve escalated to personal contacts, but they can’t explain what’s not complete about the application as submitted online, either.
Has anyone had any success breaking through the Yahoo script? Has anyone managed to get IP addresses whitelisted through Yahoo using the online form?

Read More

Unsubscribes made difficult

Dennis blogs about his experience trying to unsubscribe from classmates.com list over on deliverability.com. His experience touches on a number of points I have discussed recently.
Dennis initially signed up for a free account at classmates.com around 10 years ago, but has asked to be unsubscribed multiple times. Recently classmates reactivated his subscription again, sending him marketing mail he did not want. Reactivating subscriptions is an extremely bad idea. Not only is it a CAN-SPAM violation to send mail after an unsubscribe has been received, but senders really end up annoying recipients by doing this. Think about it, these are people who have actively told the sender that they do not want mail, and the sender goes out and decides to override the recipients wishes.
I can only imagine how horrible the delivery for this mailing was. ISPs measure how many non-existent addresses senders attempt and mailing a list that has addresses accreted over 10 years is going to have a massive number of dead addresses. Not that many people have the same address now that they did 10 years ago. Some of those dead addresses are probably now being used as spamtraps by the ISPs, another hit to delivery rates. Finally, there are the complaint rates to consider.
For those people who received the mail and want to unsubscribe, Classmates.com does everything possible to discourage that. Dennis describes the process he went through.

Read More

Getting whitelisted by endusers

One of the best ways to ensure mail is delivered to a recipients inbox is to encourage the recipient to add the senders from: address to their address book. In cases where an ISP might otherwise bulk folder the email, they will instead put the email into the inbox.
Senders are changing their practices to get recipients to add from addresses to address books. There are a number of companies reminding users to add addresses on the webpage at the time of signup. Most emails have recommendations in each email. Recently, there have been multiple reports of companies who send specific email campaigns to encourage recipients to whitelist the sender.
Cool Email Idea: Customized Whitelisting Instructions from ReturnPath.
How & Why You Need to be Added to Your Recipient’s Address Book from VerticalResponse.
In addition to the direct benefit to the recipient that whitelists the individual sender, there are some hints that ISPs are looking at individual whitelisting as part of their internal sender reputation scoring.

Read More