Unlocking the Secret World of White Listing: Insight for Enterprise Email Marketers Prepared by Silverpop www.silverpop.com
Unlocking the Secret World of White Listing: Insight for Enterprise Email Marketers As Internet service providers battle a surging volume of spam, legitimate email marketers must wage a battle of their own. According to a June 2006 report by the Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, four out of every five emails are spam. 1 As ISPs work to shield their customers from these unwanted messages, they often catch permission-based marketers in the process. In fact, email delivery firm Pivotal Veracity has reported that one out of every five permission messages is mistakenly filtered as spam. 2 For email marketers trying to break through the glut of spam, getting added to an ISP s so-called white list of trusted senders can significantly aid message deliverability. However, getting on email white lists isn t easy, nor is the process routine as many senders believe. This white paper will introduce you to the strange and sometimes confounding world of white listing. It will share with you what to expect as you navigate the process, and impart advice on how to increase your chances of getting on these coveted lists. Many ISPs and inbox providers offer a formal white listing program; however, not all do. The Fundamentals of White Listing Many ISPs and inbox providers offer a formal white listing program; however, not all do. And, many that offer white listing do not say so publicly. Rather, they leave it up to senders to do the right thing before deeming them fit to be added to a list of approved senders. Further, as ISPs work to protect their customers from spam, they constantly are fine-tuning and changing their white listing requirements. It can take a fair amount of sleuthing and networking for even a top-tier email service provider first to track down a white list and then to gain access to the application process, and it is in many cases nearly impossible for an individual email marketer to do. Despite these obstacles, white listing confers significant deliverability benefits, and brand-sensitive email marketers that send a lot of email ultimately find the effort well worthwhile. What exactly is white listing? White listing is a process that an ISP or inbox provider uses to distinguish the best senders from the merely good, mediocre or downright bad. Senders who pass rigorous requirements that vary across ISPs can get their Internet Protocol address the address from which they send email--placed on that ISP s white list. This special status confers deliverability advantages, such as bypassing some spam filters and increasing allowable per-hour and/or persend volumes, over non-white-listed senders. It dramatically improves the chances that messages will be placed in the inbox versus being blocked or routed to junk or spam folders, and that they will arrive with images intact. White listing increases the chances that postcard-style emails will make it to the inbox, and that images will render properly. 1
Why white listing matters Brand-sensitive email marketers want to be on a white list for three main reasons: White listing allows senders to bypass some (but not all) of the spam filtering process, increasing the chance that their email marketing messages will make it to recipients inboxes. If you envision an ISP s filtering process as a long chain that your messages must pass through on their way to the inbox, white listing enables you to skip the easy filters at the front of the chain. These can include filters for IP address, volume metrics and content. For example, because one tactic of spammers is to disguise questionable text by turning it into an image, the popular postcard-style emails used by many retailers and BtoB marketers typically benefit greatly from white listing because their high image-to-text ratio would otherwise cause them to be caught in spam filters. White listing enables senders to dramatically increase the volume of email they are able to send through an ISP during any given period, increasing efficiency and minimizing the risk that their mailings will be blocked for exceeding allowable thresholds. In some cases, white listing will even enable a sender s images to properly render in inboxes where they otherwise are turned off by default. As ISPs balance the need to shield customers from unwanted email with ensuring customers get the messages they have asked for, they also benefit from white listing their best senders. White listed senders contribute to ISP customer satisfaction because they are more likely to: Send only legitimate, relevant, permission-based messages anticipated by inbox holders Observe and quickly honor unsubscribe requests Promptly handle complaints With benefits on both sides, you might think that the process to gain white list status is straightforward and clearly delineated. Unfortunately, that s not the case. Why White Listing is Harder than it Looks The biggest misconception marketers have about getting on white lists is that it s a sign-up-and-go process for legitimate senders. But senders who have undertaken the process will tell you otherwise. White listing takes time. And it requires persistence, patience and very often legwork. But, if white listing is so good for legitimate marketers, ISPs and email recipients, then why is it so difficult? Not everyone offers a white list. As previously mentioned, you must identify which ISPs even offer white listing. Public access is limited to most white lists. Only a few ISPs and inbox providers actually make a formal white listing program available to the public. One that does is America Online. (Learn more at http://www.postmaster.aol.com/whitelist.) But most white lists can only be accessed by email industry professionals. One of the benefits of working with a top email service provider is its access to these back-channel white listing processes. Be aware that in order to help you get onto a white list your ESP may advise you to do things that seem rather odd and potentially disruptive to your business, such as limiting your volume for certain periods. Although these limitations can be vexing, they are an inescapable part of the white listing process. Each ISP has its own peculiar set of requirements and sensitivities, and you must trust that your email partner has worked out this process over time, and has discovered what works best for each. The ISPs, as private network owners, hold the power in this relationship and are able to dictate terms in almost all cases. Many ISPs don t manage their inboxes. Many ISPs hand over the management of their inbox processes to a third party, and it is this third party, not the ISP that originates and maintains the white list. For instance, the inboxes of ISP NetZero are actually managed by United Online. As a result of these relationships, a layperson and even most email marketers can find it exceedingly difficult to figure out where to even go to ask about white listing. If you have an email service provider, it should have these relationships well mapped out and be able to advise you on how to access the white listing process and others at these domains. You must make your case. Once you decide to apply, you must convince the ISP or inbox provider that your good sending practices merit the opportunity to be placed on the white list. Because ISPs don t tend to pick up the phone and freely chat about their white 2
lists, it helps if the petitioner is someone they recognize and are favorably inclined to listen to. So it s a bit of a chicken-or-egg scenario. You need to be recognized by the ISP as a good sender before it will talk to you about recognizing you as a good sender. Finally, you can apply. In order to be white listed, you generally must submit an application and prove you meet an ISP s stringent requirements. Most ISPs do not charge fees for white listing, but the process and requirements for getting on a white list vary from ISP to ISP, and different ISPs and inbox providers employ white lists in different ways. ISPs must recognize you as a good sender before they will talk to you about recognizing you as a good sender. Why inbox providers guard their white lists One of the reasons ISPs and inbox providers are so tight-lipped about whether they offer a white list is because administering one requires a great deal of time, effort and expense. Providers don t want to be besieged by frivolous white list requests. Another reason is that ISPs and inbox providers want to avoid tipping off spammers to the existence or specific requirements of a white list because such knowledge could be used to try to circumvent or foil anti-spam efforts. What You Need to do to Get on a White List Despite the wishes of anxious senders eager to receive the green light, white listing does not happen instantaneously, or even quickly. In most cases you must build a good reputation on your email sending IP address over a period of months before an ISP will even consider your application for white listing. Keep in mind that even if you have an email service provider or delivery provider working on your behalf, your own faithful adherence to good sending practices is the key to your success. Any ESP or deliverability professional that submits an application on your behalf essentially is vouching for you. Because their success hinges on maintaining good ISP relationships, they won t present your application until they are confident that you meet the requirements, and will be able to abide by the terms of service. White listing typically covers these major areas: Length of time at IP address. White listing typically requires you to have been sending from the same IP address for at least three to six months. Spammers typically hop from IP to IP in order to avoid detection, and sloppy emailers that run afoul of ISPs may abandon IP addresses in order to start fresh with new ones. Expect to demonstrate a sending history ranging from a few weeks to several months, depending on the ISP. Complaint history. An ISP also will take into account your complaint rate (i.e., recipients who hit the this is spam button), which must fall within established thresholds. In addition, you may be required to sign up for feedback loops offered by many ISPs, and must act quickly on complaints forwarded to you through them. Keep in mind that the topic of complaints is very sensitive for ISPs. After all, those unhappy people are their customers. If you want to be white listed and stay white listed, you must be Draconian about removing complainers immediately from your list. Your ESP should work with you to set up and administer a precise, automated process for receiving complaints and ensuring that those people are instantaneously removed from your list. 3
And because people sometimes complain by sending an email to the CEO, head of IT and others, you also want to establish a welldisseminated process within your company to ensure that anyone who receives a complaint knows what to do with it specifically, to whom they should send it, and to do so quickly so that the person can be taken off the list right away. Bounce rates and bounce management. A hard bounce is an email message that an ISP returns to the sender because it is permanently undeliverable. That is, the ISP is telling you that the address is invalid. A soft bounce is an email that may get as far as the recipient s inbox, but is bounced back as temporarily undeliverable. This may be due to busy servers or because the recipient s inbox is full. Deliverability tip! Change sending patterns slowly Even after the white listing period, remember that in terms of volume, ISPs are looking for consistency. Any time you suddenly break your pattern you raise alarm bells that can cause an ISP to block your email. To safely change your sending pattern without damaging your deliverability, make the transition slowly. For instance, if you normally send 10,000 emails every Tuesday, and you want to begin sending 100,000 emails every Wednesday, slowly move messages from Tuesday to Wednesday and gradually ramp up volume over a period of weeks or months. To be considered for white listing, you must maintain a low bounce rate, accept inbound bounces extremely quickly and promptly remove bad addresses from your list. Some ISPs keep records of addresses that have bounced, and if you continue to send to addresses they ve told you are no good, you not only risk any chance of being white listed but also endanger the future deliverability of your messages. Volume. The nature of spamming is high-volume and irregular, and thus one way ISPs detect unwanted messages is by examining the velocity and pattern of messages coming from a particular IP address or server. If the volume exceeds a designated threshold (typically defined as x number of messages per hour or per minute hitting the ISP s inbound gateway), the ISP may place a temporary block on all messages coming from that source. To be considered for white listing, you first must establish a reasonable and regular send frequency that conforms to an ISP s particular criteria, and have maintained send volumes that do not drastically fluctuate from one send to the next. Once you obtain white list status, one of the key advantages is that you can safely send larger volumes of email. It s important to recognize that, from a volume sending perspective, getting onto a white list can be an incredibly painful process. Some ISPs, like AOL, are going to require that you send as few as 1,000 messages a day until you have completed the white listing process. If you are impatient and exceed allowable volumes during this time, you ll not only irritate the ISP, you may get dropped from its white listing program. If this happens, you ll be forced to start over. Worse yet, you ll start over in the hole because you ve damaged your credibility with the ISP. Adding insult to injury: all those extra messages you tried to send would never have made it anyway because the ISP would simply have bounced them back to you undelivered. Email authentication, reputation and certification schemes. As ISPs continue to aggressively filter messages, many email marketers are taking the next step in the evolution of email authentication, reputation and accreditation to help ensure their messages make it safely to the inbox. Authentication enables ISPs and network operators to verify the origin of a message. The three major authentication standards are Sender Policy Framework (SPF), Sender ID and DomainKeys. White listing typically requires that a sender be authenticated by one or more of these standards. Reputation and accreditation services offered by companies such as Sender Score, Habeas and Goodmail compile detailed information in order to categorize senders based on their email reputation and vouch for companies with the best reputations. They also may be required by some ISPs for white listing. Authentication, reputation and accreditation services may be required by some ISPs for white listing. 4
Once you re on, staying on As we have seen, not every ISP offers a white list. Not every one that does will tell you. When you find a white list, you still may have to convince the ISP or inbox provider to let you apply to get on, often by working with a reputable ESP that has established relationships in place. White listing requirements differ from ISP to ISP, and the parameters for each also are in constant flux. So it s easy to see why obtaining white listing is a considerable undertaking. For all these reasons and more, once you get on a white list, you want to stay there. Missteps, however well-intentioned, can result in an ISP dropping you from its white list. And ISPs are under no obligation to inform you or re-instate you. It is up to you and your ESP to monitor for changes in your deliverability. If you are dropped from a white list, you may have to wait three to six months or more before you can reapply. Senders don t have to go it alone in the murky and mysterious world of white listing. Top email service providers such as Silverpop, and deliverability and reputation service firms such as Pivotal Veracity, Habeas and Return Path specialize in helping their clients get placed on white lists. These firms cultivate good relationships with ISPs and inbox providers, and can handle the white listing process on your behalf. ISPs are under no obligation to inform nor re-instate you if you ve been dropped from a white list. The Ultimate Secret to White Listing Ultimately, the real secret to white listing comes down to one thing: Do the right thing. Make every effort to be the most conscientious email marketer possible. According to online security firm IronPort Systems, spam accounted for 63 billion spam messages a day in U.S. email systems in October 2006--more than twice the volume of the previous October. Shortly thereafter, anti-spam firm MessageLabs reported that spam accounted for just over 86 percent of all email sent worldwide, 3 and the European Commission said that spam accounted for between 50 and 80 percent of all messages sent to email inboxes in the European Union. 4 With recipient inboxes under siege by spammers, ISPs will continue to carefully monitor the reputation of senders. If you ve made the effort to track down a white list and have demonstrated that you can pass the rigorous technical and best practice requirements in order to be added, then an ISP may take it as a good bet that you are the kind of careful, permission-based marketer whose messages deserve every chance to be delivered to their customers waiting to receive them. A strong ESP can help guide you through the process. But in the end, how you manage your email marketing program is in your own hands. Do the right thing. Footnotes 1. MAAWG Email Metrics Program: The Network Operators Perspective, Report #2, Messaging Anti-Abuse Working Group, June 2006 2. False Positives, Pivotal Veracity, May 2005 3. 2006 Annual MessageLabs Intelligence Report, MessageLabs, December 2006 4. Communication on Fighting Spam, Spyware and Malicious Software, Commission of the European Communities, November 2006 For more information about Silverpop s email marketing products and services, please contact us at: 866-SILVPOP (745-8767) or info@silverpop.com Visit us at www.silverpop.com Silverpop Your Partner for Email Marketing Success 5