Email

1. Email keithkouzmanoff keith@maillennium.com

2. keithkouzmanoff keith@maillennium.com

3. Email Keith Kouzmanoff Postmaster • Who am I? • 17 years in email • Designed email clusters and spam filtering techniques • ezmlm-idxfredlindbergcheetahmail • port25/pmta • inter7 built robomail • DMA EEC deliverability council initial member • Contributed to ISP filtering process • Started calling bull shit on forums • Worked for email marketing companies • Built email delivery teams • Now maillennium consults for email • Got old, no more BS calling people out… TLD story.

4. Email Deliverability • What to talk about • Yahoo new UI and new html email content accept? • Oracle buying another ESP? • Marketo DNS issues how to prevent and solve? • Which ESP is better? • Spam Funnels and how they work?

5. Email Deliverability • What to talk about • Email Deliverability 101 and 201 Classes • Email deliverability certification inboxpros? • $595 per class and 2 we offered. • I wrote agenda down and thought there is no way those classes can teach that in 4 hours • Requirements? Pay and Virtual watch and get certificate?

6. Email Deliverability • What to talk about • Do’s and Donut’s sounded good at the time • I think I am going to challenge myself • What do I do for others?

7. Email Deliverability • What I do & General Consulting Overview: • Current ESP Review – review of the internal data logs to review bounces, complaints, and suppressions. • Business Policies – focuses on compliance, and permission levels as it relates to best practices. • Infrastructure– examine IP address structure, volume throttling, compliance, and IP/domain authentication. • Seed List Testing – examine and test content, reputation, and consistency of email sends to a list of seeds at the major ISPs. • Reputation– various reputation source checks. • Data Management – data collection and hygiene, feedback loop, unsubscribe management, and bounce management. • Recommendations– a list of data points and recommended changes to improve deliverability.

8. Email Deliverability • What else can I talk about?

9. Email Deliverability • What are the most pain points of delivery? • My clients have a lot of these issues • Lots of strategy talk social media. • Lots of documented… penetration testing. • Give them best value for time/money. • Lots and lots of strategy already forum, give them something they can use and implement tomorrow that no one else is recommending that actually WORKS.

10. Email Deliverability

11. Gmail • Google Loves Encryption • Google Schema Markup • Google Cloaking • Google Domain Reputation • Google Feedback Loop • Google Link Value • Google Email Stream Value

12. Gmail Encryption • Google Loves Encryption • Use SSL (TLS) https:// links & images • Sending From MX records: STARTTLS port 587 • Certain ISPs are more lenient on pre-populating images when using SSL certificates • Watch URL Path Logs : allows match which domain/user relationships guaranteeing inboxing for those pairs on future sends • CLEVER TIP: ask me after presentation @ certificates.

13. Gmail Markup Language • https://developers.google.com/gmail/markup/ • Highlights in Inbox Highlight your emails with important information and actions in Inbox by Gmail.

14. Gmail Markup Language • schema.org • Add Actions to Emails Increase your users' engagement with interactive buttons in your emails.

15. Gmail Markup Language • Inbox, Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Search, and the Google app all already use this structured data. • Answers in Search Google Search results when users search for tickets, flights and events.

16. Gmail Markup Language • https://developers.google.com/gmail/markup/ • Confirmation Cards Present cards to the user in the right place and at the right time.

17. Gmail Markup Language • https://developers.google.com/gmail/markup/ • Increase engagement 10000000000000 times*. • *well know but unpublished fact. • Gmail supports 4 types of actions and 1 interactive card: • RSVP Action for events • Review Action for restaurants, movies, products and services. Warning: Review action is deprecated and will soon cease to be supported. • One-click Action for just about anything that can be performed with a single click • Go-to Action for more complex interactions • Flight interactive cards PS: you can still use even if you are not an airline.

18. Gmail Markup Language • Register • https://developers.google.com/gmail/markup/registering-with-google • Emails must be authenticated via DKIM or SPF • Emails must come from a static email address, e.g. foo@bar.com • Emails must follow the Gmail Bulk Sender Guidelines • Consistent history of sending (order of hundred emails a day minimum to Gmail) for a few weeks at least. • A very very low rate of spam complaints from users.

19. Gmail Cloaking • Don't cloak or geo redirect • Google loves consistent link redirection • Register webmaster – think SEO • ESP cloaking doesn’t count as there domains are in a “trusted” environment • Very few reputatble senders mask domains.

20. Gmail Domain Reputation • Domain reputation is more important than ever. • Put SEO hat on readily indexed content • Age of domain • Recent purchased domains < 30 days • Aged domains also expedite warm up process • This also plays a BIG factor for inboxinghotmail

21. Gmail Registration • https://gmail.com/postmaster/

22. Gmail Registration • https://gmail.com/postmaster/ • ALWAYS use the CNAME • Default asks TXT • 2 options: TXT / CNAME • TXT record can conflict with • SPF

23. Gmail Registration • https://gmail.com/postmaster/ • If you've already confirmed • your domains it is very tricky • to switch this.

24. Gmail Feedback Loop • https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6254652?hl=en • Domain must be registered with postmaster tool • How to implement the FBL • Add Header format • Feedback-ID: a:b:c:SenderId • a, b, c are optional fields • SenderId is a mandatory unique Identifier (5–15 characters) chosen by the sender.

25. Gmail Feedback Loop • https://support.google.com/mail/answer/6254652?hl=en • AGGREGATE DATA REPORT DOES NOT IDENTIFY WHO CLICKED SPAM • Senders should ensure that their traffic has only one such verified header. • Senders will have to publish the IPs from which they’re sending mail in the SPF records of their signing domains. The sending IPs must have PTR records and resolve to a valid hostname (preferably one of the DKIM domains). • For a given day’s traffic, FBL reports are generated only if a given Identifier is present in a certain volume of mails as well as in distinct user spam reports. • FBL data will be aggregated on each Identifier independently. This also allows for the use of less than 3 Identifiers, if needed. • For a given day's traffic, the sender should ensure that the Identifiers across fields not repeated, so that data is not aggregated across unrelated Identifiers. If there is a concern about the uniqueness of the Identifier namespace, or if the sender prefers for the data to be grouped between two Identifiers, the hash of one Identifier can be appended to the other. • When choosing the Identifiers, the sender should not use a parameter that will be unique across every single mail (for example, a unique Message-ID).

26. Gmail Domain Value! • Domain Value • History? Got time? How Google was in the spam business? • Reverse DNS sending ip PTR hostname domain value • History DKIM public signature • SPF include: domain values • From: @ domain value • Any Header(s): @ domain value • History: @ domain value • Content: @ links/images domain value • Links in Attachments • WHY? Help sort their “tab” systems.

27. Gmail Email Streams • Use unique commonly understood (WTF it means) hostnames • Use for each email stream. • confirmation.example.com - signup • welcome.example.com – welcome after signup • updates.example.com – broadcast • store.example.com - ecommerce • What’s a stream? Email flow / Segment / Funnels / Autoresponders • the purpose of attributing bounces, complaints, engagement to each hostname/email flow respectively. • By adding subdomains, you can ultimately ramp up 3 variations of the same domain/hostname without rolling up the entire domain. • Does not work all the time. Must have enough reputation on domain/cert/ip • Excellent strategy for other ISP (hotmail/aol/yahoo/cables)

28. Check your clock Email Deliverability Shouldn’t Be This Hard

29. Next topics: Email Deliverability Shouldn’t Be This Hard • Let’s go over some of the course agenda for certification…

30. Email Deliverability • Certification 101 Agenda: • What Happens After You Hit Send • Bounces • Complaints • Blacklists • Spam Traps • Content • Email Headers • Email Filters (B2C and B2B) • ISP Tools and Dashboards • Authentication • Reputation Tools • Email Compliance Laws

31. Email Deliverability • Certification 102 Agenda: • DMARC Reporting • Advanced List Segmentation • Advanced Rate Limits and Connection Settings • MTA Configuration Files • Spam Filter Definitions • Spam Filter Rules and Details • Understanding Feedback Loop Details • Advanced Deliverability Signals • International ISP Specifics

33. Email Deliverability • Picking ESP? Internal? Who cares! • More heavy lifting internal • 99% data and 1% method • More features isn’t always better • You are going to be associated with their past/current/future customers • Compliance –

34. Email Deliverability • Picking ESP? • Good • the bad • and the ugly

35. Email Deliverability • Picking ESP? • Good • the bad • and the ugly • http://mainsleaze.spambouncer.org/

36. Email Deliverability • Biggest List Strategy • Keep complaint rates low. How? • Secret sauce. • Keep list fatigue low. How? • Secret sauce. • NEVER have both CR/LF together.

37. Email Deliverability • Monitor Email reputation • IP • Neighboring IPs • Domain • Registrar Reputation – cheaper domain = worse

38. Email Deliverability • The Do’s and Donuts Do Nots

39. Email Deliverability • DO: Watch Open Rates • Open rates great barometer if over 100 clicks. • DO: Use multipart emails • send in plain / html text • DO: Pay attention to Mobile users • Use responsive email templates • Use mobile landing pages

40. Email Deliverability • Subscribe Pages • https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2142.txt • RFC 2142 • Do Form should check • Check your db. • DNE username@

41. Email Deliverability • Subscribe Page should send • Real time opt in confirmation email • Email should send to Confirmation Page • Confirmation Page should send: • Thank You Email. BAM! Double Engagement one 1 new list subscriber.

42. Email Deliverability • Thou shalt make flow charts.

43. Email Deliverability • Thou can make preposterous reputation warm ups

44. Email Deliverability • Thou shall ramp up emails and monitor.

45. Email Deliverability • Thou shall make list segments: • Master • Success • Deferral • Clicks • Opens • Unsubscribes • Complainers

46. Email Deliverability • Thou shall make list segments more complicated:

47. Email Deliverability • Thou shall ALSO segment delivery by each domain • AT&T Bellsouth (AT&T) Charter Comcast Cox Earthlink Excite Fastmail GMX Gmail Hotmail (Outlook) Integra Juno Live.com (Outlook) Mail.com Mail.ru Netzero Office365 OpenSRS Outlook QQ Rackspace Roadrunner Synacor Telenor Terra.com.br Time Warner Cable Tucows United Online Usa.net Verizon Yahoo XS4ALL Zoho

48. Email Deliverability • Thou shall apply always • Feedback loops • White list requests • Spam reports • Thou shall understand each domain they mail to. • Delivery and Filtering Details • Sender Support

49. Email Deliverability • ISP DETAILS • DELIVERY FILTER DETAILS • https://wordtothewise.com/isp-information/

50. Email Deliverability • Thou shall personalize emails: • 2000000% increase in open rates. • Gives email it’s own unique hash or checksum signature • Thou shall not be a creep about it: • “Hey cutie, I saw your profile picture and that’s a hot dress.”