Bulk/transactional email suggestions

[jonh]

A client is hosting a forum with many members that get notifications when topics are posted or updated. This ends up sending a lot of email. Our IP has been blocked by major providers like aol, msn, hotmail and a few smaller ones. So we now have SendGrid processing the STMP outgoing email. We are on a plan without a dedicated IP so it seems we're having the same issue now with being blocked by some providers.

I'm looking for suggestions on what to do here. Do I really need a dedicated IP plan with SendGrid. It could be an IP that has been blocked in the past anyway. Do I move this client/site to a different host? Do I move them to a hosted forum solution where they worry about the emails/notifications being sent?

 

[shaun]

Does this account have a dedicated IP on your server? If so, have you configured cPanel to send mail using the accounts dedicated IP rather than the shared IP?

Does the IP have proper forward and reverse dns records?

Have the forum authenticate with the SMTP server when sending mail, this usually results in a lower spam score.

Do you have feedback loops setup for your IP space so you receive SPAM/Abuse reports?

It sounds to me like the mail the forum is sending looks spammy.

 

[jonh]

It's using SendGrid now on the plan without a dedicated IP.

All mail from the server and from website forms are going through SendGrid.

Is there a service recommended for spam/abuse monitoring reports?

The emails are pretty simple, letting users know when a topic has been updated that they're subscribed to or when a new topic has been posted. It's from Wordpress BBPress plugin.

 

[shaun]

If it's using one of their shared IP's (which it sounds like you are) you may want to try a dedicated IP instead. So long as nobody destroyed that IP before you it will help keep you from being affected by other abusers.

 

[cPanelMichael]

Hello @jonh,

Most of the major email providers offer bulk sender guidelines that you can follow to ensure your IP address is not blacklisted. For instance, Google offers a page with guidelines/tools at:

Bulk Senders Guidelines - Gmail Help

I recommend reviewing bulk sender guidelines for all of the major email providers to get a better idea of the tools available to you to avoid getting blacklisted.

Thank you.