Start Dedicating Yourself

A recent deliverability test showed a campaign mailed to nearly 75,000 subscribers had all messages sent all MSN, Hotmail and Yahoo addresses delivered directly into the junk folder. With 28 percent of the subscribers using these ISPs open rates were not as high as they could have been or were expected to be.

How can deliverability to the inbox be improved?

A dedicated IP is a step in the right direction.

A dedicated IP provides the ISPs the ability to accurately measure a sender’s reputation. Think of it like your credit score. It is unique to you. A bad credit score = no loan approval.

The key is to analyze where your current deliverability issues are now, prior to setting up your dedicated IP. With the new IP in place ensure that reputation is a key focus so your best reputation will be credited toward the new IP address. You will be on your way to becoming whitelisted with Yahoo. And due to a great reputation and a dedicated IP, Yahoo should not de-prioritize the whitelisting process because of spam complaints.

While MSN and Hotmail do not have a whitelisting process, they do monitor reputation, and focus on the strength of your sign up process. Having a Double Opt-In in place is the best practice so spam traps do not become an issue and you can be assured you will be well on the way to the inbox.