Email Deliverability: Finding that “Safe Senders” List

Perhaps the greatest mystery in all of email marketing is the world of spam traps and quarantine.

There is little publicly available information on what can cause being marked as spam, as this would allow true spam accounts to break through those walls and enter inboxes. The best practice is only to target engaged audiences who are active with your emails. But what else can you do if you find your true marketing emails are not delivered to inboxes?

If you have deliverability issues with a known email address, the best remedy is to have your patron add your sending address to their Safe Senders List. Your sending address is the email address that your Marketing Automation or PACmail emails come from – i.e. updates@go.paciolan.com.

But where is the Safe Senders List? Each email service provider is different, so we've summarized where you can find that safe sender list based on your inbox below to share with your patrons.

May the force be with you on your journey through email deliverability!

AOL

1. Mouse over the sender's name or email address to display the contact card.

2. Click Add a new contact.

Apple Mail (OS X)

1. Open the email.

2. Select Message > Add Sender to Contacts from the menu.

AT&T, BellSouth & SBC

1. Open your SBCGlobal Address Book

2. Click the Add Contact button

3. Fill in the From address from your trusted sender in the space provided

4. Click in the Save Contact

Charter/Spectrum

There is not a known proactive safelist option available for these email clients. Instead, if a message from a trusted sender somehow ends up in your spam folder:

1. Select "Mark As" from the options listed at the top of the email

2. Select "Not Spam"

Comcast/Xfinity

There is not a known proactive safelist option available for this email client. Instead, if a message from a trusted sender somehow ends up in your spam folder:

1. Check the box next to the message(s) that is not spam

2. Select the Not Spam button at the top of the page

Gmail.com

1. Go to contacts.google.com and select Create contact at the top left corner

2. Enter the sender's email address

3. Click Save at the bottom right corner

4. If a message from a trusted sender somehow ends up in your spam folder, open the desired email flagged as spam and mark it as "not spam" at the top of the page.

Gmail (Android Smartphone or Tablet)

1. Open your Contacts app and click the Add button.

2. Enter the appropriate name and sending email address.

3. Next to your email account, tap the down arrow to select the desired account that will receive the messages from the account you've safelisted.

4. Click Save before exiting to save your changes.

Hotmail, Outlook, or MSN

1. Click on "Options" in the upper right corner of your email screen.

2. Then click "Safe and blocked sender" under "Junk e-mail."

3. Next, click the "Safe Senders" link and enter the email address you want to safelist.

4. Click "Add" to put it on your list.

5. If an email from a sender you want to safelist has ended up in your junk folder, click "Show Content" to view the body of the email and click "mark as safe."

iPhone Mail App

1. Tap the "From" name or email address within an email

2. Select "Add to VIP" or "Create New Contact" to add the address to your contacts list.

3. Note that if you add an email address to the VIP senders list, messages from that email address may be collected in a separate folder.

Office (365/2010)

1. On the Home tab, click Junk, and then click Junk E-mail Options.

2. Next, go to "Safe senders" and add the domain or specific email address you want to receive emails from.

Office (2010)

1. On the Home tab, in the Delete group, Click Junk

2. Click Junk E-mail Options

3. Next, go to the "Safe senders" tab and add the domain or specific email address you want to receive emails from.

Yahoo Mail

1. Navigate to the "Settings" icon

2. Click "More Settings" from the Yahoo Mail menu

3. Next, select "Filters" and "Add" to enter information about the domain name or sender.

4. If a message from a trusted sender somehow ends up in your Yahoo! Bulk folder, highlight the email and click on the "Not Spam" icon.

Yahoo Mail (Mobile App)

1. Open Yahoo Mail Mobile App.

2. Click on the sidebar and open the Spam folder.

3. Find the email you wish to safelist, click "Move," and select "Inbox."