SenderID and SPF may cause YOUR email, sent from Voodoo servers, to be rejected.  Please have your IT experts set up your mail (DNS) servers to authorize Voodoo’s mail server today.  You’ll be impressed at the results!

 

What is SPF?

 

SPF is an extension to Internet e-mail. It prevents unauthorized people from forging your e-mail address and/or those of your employees.  There is no central institution that enforces SPF, but the SPF Project is a great source of information about it. For SPF to work properly, your company’s email server will need a line or two of code added or modified. Otherwise, receiving ISPs may mistake you and your other Voodoo users for unauthorized senders.

 

If you send trackable email campaigns from your Voodoo account(s), anti-SPAM compliance requires you to install a Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record in your email domain settings.

SPF authorizes Voodoo’s mail server to send on your behalf and helps authenticate the validity of your mail to receiving Internet Service Providers (ISPs). As ISPs become more stringent in blocking SPAM, these settings are more important than ever. A missing or incorrect SPF record on your email domain may cause email sent from your Voodoo account(s) to bounce or be flagged.

Ask your email domain manager to add the line(s) of code explained below into the TXT record of your DNS settings. This helps everyone!

Your outgoing Voodoo email messages, and incoming support notifications may be sent from the following server host names:

server1.voodooviral.com
server2.voodoovideomarketing.com

 

How to setup your SPF records to authorize Voodoo servers

 

In most email domains, you will access your SPF records via a path such as this:

Manage Domain (or Domain Settings) > Manage DNS (or DNS Records) > Advanced > Edit DNS.

 

Example 1 — You have a Company Email Domain (non-Google or Microsoft)

 

Access the records under TXT > SPF. If you already have SPF setup, a typical record will look something like this (the ip4 addresses correspond to the ip4 addresses of your current email server):

 

v=spf1 ip4:208.65.144.0/21 ip4:208.81.64.0/22 include:mailserver.net –all

  

Action: Immediately following any ip4 addresses, add Voodoo’s server names (shown in bold), to complete your TXT record like this:

 

v=spf1 ip4:208.65.144.0/21 ip4:208.81.64.0/22 include:server1.voodooviral.com include:server2.voodoovideomarketing.com include:mailserver.net –all

 

 

Example 2 — You use a Google or Gmail back end for your Email Domain

 

Your current SPF record will probably include these items:

 

v=spf1 include:_spf.google.com ~all

 

Action: Immediately following any ip4 addresses, and before the final “include,” insert Voodoo’s domain hostnames like this:

 

v=spf1 include:server1.voodooviral.com include:server2.voodoovideomarketing.com include:_spf.google.com ~all

 

 

Example 3 — You use an Microsoft Outlook back end for your Email Domain

 

Your current SPF record will probably show these items:

 

v=spf1 include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all

 

Action: Immediately following any ip4 addresses, and before the final “include,” insert Voodoo’s domain hostnames like this:

 

v=spf1 include:server1.voodooviral.com include:server2.voodoovideomarketing.com include:spf.protection.outlook.com ~all

 

 

IMPORTANT: Be sure to Save your revised SPF record!

 

You can test the “public-facing” SPF using the Query tool here:

http://www.kitterman.com/spf/validate.html

 

 

Finally, a word about Sender Reputation.  Voodoo prides itself on having among the absolute highest Sender Reputations of mass email senders.  

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This is part 3 of a 3 part QuickTip series on email deliverability. In the series we've talked about: 

• What are undeliverable and bounceback emails
• Using undeliverable emails to clean your lists
• Other aspects of email that affect deliverability

 

What to Expect from Your First Campaigns:  
Part 3:  Other Aspects of Email that Affect Deliverability 
 
What other factors affect email deliverability?

In addition to people changing their email addresses, non-delivery of email can happen for a variety of reasons.  Here are some of the most common: 

Active Content embedded in the email.  Video links, trackable links, survey links and graphics are considered active content by receiving ISPs.  Most campaigns from Voodoo contain one or more links to active content—probably more than you otherwise send in your personal emails. Most ISPs allow active content within specific parameters, but if spam filters are set more aggressively, some messages may not get through.  If you have a problem with a specific recipient, we recommend asking them to add your email address to their safe-sender list.

The Destination Server is temporarily unavailable.  When this occurs, Voodoo automatically tries to resend your email—a total of three times over a 72-hour period.  Many such messages get through on the second or third attempt.

Unauthorized Sender.  If receiving ISPs check and find no record of SPF or other authorization on your outgoing email server allowing Voodoo to send on your behalf, the email may be rejected as potential spam.  Make sure you've followed Voodoo’s instructions to install Sender Policy Framework on YOUR company's outgoing email server. This authorizes Voodoo’s email servers to mimic your address and send on your behalf, and it improves your deliverability rates. See our QuickTip Blog post, The Quest for Email Deliverability:  Sender ID and Sender Policy Framework (SPF).

Sender reputation. Voodoo’s sender reputation and your own sender reputation (or lack of one) may jointly be factored into determining if a specific ISPs block delivery of your message. We often encounter new clients whose email domain has not yet sent enough bulk email to have a sender reputation ranking.  Be patient and stick to your plan.

We are constantly parsing and analyzing returned emails to determine the reasons for non-delivery to make additional improvements where possible.    

What about blacklists and whitelists?  
 
Voodoo is considered a “very high volume sender” of email. We stand alongside a legion of reputable third-party email providers who serve the purpose of email list management and bulk email broadcasting on behalf of thousands upon thousands of US companies. 

Our reputation metrics and blacklist status are monitored constantly through services such as ReturnPath and MX Toolbox.  We consistently rank among the top of companies that push the volume of emails from the variety of clients that we do. We monitor close to 100 blacklists and have appeared on no known blacklists in the past five years.  In addition, we take direct action to be whitelisted with many providers including Verizon, Time Warner, Comcast, Cox and others.
 
We rely on customers like you to install SPF so your emails are recognized as legitimate by receiving ISPs.  This further improves Voodoo's sender reputation, so we really appreciate it!
 
We also appreciate knowing if you have delivery problems with any particular email provider.  These sometimes occur as the result of a settings change or system upgrade at the provider, and can usually be rectified within 72 hours. 

Business Builder, Deliverability, eVideo Launcher, Quick Tip deliverability, non-delivery notifications, bouncebacks, SPF, sender policy framework, active content