AOL email "whitelist"
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CEO at SiteVisibility
09 September 2003 12:50pm
One of our B2C customers is having problems mailing some of their own customers with their Opt in email newsletter.
Specifically, none of their emails to AOL or NTL ISP addresses get through. Our customer was told by AOL that they have "whitelist guidelines" which are there to protect their customers from email abuse, which is understandable. But these AOL customers have sepcifically requested the newsletter!!! The reality is that AOL is building barriers to access to its customer base. Clever? Future revenue earner for them? Certainly.
Anyway, we would be very grateful for any advise or "work arounds" that any members have adopted.
Fndr at Majestic12.co.uk
09 September 2003 17:20pm
Is it AOL UK? What exactly do they whitelist - your domain name? It is news for me that AOL would not let any mail pass its filter unless customers told so to AOL.
I would advise against any "work arounds" as this may be considered as hostile action that spammers take to avoid filters.
If AOL does not want you to mail customers then in my opinion the best way forward is to get your customers talking to AOL - tell them on their website when they try to subscribe - it would be fair to suggest that if your emails dont go through then someone else's emails don't go through and if I was AOL customer I'd want to make sure that I get all mail that is intended for me!
You posted another message on this board about your ISP benig blacklisted - it is possible that emails don't get through to AOL because of that rather than because of whitelist.
Marketing Consultant at Email Marketing Solutions
12 September 2003 14:43pm
Jason,
There are many things that could cause mail not to be delivered to AOL & NTL. How are they sending the mail? Cheap script? Custom script? ASP service? Desktop software?
And to how many? And does it reach non-AOL & non-NTL users?
If they're using a cheap mail programme, emails may be blocked due to the bulk email software's headers (something the spam software sellers won't tell you about). Invest in some better software.
If they're CC'ing all the addresses, there is a limit on the permitted number accepted in one mailing. Invest in some better software.
If your client's server is blacklisted, you'll need a new IP address (this is the most likely cause if your client has been spamming in the past). Ask your hosting provider about this.
If it's an ASP service that is blacklisted, change providers! I often get complaints from potential clients about my "draconian no-spam terms", but that's fine by me...I don't need to be overly concerned about anyone spamming (they don't), while existing clients continue to benefit from an excellent delivery rate.
AOL guidelines:
http://postmaster.info.aol.com/whitelist.html
Russell
Email Marketing Solutions
http://www.emailtools.co.uk
Director
16 September 2003 11:58am
I've discovered recently that AOL.com has blocked email sent via mail.btinternet.com due to abuse! I have a couple of clients that use AOL and we use BT for our broadband and email, so we have to send email to the AOL accounts using a non-BT web based email!
Gary
Managed Web
Maintenance, Marketing, Management
http://www.managedweb.com
CEO at SiteVisibility
23 September 2003 09:12am
Maybe Ashley could point BT at this forum to see how potentially damaging this is to their brand and reputation.
We got a letter today from BT saying that it was up to us to advise the spammers to use another form of communication!!! I honestly couldn't believe it. But there you have it, so we will have to move ISP for outbound mail. Thanks for all your help and advise. Jason
Fndr at Majestic12.co.uk
23 September 2003 09:20am
BT had open relay for as long as I can remember - thats around 4 years back...
CEO at SiteVisibility
10 October 2003 19:44pm
Just an update to all. BT have fixed the problems and we don't have any problems now so are staying put for the time being. The power of e-consultancy? Either way, we're pleased and thanks for all the helpful comments. Jason
mailinator
12 September 2006 22:16pm
don't forget there are more than just simple aol whitelisting for newsletters. It is important you try to ensure that you whitelist to as many as possible as aol just make up a small percentage compared to yahoo, and hotmail. the website below has soem information on whitelisting: http://www.spamanalyse.com/newsletter-articles/black-list_white-list.html
On 12:50:35 9 September 2003 Jason Woodford wrote:
>One of our B2C customers is having problems mailing some
>of their own customers with their Opt in email newsletter.
>
>Specifically, none of their emails to AOL or NTL ISP
>addresses get through. Our customer was told by AOL that
>they have "whitelist guidelines" which are there
>to protect their customers from email abuse, which is
>understandable. But these AOL customers have sepcifically
>requested the newsletter!!! The reality is that AOL is
>building barriers to access to its customer base. Clever?
>Future revenue earner for them? Certainly.
>Anyway, we would be very grateful for any advise or
>"work arounds" that any members have adopted.