A safelist, also known as a whitelist, trusted senders list, or approved senders list, is a feature within email clients and email service providers (ESPs) that allows users to designate specific email addresses or domains as trusted sources. By adding a sender to their safelist, subscribers instruct their email client or ESP to bypass spam filters and deliver emails from that sender directly to the inbox.
How Safelisting Works:
Email clients and ESPs use various criteria to filter spam, including sender reputation, content analysis, and user feedback (e.g., marking emails as spam). Safelisting overrides these filters for designated senders. When an email arrives from a safe listed address, the email client or ESP recognizes it as a trusted source and delivers it directly to the inbox, regardless of other spam filtering rules.
Why Safelisting is Important for Email Marketers:
- Improved Deliverability: Safelisting ensures that your emails reach the inbox of subscribers who have explicitly added you to their safe list.
- Increased Engagement: Emails in the inbox are more likely to be opened and read, leading to higher engagement rates.
- Reduced Risk of False Positives: Even legitimate emails can sometimes be mistakenly flagged as spam. Safelisting prevents this from happening for your subscribers.
Methods for Safelisting:
Subscribers can safelist email addresses in several ways, depending on their email client or ESP:
- Adding to Contacts/Address Book: The most common method. Adding a sender to their contacts or address book often automatically safelists their email address.
- Creating a Filter/Rule: Some email clients allow users to create filters or rules that specifically designate certain senders as trusted.
- Marking as “Not Spam” or “Not Junk”: If an email from a legitimate sender ends up in the spam or junk folder, marking it as “not spam” or “not junk” can help train the spam filter and may also add the sender to a safelist.
Examples of Safelisting Instructions for Different Email Clients:
- Gmail:
- Outlook:
- Right-click on the sender’s email address and select “Add to Contacts.”
- Add the sender’s domain to your Safe Senders list in Outlook’s Junk Email options.
- Yahoo Mail:
Encouraging Subscribers to Safelist Your Emails:
Email marketers can encourage subscribers to safelist their emails by:
- Including safe listing instructions in the welcome email: After a subscriber signs up, send a welcome email that includes clear instructions on how to safelist your email address in popular email clients.
- Using a “Please Safelist Us” message in the email footer or header: Include a brief message in your email template reminding subscribers to add your address to their contacts.
- Creating a dedicated landing page with safe listing instructions: Create a webpage with detailed instructions for different email clients and link to it from your emails.
Example of Safelisting Instructions in a Welcome Email:
“Welcome to [Your Company Name]! To ensure you receive our emails in your inbox, please add [your email address] to your address book or contacts list. You can also check your spam or junk folder and mark our emails as ‘not spam’ or ‘not junk.'”
Safelisting is a simple but effective way for subscribers to ensure they receive emails from trusted senders. By encouraging subscribers to safelist your emails, you can improve deliverability, increase engagement, and build stronger relationships with your audience.