Asia & Spam & Blocks, Oh My!

Send an e-mail and it goes around the globe faster than the mind can comprehend. It seems simple and reliable and most time it is. When in actuality it is a very complex operation that, when I think about it too much, am in awe of how well and how flawless e-mail works the majority of the time. But those times are changing and you may find your e-mails or those you communicate with are being blacklisted or blocked.

ISPs and networks are finally beginning to regulate what e-mail makes it through their systems. It only makes sense to try and stop spammers from known sources or that have spammy indicators from crossing the border and using their resources.

All domain names are actually like a vanity license plate over the underlying IP number. If you are using an IP previously used by a spammer that then was blacklisted, your e-mail could get blocked. If e-mails are getting blocked, the sender has to find out why. Do you have dynamically generated IP from your connectivity/hosting provider for your domain? Having a dynamic IP means each time you log on you get a new IP. Or, do you have a static IP which means you have the same IP all the time?

If you have a dynamic IP, you would want to investigate getting a static IP from your connectivity/hosting provider — this usually costs more but that prevents IPs being arbitrarily assigned to you that could have been previously used by spammers that then were blocked. It’s not the end all be all because of how many servers (some with good and some with bad reputations) that e-mail may channel through. But getting a static IP is something you can control.

Legit Asian businesses are having a very difficult time getting e-mails to their stateside contacts because so many spammers use Asian servers which are not configured/regulated/controlled as they should be, to relay their spam through. Therefore there are a ton of Asian IPs that are blacklisted, blocked, unblocked and then blocked again.

If you have partners in Asia, and their e-mails are getting blocked before they get to you, you need to realize that only your Asian partners can address those blacklists or blocks on their IPs with their connectivity/hosting providers. And, unfortunately, in my experience that side of planet is reluctant to do anything to address the situation or to take the lead to resolve it on their side.

Here are several resources on IPs, reputation and the Asian component. If you do business with companies overseas, and if you have not yet run into a problem of their e-mails getting blocked, this is a good time to read up and learn so you are prepared when it does happen:

Not All Asian E-Mail Is Spam
Okean – Spam Intro

Then a must read for all e-mail marketers on your reputation beyond your IP:

Tarnishing Your Clean Reputation

Make sure your “reputation” is known and managed properly.