Resubscribing Activists With Spam Complaints or Bouncing Emails In Action Network

Resubscribing Activists With Spam Complaints Or Bouncing Emails

To help us keep our email communications effective and ensure messages reach as many members and supporters as possible, it’s important to know how to handle issues related to email bounces and spam complaints. In this guide, we’ll explain what bounces and spam complaints are, why they happen, and how you can handle them in Action Network. We’ll also cover how to resubscribe users who want to start receiving emails again.

What Are Bouncing and Spam-Complaining Emails?

  • Bounces: When an email fails to reach a recipient’s inbox, it "bounces" back. Bounces can be:

    • Soft Bounces: Temporary issues, like a full inbox or a delay in delivery. These emails may still go through on a future attempt. Emails sent via Action Network that "soft bounce" will be retried for a period of 72 hours.
    • Hard Bounces: Permanent issues, like an invalid email address, meaning the email won’t be delivered in the future.

  • Spam Complaints: When a recipient marks an email as spam, their email provider flags it, which can impact our ability to send future emails.

Keeping bounces and spam complaints in check helps protect our ability to reach people and keeps our email reputation strong.

Why Are Bounces and Spam Complaints Important?

  1. Sender Reputation: High bounce rates or frequent spam complaints can damage our sender reputation, affecting future email deliverability.
  2. Deliverability: By keeping bounce rates low and minimising spam complaints, we increase the likelihood of emails reaching inboxes instead of spam folders.
  3. Supporter Experience: Making sure that only interested supporters get emails from us improves engagement and respects their preferences.

What Is The Global Block List?

The Action Network Global Block List is a protective measure that automatically prevents emails from being sent to addresses flagged for consistent deliverability issues, such as hard bounces or spam complaints. When an email address generates too many bounces or is marked as spam by recipients, Action Network adds it to this global block list to safeguard sender reputation and maintain high deliverability rates for all users on the platform. This system helps reduce the risk of sending emails to problematic addresses, which could otherwise harm the sender’s reputation and increase the likelihood of future emails landing in spam folders. Though it may seem like a bad thing, or inconvenient to deal with, the global block list actually benefits us by protecting us from deliverability issues and ensuring that emails reach people who are genuinely interested and engaged.

How to Handle Bouncing and Spam-Complaining Emails in Action Network

  1. Review Bounce and Spam Complaint Reports:

    • In Action Network, you can view bounce and spam complaint reports to see where issues may be arising. Regular checks help you spot patterns or specific email addresses causing problems.

  2. Take Action on Hard Bounces:

    • Remove Hard Bounced Addresses: To keep your bounce rate low and prevent further issues, remove addresses that have hard bounced. This helps improve deliverability.
    • Update Your Lists Regularly: By keeping your lists fresh and verified, you reduce the chances of future hard bounces.

  3. Address Spam Complaints Proactively:

    • Look for Trends: If a particular email or campaign has high spam complaints, review its content and frequency to see if adjustments are needed.
    • Respect Unsubscribes: Giving supporters an easy way to unsubscribe reduces the chance they’ll mark your emails as spam.
    • Follow Up as Needed: If appropriate, reach out to individuals who marked an email as spam to confirm whether they’d prefer to unsubscribe permanently.

How to Resubscribe Users After a Bounce or Spam Complaint

You can't determine if someone is on the Global Block List from their record, without first attempting to resubscribe them. In order to do so, just follow the steps below.

1. Verify Consent: Before resubscribing someone you should ensure you have their consent to do so. Since you won't be able to email them you should check if you have consent to call, by checking their Activist Record. Please check the do_not_phone field on their record. If it's set as FALSE we have consent to contact them by phone.


Screenshot of two fields in an Action Network activist record. The 'Member' field has the value 'Yes,' and the 'do_not_phone' field has the value 'FALSE,' indicating that the individual is a member and has not opted out of receiving phone calls.

2. Head to the EMAIL SUBSCRIPTIONS box: From the Activist Record, head to their email subscriptions, and use the pencil icon or the +Subscribe All link to resubscribe the activist,


Screenshot of the 'Email Subscriptions' section in an Action Network profile. A search bar allows searching by group name. The list displays a 'National Email List's list' with an unsubscribe icon next to it, indicating the user is currently unsubscribed. Below, there are buttons for 'Subscribe to Email,' 'Unsubscribe All,' and 'Subscribe All.

3. Confirm subscription, or Global Block List status: You'll be asked to confirm that you wish to resubscribe the activist. Once you've done this you'll see that they are now subscribed to the list. If they're on the Global Block List you'll see a pop-up letting you know this.

How To Remove Someone From The Global Block List

You don't need to contact the Digital Support Team to have someone removed from the Global Block List, but the way somebody is removed depends on if they are on the block list due to a spam complaint, or a bounce. Just follow the instructions below.

Removing Bouncing Emails From The Global Block List

Bouncing email addresses can be resubscribed by contacting Action Network support. Confirm the email address is correct, and that the activist is able to receive emails. Then drop an email to support@actionnetwork.org. Feel free to use the template below:

Quote
HI AN Team,
Please can you remove x@greenparty.org.uk from the Global Block List. Their email was previously bouncing but this has now been resolved.
Thanks

Once Action Network have confirmed they have been removed from the Global Block List you can resubscribe them by following the steps above again.

Removing Spam Complaint Emails From The Global Block List

Again, you don't need to contact the Digital Support Team. The activist just needs to be sent to https://actionnetwork.org/forms/remove-yourself-from-the-global-block-list/ to remove themselves from the block list. 24 hours after filling in the form you should be able to resubscribe them.

Why Do Activists Need To "Take The Pledge" To Not Mark Email As Spam?

Taking the pledge to not mark emails as spam is a necessary step to remove yourself from Action Network’s global block list if you’ve previously flagged an email as spam. This block list exists to protect organisations from malicious actors who mark emails as spam to harm sender reputations. However, sometimes legitimate supporters accidentally or unknowingly mark an email as spam instead of using the unsubscribe link.

By taking the pledge, you’re affirming your intention to receive communications again and committing to managing your email preferences responsibly in the future. Malicious actors are unlikely to take this step, so the pledge serves as an effective filter to separate genuine supporters from those attempting to harm the Green Party, or other organisations using Action Network. Taking the pledge ensures you can stay connected while helping us protect our email deliverability for all parts of the Green Party.

Best Practices for Minimising Bounces and Spam Complaints

  • Use Verified Email Addresses: If you're adding someone to your list yourself, confirm the email address is correct.
  • Monitor Engagement: Remove inactive supporters from your list to improve engagement and reduce bounce risks.
  • Send Relevant Content: Focus on sending emails targeted to appropriate audiences.

By actively managing bounces, spam complaints, and resubscription requests, you can improve the success of your email campaigns and ensure your messages reach the right people.

If you need help with managing bounces or spam complaints, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Digital Support Team.

Notes

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