Email Marketing terms

Whitelist

A list of trusted email addresses or domains that ISPs won't mark as spam.

What is a whitelist in email marketing?

A whitelist in email marketing is a list of approved email addresses or domain names from which an email blocking program will allow messages to be received. It is essentially a list of contacts that the user has approved to receive emails from. This is used to prevent spam and other unwanted emails.

Email service providers (ESPs) use whitelists to determine which emails are allowed into the recipient's inbox. If a sender's IP address is on a whitelist, their emails are less likely to be marked as spam. This is crucial in email marketing as it ensures that the marketing emails reach the intended recipients and are not blocked or sent to the spam folder. Whitelisting helps improve email deliverability, making it a key aspect of successful email marketing.

How does a whitelist work in email marketing?

A whitelist in email marketing is a list of approved email addresses or domain names from which an email blocking program will allow messages to be received. It is essentially a 'safe list' of senders. Email service providers (ESPs) use whitelists to determine which emails are allowed to reach the recipient's inbox and which are not.

When an email address or domain is added to the whitelist, it means that the ESP recognizes and trusts the sender, thus allowing their emails to bypass spam filters and land directly in the recipient's inbox. This is crucial in email marketing as it ensures that the marketing emails are not mistakenly marked as spam, increasing the likelihood of the recipient seeing and engaging with the content. Whitelisting helps improve email deliverability, making it a key aspect of successful email marketing campaigns.

Why is a whitelist important in email marketing?

A whitelist in email marketing is important for several reasons. Firstly, it ensures that your emails reach the intended recipients without being blocked or filtered into the spam folder. This is crucial for maintaining effective communication with your customers and prospects, as well as for achieving your marketing goals. Whitelisting helps to improve your email deliverability rate, which is a key metric in email marketing.

Secondly, a whitelist enhances your reputation as a sender. When your email address is whitelisted, it signifies that your emails are trusted and not considered spam by the recipients' email servers. This not only increases the chances of your emails being opened and read, but also builds trust and credibility for your brand. Therefore, encouraging your subscribers to whitelist your email address can significantly boost your email marketing efforts.

How can I create a whitelist for my email marketing campaign?

Creating a whitelist for your email marketing campaign involves encouraging your subscribers to add your email address to their list of trusted senders. This process varies depending on the email service provider your subscribers use. For instance, for Gmail users, they can add your email to their contacts or mark your email as important. For Outlook users, they can add your email to their safe senders list.

Start by sending a welcome email to your new subscribers, asking them to whitelist your email address. Provide them with step-by-step instructions on how to do this for different email service providers. You can also include a note in your emails reminding your subscribers to add your email to their whitelist. This will help ensure that your emails land in their inbox instead of their spam folder, increasing the chances of your emails being opened and read.

Alsongside email marketing, if you're into video marketing...

You should try Tella.tv - your all-in-one screen recorder, to create launch videos, product demos, social media videos, 1:1s for customers, and more!

Tella isn't just a screen recorder. It combines the simplicity of Loom with the creativity of Canva to create great looking videos with no effort.

With Tella, you can record your screen and/or camera, combine separate clips and quickly remove mistakes, apply beautiful backgrounds, change the camera layout, add zoom effects - almost instantly.

Tella screen recorder

< Back to Email Marketing glossary

Try Tella today!

Screen recording for creators — simple and powerful.

7-day free trial — no credit card required