Physician, heal thyself: Even I can get auth wrong!
Here is a fresh slice of humble pie: even after years of advising senders on authentication protocols and email best practices, I managed to break my own newsletter's SPF record last week.
I try to practice what I preach. My newsletter list is 100% double opt-in, no spam here, and I’ve got just about every auth protocol covered – SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI. All in place, all passing, all correct. But then, I updated the DNS for my domain a couple of weeks ago. I did so quickly and with confidence. It’s not the first time I’ve had to transition DNS from one provider to another. Well, it turns out that routine confidence is a great way to miss something.
I neglected to verify every detail of the updated SPF record, forgetting an IP address, an important one, the sending IP of my own mail server, the MTA I use to send the Spam Resource newsletter. So, when I sent my next newsletter dispatch: SPF failed across the board, without me realizing it.
The deliverability impact? Not huge, but not zero, either.
One outright rejection: A spam-related rejection for one specific recipient behind a specific email security gateway.
Open rate dipped: My open rate dropped to around 40%, down from its reliable 50%+ weekly average. While I didn't run live seed testing during the send, it’s enough of a drop to make me wonder if I might have seen some spam folder placement.
And I made one reader mad enough to report my mail as spam: I received a spam complaint via the Yahoo feedback loop. (Yay, it works!) Since Yahoo FBLs strictly require an explicit user click ("report spam") and my list is strictly confirmed opt-in, this didn’t make sense to me. My theory? The failed authentication might have triggered a security warning banner in their mail client. Faced with a suspicious banner, perhaps the reader played it safe and hit the “report spam” button. Can’t blame them.
Oh, and nothing beats a bit of confirmation bias on my own part when troubleshooting. I saw the lower open rates and the weird block, but my initial instincts led me down the wrong rabbit hole. I didn’t stop to think for a second that it could be something to do to my recent DNS update.
It took a coworker taking a fresh, two-second look at the record (and my domain's DMARC reporting) to point out what I had missed: "Hey, did you know that SPF failed for your last send?" Er. Oops. Anyway. The record is fixed now, SPF is passing, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on the metrics for the next send.
The takeaway here goes beyond remembering to double-check your DNS syntax before saving. Slow down, move carefully, check your work. It’s also a reminder that your metrics are your dashboard warning lights. Sudden drops in open rates or strange edge-case blocks might be telling you something. Listen to them. Investigate from there. And don’t be afraid to lean on a friend, coworker, or friendly neighborhood deliverability consultant for a second pair of eyes to help you figure out what’s wrong.
Here is a fresh slice of humble pie: even after years of advising senders on authentication protocols and email best practices, I managed to break my own newsletter's SPF record last week.
I try to practice what I preach. My newsletter list is 100% double opt-in, no spam here, and I’ve got just about every auth protocol covered – SPF, DKIM, DMARC and BIMI. All in place, all passing, all correct. But then, I updated the DNS for my domain a couple of weeks ago. I did so quickly and with confidence. It’s not the first time I’ve had to transition DNS from one provider to another. Well, it turns out that routine confidence is a great way to miss something.
I neglected to verify every detail of the updated SPF record, forgetting an IP address, an important one, the sending IP of my own mail server, the MTA I use to send the Spam Resource newsletter. So, when I sent my next newsletter dispatch: SPF failed across the board, without me realizing it.
The deliverability impact? Not huge, but not zero, either.
- One outright rejection: A spam-related rejection for one specific recipient behind a specific email security gateway.
- Open rate dipped: My open rate dropped to around 40%, down from its reliable 50%+ weekly average. While I didn't run live seed testing during the send, it’s enough of a drop to make me wonder if I might have seen some spam folder placement.
- And I made one reader mad enough to report my mail as spam: I received a spam complaint via the Yahoo feedback loop. (Yay, it works!) Since Yahoo FBLs strictly require an explicit user click ("report spam") and my list is strictly confirmed opt-in, this didn’t make sense to me. My theory? The failed authentication might have triggered a security warning banner in their mail client. Faced with a suspicious banner, perhaps the reader played it safe and hit the “report spam” button. Can’t blame them.
Oh, and nothing beats a bit of confirmation bias on my own part when troubleshooting. I saw the lower open rates and the weird block, but my initial instincts led me down the wrong rabbit hole. I didn’t stop to think for a second that it could be something to do to my recent DNS update.It took a coworker taking a fresh, two-second look at the record (and my domain's DMARC reporting) to point out what I had missed: "Hey, did you know that SPF failed for your last send?" Er. Oops. Anyway. The record is fixed now, SPF is passing, and I’ll be keeping a close eye on the metrics for the next send.
The takeaway here goes beyond remembering to double-check your DNS syntax before saving. Slow down, move carefully, check your work. It’s also a reminder that your metrics are your dashboard warning lights. Sudden drops in open rates or strange edge-case blocks might be telling you something. Listen to them. Investigate from there. And don’t be afraid to lean on a friend, coworker, or friendly neighborhood deliverability consultant for a second pair of eyes to help you figure out what’s wrong.
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