Email Tests Results & Class Creator Update
Helena63.com & Class Creator software provider
We have run two separate tests on who is getting email from our site. Because I use a different outside Newsletter server “buttondown.com,” it reports to me who received the Newsletter emails. What the Newsletter told me that all our classmates addresses are working. I cannot see all the way to your email ID to see how the email was delivered or where it where was delivered like your junk email. I just know that it getting past the filters.
My tests results from your feedback said only that 3 emails were not delivered to our classmates. I did not think this number would be that low. The number to me is suspicious. What I do know is that many other schools are having the same type of problems with their emails.
I wrote Class Creator to see what progress they were making on fixing their email system. I was excited that their response was positive. They said they expect to install a new release of their email delivery system in the next couple of weeks (See Exhibit I). I am excited for this change to happen. It could fix our class email. I am looking forward to seeing our Helena63 email consistently delivering email to all our Classmates.
I do know my Microsoft email does not work with Helena63. I also know one of our Classmates that uses Hotmail does not work. Both of these email services are provided by Microsoft. Jessica from Class Creator talks about that Hotmail email system is no longer supported. This is true. However, Hotmail, Msn, Live and Outlook email addresses are all supported by the Outlook email servers and supported by Microsoft. I suspect that anyone who have these email addresses do not work with Helena63. In Exhibit II is more information about Microsoft and their strict filters that stop bulk email senders like Class Creator. Exhibit II does not offer us a solution that we can fix ourselves. I am hoping this comes with Class Creator new release. My immediate fix was adding a Gmail email address in my Class Creator ID Profile. It worked for me immediately.
I am not going to run anymore email tests until I see Class Creator has updated the email system hopefully sometime in October.
If you have not put noreply@classcreator.com in your contacts and checked your junk email to make sure no Class Creator email is there, do it now. My Microsoft email settings have a function called safelist that Class email address can be stored. This tells the email server that my Class Creator email address is safe and can be passed to my email ID. I have done this, but it has not work for me yet.
If you have questions about your email, please email me (jackeugeneholt@gmail.com) call/text me at 801-599-8220. I will work with you to see what the problem is and if we can find a solution.
Exhibit I
Class Creators Support Response to Email Problems
Hi Jack,
We are working on an updated email system that addresses multiple upcoming changes happening within the Microsoft email network. We know for certain they launched some of their changes early on the hotmail network - likely because there is no where anyone can complain to as they stopped supporting hotmail in 2012 and have not had a postmaster you can respond to for over 10 years for that product.
The changes we are making were recommended by other developers who send group/list mail and were also working to address the upcoming changes at multiple email providers. Those who have launched the changes we are nearing launch on are all experiencing much better response from all email providers including better bounce details. Bounces have been intermittent from several of the major providers for group/list mail and we were also looking for a solution to that issue.
We feel confident this upgrade will address most if not all of the issues. We will be working to coordinate the change over within the next few weeks. When that change happens you could compare the results to that of your external system and see if it addresses everything.
Jessica
Class Creator Support
Exhibit II
Hotmail.com, Msn.com Live.com and Outlook.com
There is no difference in newsletter delivery among msn.com, live.com hotmail.com and outlook.com because they are the same email service provided by Microsoft. Hotmail.com was simply rebranded to Outlook.com, and both domains use the same backend infrastructure and spam filters. However, the reputation of the sender is the primary factor that determines whether or not a newsletter lands in your inbox or your junk folder, and Msn, Live, Hotmail and Outlook users have reported difficulty receiving legitimate newsletters.
Key points on newsletter deliverability for Msn, Live, Hotmail and Outlook users:
Sender reputation matters most. Delivery challenges for any Microsoft email domain, including both @hotmail.com and @outlook.com, are determined by the sender's reputation. This includes adhering to email authentication protocols (like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) and consistently getting positive user engagement.
Aggressive filtering. Microsoft's filtering systems are known for being aggressive, and they sometimes flag legitimate emails as spam. This means a newsletter from a perfectly legitimate sender can still be sent to the junk folder.
Low inbox rates. Some email marketing reports show that Outlook/Hotmail has lower-than-average inbox delivery rates compared to other services like Gmail.
User action is a factor. If a newsletter you want to receive is repeatedly sent to your junk folder, you can improve delivery by taking action:
Add the sender to your Safe Senders list. This tells Outlook that you trust and want to receive mail from that specific address.
Mark the email as "Not Junk." This also helps train the filter to recognize legitimate newsletters from that sender.
In short, any delivery issues you experience with newsletters are not because of a difference among the live.com, @msn.com, @hotmail.com and @outlook.com domains, but rather how Microsoft's service treats promotional and bulk emails from senders generally.