# What Is an Email Feedback Loop and Why It’s Important 

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## Table of contents

- What is an email feedback loop?
- How do email feedback loops work?
- Advantages of email feedback loops
- How to apply for email feedback loops
- Best practices in using feedback loops
- Email clients that offer email feedback loop
- Conclusion

In email marketing, maintaining a good sender reputation isn't just good business —it's imperative. A good sender reputation plays a crucial role in determining whether your emails land in an inbox or get caught in spam filters and ultimately determines whether your campaign is a success or a failure. If you have too many complaints from spam filters, your reputation gets a hit and lowers [deliverability rates](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/increase-email-deliverability/), which damages your brand image. If spam complaints continue, ISPs may block your emails altogether, cutting you off from your audience and putting a halt to your email marketing efforts.

  

Here is where **email feedback loops (FBLs)** come in handy. The FBL provides you with a warning system that lets you know when recipients mark your emails as spam, allowing you to take action before things get worse. This article will further discuss the advantages of email feedback loops and how you can apply for one.

## What is an email feedback loop?

  

**An Email Feedback Loop (FBL) is a service from Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that notifies email senders when their messages are marked as spam.**

  

When an email is flagged, the mailbox provider sends a report to the sender, detailing the complaint. It helps the sender realize how the emails from their side are being perceived by the audience and gives a chance to rectify any issues in time. It is mostly used by email marketers, businesses and high-volume senders to monitor and manage their campaigns effectively.

  

## How do email feedback loops work?

  

For email feedback loops to work, the sender has to register for the FBL service with an Internet Service Provider (ISP). When a recipient flags the email as spam, the ISP sends a report back to the sender, allowing them to take action, such as removing the email address from their mailing list, to prevent further complaints and maintain a good sender reputation. Here’s what the entire process looks like.

  
![This image showcases the process of how an email feedback loop works.](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1727711164/strapi/Email_Feedback_Loop_92436ec18c.png)

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

## Advantages of email feedback loops

Understanding the advantages of FBLs can enhance your email strategy, leading to improved results with a stronger connection to your target audience.

  
![This image showcases all the advantages of an email feedback loop.](https://res.cloudinary.com/mailmodo/image/upload/f_auto,q_100/v1727711164/strapi/Advantages_of_email_feedback_loops_637c551ec4.png)
  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

### 1. Reduces spam complaints
    

  

Email feedback loops help reduce spam complaints by notifying the senders about the recipients who mark an email as spam. This helps in filtering out uninterested recipients and removing them from the senders' lists thus maintaining a clean email list translating into a good reputation with mailbox providers and enhancing [email deliverability](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-deliverability/).

  

### 2. Protects sender reputation
    

  

The most prominent benefit of FBL is the ability to protect the reputation of your sender. Emails marked as spam harm a sender's reputation with ISPs due to complaints. Therefore, through an FBL, you can easily remove such email addresses from your lists, avoiding further complaints against your own sender's reputation.

### 3. Improves email deliverability
    

  

Feedback loop data can be a powerful tool in increasing email delivery. By analyzing the complaint data, you can establish patterns about which emails are marked as spam and even adjust your email practices correspondingly. Proactively, this helps make your content more refined and improve targeting that helps ensure an increased likelihood of your message actually ending up in the inbox, rather than a spam folder.

  

### 4. Increases user engagement
    

  

Feedback loop data can also guide the senders on how to refine their email content and targeting strategies. It gives marketers information on which emails attract complaints, allowing them to correct what isn't working and enhance what is. In this way, the [engagement rate](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/email-engagement/) can increase since the emails correspond to user preferences.

  
  

> Reaching the inbox isn't your goal - engaging people is.
>
>\- Matt Blumberg, CEO, Bolster

  

### 5. Identifies compromised hosts
    

  

When you have network security issues, your domains are vulnerable and might get taken over by malicious actors. FBLs will help you determine such security issues, alerting you of complaints on messages you never sent. If there is a high complaint volume, without corresponding messages, it may be that your IP has been compromised.

  
### 6. Protects sender reputation
    

  

The most prominent benefit of FBL is the ability to protect the reputation of your sender. Emails marked as spam harm a sender's reputation with ISPs due to complaints. Therefore, through an FBL, you can easily remove such email addresses from your lists, avoiding further complaints against your own [sender's reputation](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/sender-score/).

## How to apply for email feedback loops

Setting up an FBL is a simple procedure. Here’s how you can do it for two major email clients.

### Yahoo mail

The process for setting up your own Yahoo! feedback loop is fairly simple. You will need to fill in basic information about yourself and your company on the Complaint Feedback Loop (CFL) application form. Since Yahoo! only supports feedback reporting for DKIM-authenticated domains, you will additionally need to include your DKIM=' selector. Lastly, you will receive a verification code in your email that must be included in your submission as well.

You can find this form on their [dedicated page](https://senders.yahooinc.com/complaint-feedback-loop/?guccounter=1) and follow the steps.

### Gmail

To set up feedback loop on Google, you must incorporate a new header known as the Feedback-ID, which is made up of parameters (referred to as "Identifiers") that each uniquely identify each campaign, In the Postmaster Tools FBL dashboard, any Identifiers that exhibit an abnormally high spam rate and may result in deliverability problems will be flagged.

  

For detailed information, you can check out their [Google's support page](https://support.google.com/a/answer/6254652?hl=en&visit_id=638633044818824893-720598299&rd=1).

## Best practices in using feedback loops

To make the most of feedback loops, you must use them effectively. Here's how to do it right:

  

### 1. Monitor feedback regularly
    

  

Have frequent checks. A regular check on feedback data is important to identify any complaints spike happening around a specific time. This allows you to be on top of issues and address them before they get out of hand.

  

### 2. Act on feedback promptly
    

  

Quick response to any [feedback](https://www.mailmodo.com/guides/customer-satisfaction-survey/) provided is important.  Action that has taken place fast enough will make sure that troublesome email addresses are addressed before they manage to bring down the reputation of future campaigns or your IP address.

### 3. Learn from feedback to improve campaigns
    

  

Feedback adjustment is one of the most critical factors that improve your email marketing efforts as a whole. For example, if your campaigns frequently point out that particular content is marked as spam, you might rework that content or perhaps revisit the frequency of emails being sent.

  





  

## Email clients that offer email feedback loop

There are many email clients that offer FBL services, giving you access to analyze spam complaints. Here are some of the most prominent email clients supporting feedback loops.

-   Gmail
    
-   Yahoo! mail
    
-   Outlook 
    
-   AOL mail
    

  

## Conclusion

  

Email feedback loops are one of the more invaluable assets to a marketer's email arsenal. They serve to prevent emails from being placed in spam folders, work to protect sender reputation, and improve user engagement. However, when FBLs are utilized in an email marketing campaign with the adherence of best practices, better outcomes are inevitable. Follow the steps outlined above to set up your own email feedback loop and start your journey to success today.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Why do I need an email feedback loop?

Email feedback loop will warn you when recipients report your emails as spam to help you maintain a good sender reputation and increase deliverability. 


### How can feedback loops improve email campaigns?


It is helpful for determining problematic content and targeting as it helps you refine your content  and align emails with user preferences for the purpose of maximizing engagement and campaign effectiveness.


### What should I do if my sender reputation is damaged?


If your sender reputation is harmed, you must clean your email list and reduce complaints as much as possible whilst keeping content relevant, consequently always following best practices in order to rebuild your reputation over time. 


### Do I have to pay for email feedback loops?


Generally, most ISPs provide feedback loop services free of charge, although you might incur extra expenses if you need more tools or services to analyze the feedback effectively.


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**Author: Mashkoor Alam**

Mashkoor has always been passionate about writing. He used to write short stories on his blog before he started writing for SaaS companies years back. He aspires to have a book under his name.

