Email Marketing: Complaint Ratio

In the world of delivery, the complaint ratio is probably one of the most important measures by which a mailer can ensure the continued delivery of their email. One of the largest challenges, though, is that acceptable ratios are not published nor are the Yahoos and AOLs up front as to what is acceptable.

What is the complaint ratio?

The complaint ratio is a measure of the total complaints an IP, Allocation, or Mailer receives for its sends.

Sounds simple, doesn't it. Well it's far from that! And here is why...

• Not all email providers give you information about compaints.
• Some email providers ignore messages that were put in the junk box.
• The period in time which a Complaint Ratio is monitored is not published.

From a practicality standpoint, a 0.1% complaint for white listed IPs should be acceptable at most domains. However, some domains, e.g. Yahoo, treat non-White Listed IPs as hostile, so don't even bother trying to inbox without a White List.

About me:

I work extensively in the email marketing industry and deal with data management, offer selection, and delivery optimization at the worlds leading email providers.

A good marketer should never receive a complaint, else you sent the wrong message, at the wrong time, to the wrong person, and wasted resources.

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