Mailchimp has a powerful mechanism to prevent abuse. Sometimes, you might face a deliverability issue even when you are not abusing the system.
Among all the Mailchimp warnings issues, Omnivore warning is the most popular one.
Let's understand what Omnivore is?
What is Omnivore?
In 2008, Mailchimp introduced an AI-based system to improve its abuse detection mechanisms.
It's a filter that uses artificial intelligence to check the email lists.
Omnivore scans the email list to find those email addresses, which might result in a high bounce rate, complaints, or even blacklisting. Furthermore, it looks for bad URLs and questionable keywords.
If you have received the omnivore warning, there are high chances that your email list needs cleaning and verification. You won't be able to resume your campaign without addressing the problems.
The science behind the Omnivore warning
Whenever you upload an email list to Mailchimp servers, it identifies and assigns a risk level to each email. If the risk level is too high, your emails won't be delivered to those email addresses. You will receive a warning. However, it won't show you the culprit email addresses.
You can use an email verification service to do this before you upload your list to Mailchimp.
Is the Omnivore warning issue annoying for you?
It's annoying for every email marketer. However, it saves yours as well as Mailchimp's reputation. If you or your email sending service is labeled as a spammer, it can result in major problems. Furthermore, the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) won't hesitate to block Mailchimp's email sending service.
So, if your email list is not clean enough, you will get an Omnivore warning. Usually, Mailchimp issues the Omnivore warning through an email or notification within the dashboard. The email content explains the number of valid email addresses, issues, and links explaining the solutions
Can an omnivore warning result in account suspension?
Yes, an omnivore warning issue can result in account suspension.
Mailchimp suspends the account depending upon the factors like:
- The wrong list building process
- Issues with recent campaigns
- Using free email address during signup
- Violation in terms of use
Since the omnivore warning issue belongs to campaigns, it can result in account suspension.
So, you have to take Mailchimp's omnivore warning seriously.
How to check if your account is under threat?
Mailchimp's customer support contacts the user informing about the warning. If the user receives three warnings in 6 months, the account of the user is permanently disabled.
Methods to avoid Omnivore warning issue
There are different tips and tricks to avoid the omnivore warning issue. The following are some of them:
Go for double opt-ins
Use a double opt-in process to get new subscribers on your list. Double opt-in means whenever a user agrees to receive emails from you, a verification link is sent through email. When the user clicks that verification link, it means they fully agree to receive emails from you.
The double opt-in process is a great way to keep only those subscribers interested in hearing from you. It also ensures the reduction in spam rate. Furthermore, you will see a considerable decrease in your marketing costs.
Keep an eye on role-based emails
Role-based emails aren't associated with a sing person. Instead, they are associated with a specific role within a business or company. It means a single person doesn't manage them; instead, they are managed by different people in a department. For example :
It's impossible that everyone managing a single email has consented to receive it. There is no surety that your emails won't be marked as spam.
It has been observed several times that a list containing role-based email addresses results in a high bounce rate.
Mailchimp considers an email list as unclean when it contains a high number of role-based email addresses. Omnivore has a very low threshold for these email addresses.
So, if your list has a lot of role-based email addresses, clean it before your next campaign.
Do not buy the lists
Third-parties use questionable techniques to collect data. Mostly, they provide old data. They even sell a single list to multiple clients.
Omnivore hates the old, spam-trap, and cold lists.
You should start your own email list building process. It will not only save you from an omnivore warning, but also your time, money, and effort won't be wasted.
Check your list manually
You can check your list manually to make sure it passes through the Omnivore mechanism.
You can take the following steps to clean your list.
- Open your list in MS excel.
- Check for duplicates and remove them.
- Look for role-based email addresses and delete them.
- If you know a domain offering temporary email addresses, search the email addresses ending with that specific domain and delete them.
- If there is information about the date of update, remove all email addresses which were updated more than 12 months ago.
These manual methods can work sometimes. But, there is no guarantee that the data will be accurate and compatible with the Omnivore.
Use an email verification service
A cloud-based email verification service can solve all of your email marketing problems. This email list verify service uses different advanced mechanisms to make sure your email list is perfect and ready for the marketing.
The advanced tools like risk validator, spam trap removal, syntax checker, duplication checker, and MTA validation save you from omnivore warning even before you start uploading your list to Mailchimp.
It is an ideal solution for the Omnivore warning problem. Moreover, it will help you increase your domain reputation in the long run.
Note: Once you receive an Omnivore warning, you might still want to use the same list without cleaning. You might be tempted to send emails to everyone to check the bounce rate. This isn't recommended. Not only your domain reputation will be damaged, but you will also find your IP in the blacklists soon.
If you feel that the Omnivore is cracking down your account despite following all the rules. You can contact the Mailchimp's customer support. They will review your account and activity. If there is no violation. They will fix it for you.