Mailbox providers don’t have filtering rules set up to place your email into the spam folder if ‘noreply’ is used. However, using ‘noreply’ in your sending or reply-to address could harm deliverability through higher complaints, unsubscribe requests, and lower subscriber engagement due to a poor customer experience. Mailbox providers look at your domain and IP reputation when deciding to filter your email, so it is ideal to encourage engagement from your subscribers as much as possible. A subscriber replying to your email is a positive indicator to mailbox providers that you are less likely a spammer.
If you use a ‘noreply’ sending or reply-to address in some of your email, be sure to include information or directions about how a subscriber can get support or service. If your subscribers are well informed about how to contact you, then using ‘noreply’ is likely to have no impact to your deliverability.
However, using ‘no reply’ in your sending or reply-to address is not recommended because:
- It tells a subscriber or customer that you aren’t interested in speaking with them, which can affect your brand image.
- Subscribers or customers don’t always notice the ‘no reply’ address when they do reply or they don’t understand that you are passively asking them to not send them a message. If they reply and don’t hear back from you, they may perceive the experience as bad customer service. Bad customer service may lead to future complaints or unsubscribe requests.
- People replying to your messages is a positive engagement indicator that mailbox providers use to determine sender reputation, so it should be encouraged instead of discouraged.
- In some cases, your sending address will be automatically added to a subscriber’s personal safe list or contact list if they reply to you. If your sending address is listed in a personal safe list or contact list, your email will bypass spam filters and be placed in their inbox.
- People are less likely to manually add a ‘no reply’ address to their safe list or contact list.
- A subscriber may send you an unsubscribe request via email. It is your responsibility to honor all unsubscribe requests, otherwise future emails may be flagged as spam.
