Deliverability
Terra Mail is about to close: All you need to know
The free email service Terra Mail is closing on June 30th. Here's all you need to know to prepare for the closure and to ensure that your email strategy survives its closure.
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Not so long ago, we told you Orange Email was closing down. It seems like EE are not the only ones that have gone on a spring cleaning spree, and it’s now Terra who’s also embracing this “out with the old, in with the new” philosophy.
Although the website will still be available, on June 30th, Terra is closing down its freemail service. If you had just recovered from the Orange Email news, you might start feeling those hot flushes again. Or maybe you realized the emailing world didn’t end when Orange, Wanadoo and Freeserve closed down, and you’re now much more pragmatic when it comes to these unpredicted changes.
Either way, we’re here to reassure you: this won’t kill your email strategy. Here’s what you need to know to prepare for Terra Mail’s closure.
Table of contents
Although Terra Mail addresses are not the most common, it’s possible that you have a number of contacts using these domains in your database, especially if you operate in Latin America. These are the domains affected:
terra.com
terra.com.ar
mi.terra.cl
terra.com.co
terra.com.mx
terra.com.pe
terra.com.ve
terra.com.ec
The first thing you’ll need to do, then, is to assess how many of your users will be impacted, and work on an action plan to ensure the closure doesn’t mean you’ll have to say goodbye to these subscribers forever.
Let’s recap on the advice we gave you when we talked about the Orange Email closure.
If you’re sending to a number of Terra email addresses:
If you have a significant number of contacts using these domains, you can expect some spikes in your bounce rates. This is because the closed accounts won’t be accepting any new emails. High bounce rates can impact your deliverability, which is why at Mailjet we keep an eye on bounces and other metrics, to ensure you stay within our predefined safe thresholds.
To avoid spikes in your bounce rates that could damage your email deliverability, just delete these domains from your contact list before June 30th. But before you do that, ensure you’ve reached out to your subscribers to get their new email addresses.
First, segment your list to send these contacts a targeted campaign, reinforcing the value of the content you send them, and encouraging them to change their email address in your system, or create a new subscription with their new one. If your users update their contact details, be sure to thank them for providing a new address with a tailored welcome campaign. This will help you strengthen the relationship with them.
Make sure you send those that haven’t updated their contact details a reminder email a couple of days before June 30th. A last reactivation attempt might go a long way if these subscribers missed or forgot about your first email.
If you’re sending from a Terra Mail address:
While it’s a great idea for consumers, sending from webmail accounts is definitely not the best solution for a mass email sender, at least from a deliverability point of view. These addresses look spammy and are more likely to be blocked by ISPs. On top of that, they don’t create the best first impression when introducing your business to potential users. Switching to a custom domain will improve your chances of landing in the inbox, and will also make your business look much more professional.
There you are. We gave you all the details when Orange Email announced its closure, but these are the tips to ensure your email strategy survives the end of Terra Mail. If you’re looking to understand the impact this could have on your deliverability even better, check out our Email Marketing Deliverability 101 guide.
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