What to do if you’re not getting Red Apple Auctions emails

If you’re consistently having problems getting Red Apple Auctions emails and other information I send, you may find this blog post helpful.

Last week my team received a simple email originating from the “Contact Us” page of my website.  Here is the conversation it generated:

Subject:

Please add me to your email list for the Red Apple Auctions’ ezine
Body:

Thanks so much.

Cheers,
<name removed>

My team member noticed the email was from a hospital account in Canada. She responded as such:

Thanks for reaching out! Though we could add you, your system has a better chance of accepting our emails if, in fact, you sign up yourself and start the process. Hospitals are notorious for blocking our outreach. Here’s how to join:

If you sign up on this page, you’ll be added to the list.  https://www.redappleauctions.com/free-resources/benefit-auction-ideas/ You’ll get the e-zine every other week on its publication date.  (Next Tuesday is the next one.) If you do NOT get auto-email from us, it means your system is blocking us and you’ll have to try another email or talk to your IT administrator.

Give it a try, and welcome to the “Red Apple Auctions” family!

A few minutes later, we got the bad news:

OMG – they’ve blocked the website!! I’ll ask them to unblock it.
<Name withheld>

We responded:

Yes, that happens. We aren’t sure why, but if you get any clues as to why your IT blocked it, please share them!

The Auction Planner acted quickly. Despite what must be a maze of hospital IT staff, she successfully navigated to the correct person, got the account unblocked, and kindly followed up with us:

Now unblocked, but was likely blocked because it was “media.” Very tight here.

<Name withheld>

“Media?”

I asked my tech guru if she had any insights as to why my site would be considered media. 

Her hypothesis is that some companies may, by default, block any website with videos/video players, and only unblock them when the website has been requested and verified.

“Companies don’t want their employees to spend time watching YouTube videos at work,” she said.

I can appreciate that. YouTube can waste our time with trash or treasures. Who hasn’t gone to YouTube to learn how to do the mundane or simply be entertained.

I’ve posted nearly 500 blog posts on my site; many have video tutorials. The videos are hosted off my site, but are pulled into my blog via a video player. It seems a shame that auction organizers working in hospitals and schools — the two institutions with the highest IT security — bear the brunt of the blocking and can’t access these tools.

If you can access my account at home but not at work, track down your IT guy. It might be as simple as having him quickly view my Website and hit an “All clear” button.

Or alternatively, enter another email.