Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

Home » Email Deliverability » Here are 7 reasons why your emails might be landing in spam:

Here are 7 reasons why your emails might be landing in spam:

It’s every email marketer’s nightmare…

You check your email open rates and they’ve dropped below 10% which means only one thing – your emails are landing in spam.

And it’s got you feeling like this –

Unfortunately, when your emails start landing in spam, it’s usually due to a number of reasons.

And today, we’ll be looking at what they could be.

Let’s begin:

You’ve not set up your email domain properly

If you’ve just started sending out emails and they’re landing in spam from the get go, then I’d put it down to not authenticating your domain properly.

Recently, Gmail and Yahoo have introduced new rules about authenticating your domain – you can read more about that here.

But before you do that, it’s important to authenticate your domain with your SPF, DKIM and Dmarc records.

If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you can click here.

It’ll take you MXToolBox where it’ll tell you if your DMARC records are set up correctly.

Once you’ve done this, you must make sure you’ve also correctly set up your DKIM and SPF records.

If you want to discover how to set that up – then click here.

But here’s the reason why it’s important to set this up –

Setting up DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail), SPF (Sender Policy Framework), and DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) records is essential for email authentication and security.

These records work together to help protect your domain’s reputation, prevent email spoofing, and ensure that emails sent from your domain are trusted by email providers.

Not only that but when this is implemented, you can significantly improve the deliverability and trustworthiness of your emails.

These records help email providers identify legitimate messages from your domain, reducing the chances of your emails being marked as spam or phishing attempts.

Your email contents and/or subject line contain spam triggers

This is an obstacle that a lot of people run into when they find themselves landing in the spam.

The reason why this is important to be aware of is because there are a list of different words and phrases that’ll get flagged if you use them in your emails.

If you want to know which words and phrases you need to be mindful of, then click here.

It’s a list of words and phrases that may trigger the spam filter.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t use these words at all, but what I am saying is you must use them sparingly.

Otherwise, if you start using them excessively, you’ll end up in spam.

Also, ActiveCampaign is a good software to use for this because when you send out an email, it let’s you know if you’re triggering any spam filters…

Following on from the last point: Avoid using misleading subject lines:

How many times have you received an email that says something misleading and the sole aim is for you to open the email…

…Then you open the email and it either doesn’t hold up the promise that they had in the subject line or it’s a complete bait and switch which leaves you feeling pretty p*ssed off that they made you open it.

The reason why this can be so negative and result in spam is because if you do this on a regular basis, people WILL report your emails as spam.

And if this happens enough times, your emails will end up in spam.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t create clickbait-esque subject lines, but the only caveat is that you answer the question in the email that you’re setting up in the customers mind.

You don’t have permission from your subscribers to mail them

If you’re sending emails in bulk – meaning that you have a large email list, then the people you’re sending to MUST have given you permission to send them emails.

This can be simple and easy to do.

So when someone signs up to your email list, have a small bit of copy on the page where you explicitly say that they agree to be sent marketing emails.

Here’s an example –

And when you set up a landing page on an email software, I believe this is done automatically.

Softwares like ConvertKit and MailerLite will do this for you so you don’t have to worry.

But it’s good to keep it in mind that this is needed.

So it’s important to understand that you can’t simply add people to your list that haven’t given permission.

Your email doesn’t contain an unsubscribe link or a sender address:

This is a pretty simple and basic one that you must have in your emails – and that’s an unsubscribe link.

Here’s an example of an email list that I’m signed up to that has this:

Not only must you have the unsubscribe link, but you must also have a sender address.

Yes you can use your own address but I know the likes of ConvertKit allows you to use their address.

This is a simple yet extremely important step that you must not skip if you want your emails to be landing in the primary tab!

You’re not following email best practices:

This is one area that a lot of people don’t do.

And it’s simple – you must follow the best practices when it comes to email list hygiene.

But what does this mean?

It means:

Appropriately segmenting your list (only sending to people who’ve opened your email within a certain time period)
Kicking people off your list who are not opening your emails.
Regularly sending emails to your list.

And if you want to learn more about this and how you can stay on top of email best practices – then click here.

It’s a short post I created going over everything you need to do to stay on top of keeping your email list healthy.

Your subscribers are marking you as spam

Getting people marking your emails as spam is inevitable – even if people have signed up to receive your emails, they’ll still do it for whatever reason.

So, your job is to simply minimize this as much as possible.

How?

By doing all of the above –

Following email best practices

Letting people know that they’ve signed up to receive your emails.

Regularly mailing your list and building a relationship with them.
Allowing people to unsubscribe from your list whenever they want.

Now, with the new Yahoo and Gmail rules, this is something you need to be mindful of, because if you’re not careful and you ignore all of the above rules – then don’t be surprised when your emails start landing in spam.

Before you go...

So to finish – there are several reasons why your emails may be getting flagged as spam.

From using spam trigger words to a lack of authentication protocols, it’s important to follow best practices for email deliverability.

Make sure your content is relevant and valuable, authenticate your domain and emails, maintain a clean email list, and monitor key metrics.

By taking these steps, you can improve your chances of landing in the inbox and engaging your subscribers.

Remember, spam filters are designed to protect users, so always focus on providing high-quality, permission-based emails.

With some optimization and care, you can ensure your important messages make it to their intended destination.

Got any questions? Just leave a comment below and I’ll make sure to get back to you.

About The Author: Jamie Tomlinson

Jamie Tomlinson is an internet marketer and email marketer, who focuses on helping businesses maximize and improve their email marketing profits.

As the founder of Email Maximalist, Jamie has helped countless clients improve their email marketing strategies and increase their ROI. With a keen understanding of the digital landscape, Jamie is dedicated to staying ahead of the curve and delivering results for his clients and the readers of this blog.

Check out some of the other posts Jamie has created by clicking the button below.

All Posts