How to Keep Your Emails Out of the Spam Folder?

Hi there,

I recently received a really interesting question about email marketing that I believe is relevant to many of you. It’s the kind of question every digital marketing professional has asked themselves at some point – maybe the million-dollar question in our field!

The question was: “How do you manage to keep our emails from ending up in the spam folder?” This is an extremely common concern, and for good reason. After all, what’s the point of all the effort in creating an email campaign if it doesn’t even reach the recipient’s inbox?

Based on the work of Chad White, an email marketing expert, email deliverability depends on 7 fundamental pillars. To ensure your emails reach the main inbox, and not spam, all these factors need to work in harmony:

1. Technology and Infrastructure: Use a reliable Email Service Provider (ESP), authenticate your emails with protocols like SPF, DKIM, BIMI, and DMARC, and monitor performance metrics such as click-through rates and delivery rates.
2. Volume and Sending Patterns: Send emails in predictable patterns. When starting to use a new domain or email, do a gradual “warm-up,” progressively increasing the volume of sends.
3. Content and HTML: Keep your email’s HTML code clean and avoid links to suspicious websites. Stay away from words typically associated with spam, like “free” or “promotion.”
4. Bounce Rate and Spam Traps: Ensure you’re not sending emails to invalid or inactive addresses. Keep your bounce rate below 0.5%.
5. Spam Complaints: Minimize complaints by implementing a clear opt-in process and making unsubscribing easy. Keep the complaint rate below 0.1%.
6. User Engagement: Send relevant and engaging content to increase the chances of user interaction. Segment your list and send less to inactive contacts.
7. Sender Reputation: Your domain’s reputation as a sender is built based on the points above. (For cold email campaigns, it’s recommended to use a secondary domain.)

These pillars are fundamental to maintaining good deliverability health and ensuring your emails successfully reach recipients’ inboxes.

If you’re facing challenges with your email deliverability or want to improve your click-through and conversion rates, I’m available to help. I offer a specialized service in improving email deliverability and optimizing campaigns for maximum performance.

Do you have any questions about email deliverability or want to share your experience? Leave a comment below!

Cheers,
Fabrício

PS1: Photo by Krsto Jevtic on Unsplash

PS2: Disclaimer – some links I share are affiliate links. You won’t be charged extra for clicking and buying through them, but I may receive a commission. I only endorse websites and products I trust and use personally.

PS3: To learn more about the factors that determine email deliverability, I recommend reading the article “7 Factors That Determine Email Deliverability” by Chad White.