Why are my email messages going to Spam? (9 Possible Reasons)

In this piece we'll discuss the reason emails get buried in mailers and the ways you can tackle it.

This is a huge amount of terrain to cover. So let's dive in!

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What is the reason that spam can be a challenge for Email Marketers

Estimates indicate that as many as 60 billion20% of your emails are never delivered into the recipients' inboxes, preventing you from reaching your target audience.

Why Are My Emails Going to Spam? (9 possible reasons)

We'll look through some of the most popular scenarios, and explore how you can ensure that your messages are delivered on the users' email inboxes.

1. The recipients of your emails have marked them as Spam

The first and most obvious reason why your emails end being discarded as spam is that those who receive them have put them there.

You may have also forgotten the reason they signed up to your mailing list in the first place or perhaps did something wrong.

If enough of your messages are flagged by users, this could cause spam filters to flag your address and start sending the mail automatically to spam.

When the email is sent out it's all you can do about it to keep someone from marking your emails as spam.

The best thing you should do is make sure the quality of your email content is high-quality as well as following other best practices to avoid being viewed as spammy by people. This can minimize the chance of someone deciding to mark your emails as spam. We'll cover some of these strategies in the next sections.

2. Your Website isn't Following HTML Best Practices

While text-only emails are fairly simple, they may not be an option for some businesses like online stores since they could lead to lower engagement when compared to emails that include branding, images, or others HTML elements.

These are HTML top practices in email, in accordance with Mailchimp.:

• Keep the maximum size of your mail between 600 to 800 pixels. It's important to ensure that your email is large enough to read easily, as well as behave properly in the preview panes.
• Assume that any images will be rejected by email applications and users won't be able to see important information when they are contained in media elements.

In the end, it's a good idea to make most of your email's content text, as well as limiting the quantity of HTML that you add. The company's logo and perhaps some pops of color could make a huge difference in engagement but without being too extravagant.

3. Your Subject Lines are Misleading or contain Spam Triggers

Subject lines are typically the first impression a user receives of the message you send, so they need to grab attention and entice the reader to open the email. They also have to be truthful. False subject lines aren't not just bad manners; it's illegal as per the CAN-SPAM Act.

Over half of email respondents report feeling cheated or tricked to open an email on the basis of its subject line, according to Litmus. This is a simple option to see your mail tossed away in the spam folder, and could even cause certain users to unsubscribe.

What exactly does a false subject line appear like? Below are some examples of misleading subject lines:

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• If you're a FW or RE, use. Don't start your subjects by using "RE" unless you're actually responding to an issue. It's an obvious trick and a quick method to gain the right to unsubscribe. Similarly, using "FW" will make the person think they already know the person (the meaning of being deceitful).
• Personal messages and leading questions. Subjects like "Did I drop my cell phone off at your place?" or "Did you know about this person?" may make users think they don't know the person who wrote the message.
• Incredibly sensational assertions. Some subject lines may not be a complete lie, but they are nonetheless a bit too extravagant. It is generally recommended to make sure that your subject line is in line with what that the recipient will read in your email.

It is now clear what subject lines to avoid however, you must still be able to get subscribers to read the emails. Hubspot offers great suggestions for creating strong headlines:

• Begin with action verbs.
• Make sure you convey a sense of urgency and significance (but remember, be careful not to get caught up in the hype).
• Pose an interesting or compelling question.

Last but not least, Whatever your content's subject matter ends to be, ensure that the material delivers on the promises it makes. If not, you could damage your reputation.

4. You don't have permission from Your Recipients

While this isn't necessarily required within the U.S. It's an excellent practice. We receive a lot emails these days,and if messages suddenly start appearing within the email inbox of a person even though they didn't ask for the messages, there's a good possibility that they'll be flagged as spam.

5. Your Content triggers Spam Filters

Spam filters check for certain terms (or combinations of them). If an email gets enough clicks or has those words in addition to any of the other items listed the email could end up in spam folders. Keywords for Spam triggers could be:

• "Free"
• "Lowest price"
• "Additional income"
• "Easy money"
• "No cost"
• A number of exclamation points, or dollar signs within the same row
• words that have no spaces or punctuation
• Words written in ALL CAPS

They are phrases that are heavily targeted at sales, or are clearly intended to pass through the filters that block spam (such as those with additional spaces). Although using just a few of these words isn't necessarily an end-of-the-world for your messages, using too many of these could be.

Of course there are some keywords that are difficult to steer clear of, especially if you're sending ecommerce or financial emails. In order to avoid this issue try using a diverse language and try to get imaginative in the way you describe the things you send.

It's important to steer clear of pushing or "salesy" words and to make sure you're adhering to the proven best practices for writing email content which we're discussing here.

6. You Don't Include an Unsubscribe Link

The laws like CAN-SPAM that are in place within the U.S. clearly state that the emails you send out should provide a simple way to opt out. In addition, should someone click on the unsubscribe link it is your responsibility to respond to this request within 10 working days. However, you cannot force the user to jump through any hurdles.

Although this may seem to be something that isn't good (why would you want to give people the chance to opt out? ) It could actually result in the opposite, provided that your content is solid. The ease of allowing people to be removed from your subscriber list indicates that your company has credibility.

On the other hand being a bit sloppy or not giving an unsubscribe option can frustrate people. It can also result in negative publicity about your publication (word is quickly spread online), and generally cause people to feel uncomfortable.

7. The 'From' information you provide is False or Incorrect

If the emails from your contact form are getting marked by the spam filter, the solution is usually pretty simple. It is important to ensure that the 'From' field on your form's settings contains the admin email address for the site instead of the email address you enter into the form. If your contact form send you email messages, make sure you use addresses that are different for 'From' and 'To' are different.

8. You Haven't Set Up Email for Authentication

There are many types of email authentication out on the market, with the most popular ones consisting of DomainKey Identity Mail (DKIM), Sender Policy Framework (SPF), and DMARC.

DKIM offers the encryption key as well as a digital signature to verify an email. SPF is a method of verifying that the email's address against an approved list of IP addresses. DMARC is a bit different as it needs all the two other options to be enabled and lets the sender know that their emails are protected by DKIM as well as SPF.

9. There are too many attachments to send.

Summary

There are numerous reasons your email messages could end up being tossed into spam folders. These range due to poor subject line or keywords that trigger spam filters. No matter the cause is, you must resolve the issue to maximize your return on investment and ensure a positive reputation for your audience.

Have you got any concerns concerning the email marketing best techniques discussed above? Tell us in the comments section below!

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