It’s every email sender’s nightmare to see their messages land in spam. Spam filters are designed to keep unsolicited or dangerous emails out of the inbox, and they do that by using algorithms to identify suspicious cues.
Overall subscriber engagement is another big factor that can impact your deliverability. If subscribers rarely open your emails, that could indicate they aren’t interested and might mark you as spam.
1. Spam Filters
When a highly polished marketing email you spent hours on makes its way into your recipients’ junk folders, it can be incredibly frustrating, especially if you’ve taken to Email Design Inspiration. This happens when an email is identified as spam by an inbox provider’s spam filters. Email filters use fixed rules to regulate incoming emails and keep the inbox clean. When an email breaks one of these rules, the email gets tagged as spam and sent to the junk folder or blocked entirely (if it’s malicious). The specifics of email filters are different for each provider, but there are some general cues that most spam messages have in common.
Spam filters are triggered by keywords, phrases, or words that are associated with spam. These words can be as simple as “viagra” or as complex as an entire language, and even the way that these words are used can trigger spam filters. Email marketers should avoid overusing spammy words, and be aware of the underlying meanings of the words they use. For instance, using the phrase “act now” can seem like a sales pitch and trigger spam filters. Similarly, overusing superlatives such as “best,” “greatest,” and “last chance” can be a red flag for spam filters.
An email’s body copy can also trigger spam filters if it contains too many links or excessive images. The body of an email should contain the minimum amount of text to ensure that it is read by spam filters and not automatically filtered out. Moreover, spam filters are often triggered by images that are too large or by embedded videos. These types of content can take up too much space and slow down the delivery process, making them a potential cause of delays in email deliverability.
Another way that spam filters get triggered is by sending emails to bad email addresses. A large percentage of spam emails are sent to fake, invalid, or disabled email accounts. If you’re sending to a large number of these bad addresses, your emails will have a high spam score and will be likely to end up in the junk folder. To prevent this, you should clean your email list regularly to remove any old or inaccurate addresses.
2. Human Error
You’ve spent a lot of time creating a perfect email. You’ve perfected the subject line, the font, the spacing, and run it through multiple rounds of quality control. You’ve even tested it out with a few of your coworkers, and it was a hit. You’ve scheduled the final newsletter for tomorrow morning and you are confident everything is ready to go. But then, out of the blue, you wake up to a handful of emails, a dozen Slack messages, and 3 missed calls from your boss. Apparently, your “test” subject line wasn’t so testy, and the real one just went out to 65,000+ unsuspecting recipients.
Human error is one of the biggest reasons that emails end up in the trash. Even if you are careful to check for spammy content and spelling errors, it’s easy to overlook an email address that you meant to write in the signature or send to the wrong person. These mistakes can cause serious business consequences, so it’s important to take the time to proofread every email before you click “send.”
If you don’t have the time or energy to proofread each email before sending, consider using a tool like Grammarly or Hemmingway that automatically checks for spelling errors and typos. It will save you a lot of headache in the long run!
Another reason that emails end up in the trash is because they are sent to someone who no longer wants to receive them. If you’ve been contacted by an industry contact and they haven’t opened your emails in a few weeks, it’s a good idea to reach out and ask if they’d like to remain on your mailing list. This shows that you care about your relationships with your clients and you’re not taking them for granted.
It can be frustrating to have a mistake sent to a contact, but it’s important to remember that everyone makes mistakes. The most important thing is to act promptly, before the situation gets worse. Try to think clearly about how to correct the issue and choose your words carefully. Depending on the severity of the error, a simple apology may suffice. For more serious mistakes, however, it’s best to include a note explaining that the previous email was incorrect and provide the correct information in a follow-up message.
3. Overspending on Email Marketing
Email marketing is a powerful tool for businesses to leverage in order to drive conversions, but it can also be a costly one. It is important that business owners prioritize and budget their resources, revenue, and other marketing channels to determine the best budget for email marketing. However, it is also equally important to not neglect email marketing as it can deliver high ROI.
The average ROI for email marketing is $36 per dollar spent, according to a McKinsey & Company report. This is significantly higher than the ROI for paid advertisements or social media campaigns. Despite this, email marketing is often neglected as marketers focus more on other marketing strategies.
Whether it is due to budget constraints or the popularity of other marketing channels, many marketers write off email as an effective way to reach customers. This can be a mistake, as email marketing is still highly effective at driving sales and brand awareness.
A common reason why emails end up in the trash is that they are sent too frequently. This can cause recipients to forget that they subscribed, or it may lead them to mark your emails as spam if they feel they are being bombarded.
Additionally, if your email content is not relevant to your target audience, it can result in unsubscribes and spam complaints. This is why it’s crucial to perform targeted audience segmentation and only send emails that are relevant to each group.
While the above issues are certainly some of the most common reasons why an email ends up in the trash, there are other causes that you should be aware of. For example, if you are using an email service provider that has poor deliverability, then it can be difficult to get your emails in the inbox.
For this reason, it is a good idea to try different email service providers to see which ones have the best deliverability. Alternatively, it can be helpful to test your email campaigns on personal accounts to see how they perform before sending them out to a wider audience.
4. Irrelevant Emails
Staying on top of emails can be a daunting task, especially when it comes to weeding out spam and irrelevant content. Inbox clutter can lead to inefficiency and a lack of productivity. This is especially true for businesses that send frequent email campaigns. But even if your emails aren’t considered spam, they can still end up in the trash if they aren’t relevant to your subscribers.
Relevance is the most important factor in determining whether or not an email will land in your subscriber’s inbox. If an email isn’t relevant to your subscriber, they will likely ignore it or mark it as spam. To avoid this, make sure that all of your content is tailored to your audience. Performing audience segmentation can help you deliver more relevant content, which will ultimately improve your email deliverability and increase your customer retention rate.
Another way to prevent your emails from landing in the spam folder is to make sure that they aren’t too image-heavy. A high number of images in an email can signal to your ESP that the message is spam, or that it has a commercial objective in mind rather than being helpful to the reader. To avoid this, try to stick with a 40:60 ratio of visuals to text in your emails.
Also, never respond to a spam email or click on any links in it. Spammers often create emails with misleading click-bait titles that will lead you to a site that contains malware or scams. If you do interact with a spam email, it will tell the spammer that your email address is active, and they will continue sending you more spam.
If your subscribers mark your emails as spam, this can hurt your deliverability over time. This is because your ESP will note that there are too many complaints about your brand, and this could cause them to lower your overall deliverability rating. You can help to prevent this by removing any subscribers who have marked your emails as spam immediately after they do so. It’s also a good idea to only use verified email addresses when creating your email list. This will ensure that you don’t accidentally include any spammy or invalid email addresses in your list.