{"id":48163,"date":"2022-05-20T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-05-20T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/?p=48163"},"modified":"2025-07-16T12:08:23","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T16:08:23","slug":"why-emails-go-to-spam","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/why-emails-go-to-spam","title":{"rendered":"Experts Share: Why Emails Go to Spam Instead of the Inbox"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t<div id=\"simple-text-block-block_0f499016271cbb9ddf6f319e0dff2ecf\" class=\"block-simple-text-block alignfull bg-texture \" style=\"background-color:\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n  \t<div class=\"row\">\n  \t\t<div class=\"col\">\n  \t\t\t<div class=\"copy\">\n  \t\t\t\t  \t\t\t<\/div>\n  \t\t<\/div>\n  \t<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\t<div id=\"simple-text-block-block_94cc34a0642d8a50bb2b7ca1df5c90a5\" class=\"block-simple-text-block alignfull \" style=\"background-color:\">\n  <div class=\"container\">\n  \t<div class=\"row\">\n  \t\t<div class=\"col\">\n  \t\t\t<div class=\"copy\">\n  \t\t\t\t<p>Email marketing doesn\u2019t end once an email has been written, designed, developed, tested\u2014or even sent. In fact, all that hard work is for nothing if an email never makes its way to the intended recipient. But the reason behind <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-deliverability-facts\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">why emails go to spam instead of the inbox<\/a> is far more complicated than it seems.<\/p>\n<p>Read on to find out which factors experts from Litmus, <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Salesforce<\/a>, <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.yahoo.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Yahoo<\/a>, and <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.socketlabs.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">SocketLabs<\/a> say you should pay attention to make sure your emails stand the best chance of making it to the inbox.<\/p>\n<p><strong>(To catch all of their lively conversation, access <a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/page.litmus.com\/send-email-to-inbox.html?utm_campaign=wbr-2022-05-email_sends_to_spam_&amp;_inbox-emails_should_look_great&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_source=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the full webinar on-demand here<\/a>.)<\/strong><\/p>\n<h2>Confirm your authentication and infrastructure<\/h2>\n<p>Authenticate any domain that you use with your Sender Policy Framework (SPF) record, DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/dmarc-what-it-is-how-it-helps-protect-your-brand-against-email-fraud\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting &amp; Conformance (DMARC)<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Dimiter Batmazian, Solution Architect, Deliverability Services at Salesforce Marketing Cloud says these are the most basic steps to ensuring your mail can be delivered without issues.<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"container pt-3 pb-5\">\n\t<div class=\"row blog-cta-blue  p-4\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col-12 mx-auto\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"bold fs-4\">Is your infrastructure hurting you?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Validity Everest checks your technical setup for errors that affect inbox placement\u2014before they hurt your performance.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"button-blue arrow\"><a rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.validity.com\/everest\/infrastructure\/\" class=\"text-white text-decoration-none\">Audit setup<\/a><\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-6 d-none d-lg-block\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/blog-cta-12172024.svg\" width=\"208\" height=\"171\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!--row-->\n\t\t<\/div><!--col-12-->\n\t<\/div><!--row-->\n<\/div><!--container-->\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n<h2>Collect permissions before you send<\/h2>\n<p>Confirm that subscribers you intend to mail are opted-in and that you\u2019ve got the right permissions in place. Double check:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Have you established how often subscribers want to receive your messages?<\/li>\n<li>Do you know what kind of content they want to receive?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u201cThe quickest way to tank your inbox placement is to generate a lot of complaints by sending to people who didn\u2019t expect to hear from you,\u201d says <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/litmus-live-speaker-lauren-meyer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lauren Meyer<\/a>, Chief Marketing Officer at SocketLabs.<\/p>\n<h2>Avoid massive spikes in send volume<\/h2>\n<p>Each mailbox provider has a different algorithm that drives deliverability decisions, but they all aim to make sure each message is safe. \u201cOur goal is to protect users and our system from the 90% of connections that are malicious that we don\u2019t accept,\u201d says Lili Crowley, Lead Postmaster at Yahoo.<\/p>\n<p>She explains that spikes in volume can play a major role in whether messages make it to the inbox. If you triple the volume you typically send, the email provider could think you\u2019ve been compromised. If you know you\u2019ll have a major spike in volume for some reason, communicate with the email provider in advance.<\/p>\n<h2>Make sure your content is true and relevant<\/h2>\n<p>You\u2019ve probably heard certain words in a <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/subject-line-tests-and-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">subject line<\/a> will land you in the spam folder. Meyer says it\u2019s actually <i>not <\/i>the words themselves. It\u2019s the way they\u2019re used and the reaction they elicit from your subscriber.<\/p>\n<p>Is what you\u2019re offering really free? Is your flash sale really a rare opportunity (or are you spinning the same promotion you offer each week)?<\/p>\n<p>When you use these terms correctly, they\u2019re not necessarily going to land your email in the spam folder. But when they\u2019re used incorrectly and\/or are misleading, they can generate both spam complaints and list churn.<\/p>\n<p>Whether your email lands in the inbox or spam is far more complex than a word in a subject line.<\/p>\n<h2>Pay close attention to your data signals<\/h2>\n<p>Spam filters operate in many layers. And because they lean on machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) that adjusts in real time, the \u201crules\u201d are constantly changing.<\/p>\n<p>Instead of trying to game your way into the inbox, pay attention to the definitive data that indicates what\u2019s really going on in your email program. Watch for trends in <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/measure-email-marketing-success\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">email metrics<\/a> like <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/the-dos-and-donts-of-unsubscribes\/\">unsubscribes<\/a>, engagement, and complaint rates so you know what\u2019s working (and not) before you\u2019re faced with an issue.<\/p>\n<h2>Cater content to customers<\/h2>\n<p>Be prepared to tweak your program based on trends you\u2019re seeing. If you see an uptick in spam complaints, that\u2019s a signal worth paying attention to\u2014and it can mean any number of things.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps you\u2019ve made it too difficult to unsubscribe. Maybe you haven\u2019t confirmed the type of message or message frequency different segments of your audience want. Try different approaches when you notice a rise in negative signals, and\/or a fall off in engagement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt goes back to observing those best practices, and looking at the data,\u201d says Batmazian. &#8220;We don\u2019t usually see changes overnight. Something causes it to happen. The sooner you act on those triggers, the sooner you can address them.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>How can you get out of the spam folder and back in the inbox?<\/h2>\n<p>If you do find yourself in the spam folder, Batmazian recommends starting from the ground up to identify the issue.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Does everything check out with your infrastructure and authentication?<\/li>\n<li>Is your <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/combining-segmentation-and-personalization\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">segmentation<\/a> correct? (Are there people on your list you should have suppressed?)<\/li>\n<li>Could the content or timelines of your message be improved?<\/li>\n<li>Is there something you could\/should change about your audience?<\/li>\n<li>Did your <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/ip-domain-email-warm-up\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">IP and domain reputation<\/a> drop? Look into the metrics and to identify what caused it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Once you\u2019ve taken those steps, go back in time. \u201cDay-to-day metrics might not be meaningful\u2014but week over week complaints would be,\u201d says Crowley. &#8220;If you are running a <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/email-program-health-checklist\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">good email program<\/a>\u2014blips can happen. If you have a persistent issue, there\u2019s probably a reason.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Practice patience<\/h2>\n<p>As you try to make your way back into the inbox, dial back who you are mailing. Focus on your subscribers who are the most engaged\u2013\u2013and prepare to be patient.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt Litmus, we had an issue with getting delivered in the spam folder in Gmail a few years ago, says <a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/blog\/?contributor=597\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jaina Mistry<\/a>, Senior Email Marketing Manager at Litmus. \u201cWe dialed back to our most engaged audience. It took us about eight to 12 weeks to finally get all of our emails back in the inbox. But that\u2019s what we did\u2014and it did work.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<div class=\"container pt-3 pb-5\">\n\t<div class=\"row blog-cta-blue  p-4\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col-12 mx-auto\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"row d-flex align-items-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-lg-6 col-12\">\n\t\t\t\t<p class=\"bold fs-4\">Deliverability from every angle <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Get the insights and tools to improve inbox placement, sender reputation, and email performance. <\/p>\n\t\t\t\t<button class=\"button-blue arrow\"><a rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/email-deliverability\" class=\"text-white text-decoration-none\">Explore Litmus Deliverability <\/a><\/button>\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col-6 d-none d-lg-block\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.litmus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/blog-cta-12172024.svg\" width=\"208\" height=\"171\" alt=\"\">\n\t\t\t<\/div><!--col-6-->\n\t\t\t<\/div> <!--row-->\n\t\t<\/div><!--col-12-->\n\t<\/div><!--row-->\n<\/div><!--container-->\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n  \t\t\t<\/div>\n  \t\t<\/div>\n  \t<\/div>\n  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48181,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[45,48],"blog_category":[10302],"class_list":["post-48163","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-deliverability","tag-spam-filter","blog_category-email-deliverability"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.5 (Yoast SEO v27.7) - 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