Six tips to improve email deliverability and avoid the spam folder

In a previous article we discussed the main reasons why your mails might end up in the spam folder. We are in the “helping people” business, therefor we create this in details Blog to let your mails arrive where they should, the inbox.

Now let’s get into some actionable tips you can implement to keep your emails out of the spam filter.

1. Use Mail Tester to spot issues

Mail Tester is an awesome free tool to spot technical issues with email deliverability. All you need to do is:

Go to Mail Tester
Send an email to the address that it gives (from the email account where you’re having spam issues). If you’re having issues with a specific email, make sure to use the same text/images/links in your email.
Click the Then check your score button.
View the analysis.

Mail Tester will give you an overall score along with some suggestions to improve. You can expand each section for more details:

If your score is very low, usually all you need to do is implement the suggestions to improve your deliverability.

2. Set up proper authentication

As the Internet has evolved, spam filters are putting more weight on overall sender reputation rather than just the content of your emails.

The content of your emails still matters, but someone with a sterling reputation might be able to get away with some spam-adjacent content that a sender with a poor reputation can’t.

One of the best ways to improve your reputation is to make sure you’re properly authenticating your emails with methods like DKIM and SPF.

If you’re using a free service like Gmail, you don’t need to worry about this. This only applies if you’re using a custom email address like [email protected].

When using office365 or Google workspace for your professional @domain.com e-mail address, they will also provide your domain with the SPF record.

You can set up these authentication methods by adding TXT records in your domain’s DNS management.

You can get the records that you need from your email hosting service. Try searching the help documentation for “SPF” or “DKIM” or ask the support team for help if you can’t find it.

Then, you need to add those records to your domain name using the DNS editor. You’ll do this:

Via your web host’s dashboard if you’re using your host’s nameservers
Via your domain registrar if you’re not using your host’s nameservers

3. Use a dedicated sending service for your website

If you’re having spam issues with the emails that you send from your website, a great way to avoid problems is to use a dedicated email sending service (AKA SMTP provider) rather than trying to send from your host’s SMTP server.

This is especially true for WordPress sites. The default method that WordPress uses to send emails is almost certainly going to end up with your emails in spam folders a large percentage of the time.

Don’t worry! For a small site, you can find sending services that are 100% free. Usually, you’ll be fine on the free tier for up to ~300 emails per day.

wekreate will help you with the best choice for what you require when setting everything up.

For beginners and startups, we recommend Sendinblue because it’s super easy to set up with a WordPress website and includes a generous free plan.

All you need to do is:

Install the free Sendinblue plugin on your WordPress site.
Register for a free Sendinblue account.
Generate an API key via your Sendinblue account.
Use that API key to sync the WordPress plugin with your account.
Check the box to Activate email through Sendinblue in the Transactional emails section of the WordPress plugin’s settings.

You should also authenticate your domain name with Sendinblue to further improve deliverability, as we covered above.

4. Follow email design/copy best practices when sending emails

Once you’ve properly authenticated your emails, you’ll already be well on your way to avoiding the spam folder.

However, don’t forget the many design and copy sins that we talked about:

Don’t abuse images – don’t rely on a single large image or lots of small images. Use text/HTML instead of including everything in images.
Avoid spammy copy – don’t use spammy words, avoid spelling/grammar issues, and don’t abuse punctuation/emojis.
Avoid unnecessary attachments – don’t send attachments unless they’re absolutely necessary.
Make sure to add sender information – for marketing emails, make sure to include your physical address and accurate sender information.
Only link to reputable sites – don’t do anything that could be construed as “tricking” people into clicking links that they didn’t intend to visit.

5. Properly maintain your subscriber lists

If you’re sending emails to lists of subscribers, you’ll also want to:

Make sure your subscribers explicitly opt-in.
Periodically clean your list of dead/unengaged accounts.
Give subscribers a clear option to unsubscribe.

6. Ask recipients to whitelist your emails

Finally, if all else fails, you can always ask your recipients to whitelist your email address to avoid your emails going to spam. You’ll see even big brands asking subscribers to whitelist their emails, so this actually isn’t an uncommon strategy.

To make it easier for people, you can create a help doc that shows them how to whitelist your email address in popular clients, like Gmail.

Why are my emails going to spam? No more!

Having your emails end up in people’s spam folders is frustrating. But after reading this post, you should have the knowledge to understand why your emails are going to spam and fix the problem(s).

In most cases, the two biggest things that you can do are: