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.
Mail Tester is an awesome free tool to spot technical issues with email deliverability. All you need to do is:
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.
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:
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:
You should also authenticate your domain name with Sendinblue to further improve deliverability, as we covered above.
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:
If you’re sending emails to lists of subscribers, you’ll also want to:
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.
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:
Beyond that, you’ll also want to avoid spammy copy, properly use links and images, and make sure your subscribers are engaged and opted-in.
Still have any questions about why your emails are going to spam? Let us know!