Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, and Outlook are all excellent email services. They offer efficient email services by ensuring the proper delivery of emails to the inbox folder. But even with the efficiency in their services, there are negative issues that affect their services. Such issues include the sending of legitimate inbox messages to the spam folder.
Most flagging of messages happens because of the laws set in the CAN-SPAM act for commercial emails. The rules are set to mark specific messages for filtering. But the filters do not always work right. At times, emails from a regular sender are sent to the inbox folder and other times to the spam folder. The inconsistent placement affects email deliverability and interrupts marketing processes.
In such instances, a business looking to reach most of its clients through email suffers from reduced engagements. In addition, having less than 80% of your emails landing in the inbox folder leads to fewer conversions, thus affecting productivity. Though having high inbox placement is no simple feat, the solutions below could help stop most of your emails from going to the spam folder.
When registering new subscribers to your email list, it is essential to ask them to whitelist your contact address. You can do this by placing the request in the first welcome email or the first newsletter you send. By asking them to add your contact address to the safe sender list, you stand better chances of having most emails dropping to the recipients’ inbox rather than the spam folder.
Reliable ESPs hold a reputation for keeping check of domains and IP addresses of their clients. The ESPs filter spammers and ban illegitimate senders. Because of its high credibility, its clients cannot suffer from being flagged continuously by providers such as Gmail or Yahoo. So if you choose a reputable ESP, you stand better chances of having most of your emails landing in the inbox folder.
The CAN-SPAM Act sets the rules for what is acceptable when sending or receiving email messages. In addition, the Act addresses issues concerning commercial emails and gives recipients the right to accept or reject your email deliveries.
The law protects the recipient from misleading information. It flags senders who give false headings, subjects, or bodies of content to trick clients. Any info they pass that resembles an Ad or is too promotional is considered inappropriate. It is termed as a violation of laws, and the effects are high penalties for non-compliance.
So, if you are a commercial business sending marketing emails, it is essential to keep tabs on the emails you send. Ensure you state the correct location in your email account. Also, make it easy for your recipients to unsubscribe to your email updates by giving them an easy opt-out option. This way, you avoid complaints and eventual flagging of your account as spam.
As fascinating as purchasing email lists, it is not the best choice if you want to stay ahead in the email marketing game. Purchased emails are easy to identify, and mailbox providers have found ways to flag them before they even get to the recipients.
The list almost always has numerous unopened or unread emails. The unsubscription is massive, and there are constant complaints. Purchased lists are always in violation of the CAN-SPAM Act. They give bad reputations to even the greatest of businesses.
So, if you are a business looking to grow its email list, employ proper content marketing strategies. Do not look for an easy way up through Purchased listings. Instead, get permission to send emails by simply having a sign-up form on your website. Let the recipients know they are subscribing to your email list. Allow them to know your business by crafting emails best suited for each subscriber.
There are words that Mail List providers term spammy and flag the senders that use them often. Most are common words, but their use seems too promotional or resembles advertisements. Providers do not advocate for emails being too promotional.
The over-use of trigger words such as winner, free, or promo can easily send most of your emails to the spam folder. Though these words can still be used, you should be careful about the number of times and sequence of use in the email. In addition, most mail providers have spam filters to detect commercial advertisements on your emails. You should, therefore, be careful with each word you use in your emails.
When creating emails, it is essential to choose a subject line and content that resonates with your subscribers. If you create a killer headline, you will have most of your subscribers opening emails. Good content will attract subscribers to read your emails from start to finish. If more people view your content, spam filters will likely not categorize your account as spam.
To increase engagement in emails, choose an attractive subject line. Always deliver content that is relevant to the subscribers and send them at the right time. Finally, be consistent to ensure constant improvement in engagement rates.
There is no limit to the number of emails you send to subscribers. But an email or two in a month is not ideal for business. Fewer emails could lead to subscribers forgetting you and often marking your messages as spam. With inconsistency, your open rate also suffers, and spam filters will likely send your emails to the spam folder.
To avoid this, be active and consistent in email delivery. Create a business plan with weekly or monthly content creating strategies. Be visible by using logos, colors, and images relating to your brand. Allow subscribers to opt-out by including a visible unsubscribe button. Allow the subscribers to remember you every time you send updates. Be memorable.
Sending a text-only email will seldom filter your messages as spam. But if you want to include HTML formats, you must choose the best practice to avoid the spam folder. The method involves using an HTML+ plain text format.
HTML formats are suitable for visibility and engagement. But if used alone, HTML reduces the readability of messages. Take, for example, a recipient that cannot view HTML texts through their device. They will miss out on most of your important updates. But if you include a text, then they use the available content to understand your emails.
The best HTML practices also involve using the right images in their correct sizes throughout your text. You should also keep it simple and ensure every content is optimized for mobile access. For every email, you write, understand the acceptable fonts for texts. Include the right image-text ratio, and have more text than images in your email.
You may not have sent spam emails yourself, but if your service provider has a reputation for spammy emails, then you can find your IP on the blacklist. If you are blacklisted, most of your emails land in the spam folder. Therefore, being on the blacklist is detrimental to email marketing. Luckily, there is a solution.
To solve the problem, contact the provider to find out how you can get off the blacklist. You can also visit the provider’s website to get instructions on removing your account from the blacklist. But the best solution is to avoid the issues from occurring. So always seek the services of reliable and reputable service providers and be safe.
Spam identification organizations have devised ways to identify spam emails. Usually, they set up email addresses that are computer-generated and use them to trap spammers. If you happen to purchase a list and mistakenly get and send an email to the spam traps, your address is flagged, and all emails you send land in the spam folder.
Spam traps are also used to identify people that collect random emails online. Usually, the sender picks emails online and manually registers new members without consent. The result is a list full of subscribers who unknowingly got listed.
Sending an email to a computer-generated address alerts the Mail List provider of your spam account. What follows is the marking of your account as spam. It is for this reason you should only register genuine subscribers through a website opt-in form.
Gmail
First, you can request recipients to add you to their contacts. The recipient should open the Gmail account and select the email from the person they wish to add to the contact list. Next, click on the three dots on the right-hand side to view the menu. Select Add “name” to Contacts List. This completes the process, and emails from the sender will always appear in the inbox.
Another option is to correct the email from the spam folder. First, select the email you want to move to the inbox folder. Once the email is open, select the Not Spam option. The email automatically moves to the inbox. After that, register the email address to your contact list.
You can start the process by opening the message from the sender. Click on the menu button and move down to the option of Add to contacts and select. Next, include any other information about the sender and finally click on Save. Once the process is complete, all emails from this sender will drop in the inbox folder. Another option of resolving spam emails is to shift a legitimate sender from the spam folder by selecting Not Spam or removing the spam option.
Outlook.com
Outlook.com shares a similar process as Yahoo and Gmail when adding a sender to the contacts lists. But Outlook.com also has the option of adding emails to the safe sender’s list. To start, click on the gear sign on the right-hand side of the website. Next, click Options and move downwards to the Junk Email option and select Safe Sender. A dialog box opens, and you can add the sender’s email to your list.
The above solutions should help stop emails from going to the spam folder. Based on the explanations, all you require is following the best practices from the CAN-SPAM Act. Your work should also be consistent and relevant to your subscribers.
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