Have you ever wondered why your open rate suddenly dropped to single digits?
It could be the result of updated filters now sending your branded emails to your subscribers' spam folders. But you don't have to surrender to those spam filters.
Here's what you need to know to help keep your emails away from troublemakers mixing the good with the bad in the spam filter.
What is an email spam filter?
Spam filters typically use technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to detect unsolicited, unwanted, virus-infected messages (commonly known as spam) and prevent them from reaching the mailbox. to main.
While it affects where the email goes inside the recipient's system, it doesn't affect the speed at which your email is delivered, based on how many emails are sent. Since emails that are identified as spam are sent, reducing access to them often affects your overall email open rates.
# Emails in the spam folder are counted as sent, so they can affect your open rates, according to @bernardgmeyer via @CMIContent. Click to Tweet The spam filter evaluates one or more factors to determine whether an email will go to the main inbox or the junk folder, including:
- Subject lines seems wrong or suspicious
- The sender has a blacklisted IP address
- Words or phrases related to spam
- Input from recipients defining rules for eliminating spam emails from others
You can't completely get rid of spam filters, but you can follow these 10 steps to lower your spam score and improve email deliverability.
1. Offers double opt-in
Use the double opt-in form. Visitors filling out the registration form must confirm their registration via a separate email.
When people take the extra step of confirming their subscription, they're less likely to report your email as spam.
Double opt-in means subscribers are less likely to report your #content as spam, according to @bernardgmeyer via @CMIContent. #E-mail advertising Click to Tweet As a bonus, you also get email addresses more exactly improve the quality of your listings in the long term.
2. Maintain your IP reputation
Your IP address reputation is an important factor in email deliverability. If you send an email campaign from a newly created IP address to a large number of recipients, email service providers such as Gmail, Apple Mail, and Yahoo may hesitate to deliver your emails to the recipient's inbox. .
You should warm up the IP address by sending a small amount of email at first and increasing the number over time.
Slowly building your IP reputation helps email providers better understand your sending behavior, list accuracy, and how subscribers respond to emails. If they are positive, email service providers are more likely to send them.
3. Avoid trigger words or misleading subject lines
Your words can trigger spam filters regardless of your original intentions. Phrases like “make more money” or “increase sales” are often caught by email filters. Pay careful attention to every word and phrase you use, from the headline to the body.
A 2016 study from Litmus found 54% of those surveyed reported being tricked by misleading subject lines into opening a promotional email. When tricked, recipients are also more likely to flag your emails to the spam folder.
Your best bet is to create strong title and avoid from spam .
Here are some not-so-no words from HubSpot:
4. Ask subscribers to add you
When they sign up, ask the subscriber to add your email address to their approved contact list (i.e. the main tab).
If they add you to their contacts, it helps them and other subscribers see your email. Including you on their OK to receive list, a trust signal is automatically sent to service providers like Gmail or Apple Mail, which lowers your email spam score.
Subscribers who add your #email to their senders list automatically signal trust to email service providers, @bernardgmeyer via @CMIContent said. #E-mail advertising Click to Tweet This is an example of a request from Ann Handley's Total Annarchy newsletter. She included it — and instructions on how to do it — in her welcome message:
5. Send value-packed content
You've taken steps to make your content more likely to appear in the inbox, but the job isn't done yet. Now you need to wow your subscribers every time they open your email.
Email service providers like Gmail take a close look at the engagement your emails get from subscribers. If your emails have low open and read rates, subsequent hits may be sent to the ads tab or even end up in their junk folders.
Personalization can be helpful in creating a great perception. In this example, Mindvalley personalizes the introduction and creates a sense of urgency and high impact:
6. Previous attachments
If you want to attach a document with more information, a special coupon, etc., don't do it. Not only do attachments mean it takes longer to download emails, they often lead emails directly to bounces or spam folders.
If you want to attach a document with more information, such as a special coupon, don't do that, @bernardgmeyer said via @CMIContent. #E-mail advertising Click to Tweet Instead, send subscribers to that content landing page by including a link or call-to-action button in the email like Netflix does here:
7. According to the law
Most countries have anti-spam laws (CAN-SPAM ACT, GDPR, CASL, etc.) to protect their residents' data from spammers.
If you have US subscribers, please comply ACTION MAY-SPAM should be your top priority. Among the requests:
- Do not use any false or misleading sender names. The sender must be from an actual person on your team and have a valid domain registered.
- Provide your postal address. It could be your current street address, a post office box registered with the US Postal Service, or a private mailbox.
- Please respect requests to opt out immediately. When a subscriber tells you they don't want to receive more emails from you, delete them.
Review each country to determine specific anti-spam laws and guidelines.
#8. Use proper text and image proportions
Spam filter blocks image-heavy content. Even if they don't, some recipients use email providers that turn off images by default.
Avoid using only image-based content. Mailchimp gives a ratio of 80% text to 20% images in the email.
. @Mailchimp recommends 80% text to 20% images in #emails, @bernardgmeyer says via @CMIContent. #E-mail advertising Click to Tweet You should also follow these other image-related best practices:
- Provide alternative text for each image uploaded.
- Limit images to no more than three.
- Test email with images on different clients (like Gmail and Yahoo) to see how it translates before sending them to your entire list.
9. Avoid Inactive Subscribers
Some subscribers will be inactive whether you contact their inbox regularly or not. This probably happened because they changed their email address to thirty first% performed in one year. Or they may have lost interest in your content because their needs have changed or they just didn't have time to use them.
Treatment of Unregistered People opened your email for at least six months as an inactive subscriber. Your list will be cleaner, and your emails will be less likely to be flagged by spam filters.
We recommend adjusting your sending frequency based on their activity before you delete their email address:
- After 30 days, send email average frequency.
- After 60 days, send low frequency emails.
- After 120 days, submit the re-engagement campaign.
- If they're still out, remove (or cancel) them.
10. Use an email checker for spam scores
At this stage, you have some good ideas about what you should do.
But if you still have some problems with these spam filters, spam checking should be the last sure thing you can do to beat spambots.
Here are some tools that will help you improve your email spam score based on the mistakes you are making:
- My company Omnisend offers a subject line checker evaluates multiple criteria, including spam potential.
- mail checker Rate your email as spam score 0 to 10 . It also details what's good and what's not so you know what needs fixing.
- Glockapps check your email copy and score upto 100 for free. If you provide your email address, they will send an in-depth spam check report with more details on improvement opportunities.
Reach subscribers' inboxes
Improving your open rates is an ongoing process, but avoiding spam filters is a great start. By following these 10 steps, you're more likely to get email out of the spam folder and to the top of your subscribers' inboxes.
All tools mentioned in the article are identified by the author. If you have a tool to recommend, feel free to add it in the comments.
Cover photo by Joseph Kalinowski / Content Marketing Institute
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