9 Reasons Why Your Emails Go in the Spam Box (and How to Make Sure They Don’t)
If you’re stressing out because you’re emails are not landing in your subscriber’s inbox and is going straight to the spam box, then you might want to check out these tips.
There are nine reasons why this happens, so make sure you fix these issues and also show you how to make sure your emails appear in your subscriber’s inbox!
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Why is my email going to spam instead of your inbox?
You’re not using an email address from your domain
I get it, Gmail is free! But using an address that ends in gmail.com or any other company like outlook or yahoo, will immediately flag your email to spam. The good news, an email with your domain is pretty affordable. A lot of people recommend Bluehost or namecheap, but I love Google Domains to grab my URL and email address. (In fact, I highly advise against Bluehost!!)
Every domain I’ve purchased from Google Domains has only been $12 a year and it comes with a free email. You can either purchase Google Workspace to access your email or you can forward your email access to a Free Gmail email address. Check out the directions here.
In summary, you have to use an email like “name@yourdomain.com.”
You’re not using your Name in your From Email Address
Instead of using info@yourdomain.com, you really need to use yourname@yourdomain.com. Why? Google or any other email provider assumes if you use a real name, you’re a real person. If you use a generic email address like info or hey @yourdomain.com, will trigger the spam warning.
You didn’t add your physical Address to your email
According to the CAN-SPAM Act (see #4) you must include your location when you send emails to your list. It must be a real address, or else you can be fined up to $43k dollars. Obviously, you don’t want to use your real address, so your options are to rent a mailbox at your local post office or UPS office.
If you want to save your peanuts, use ConvertKit! ConvertKit allows you to use their physical address just as long as you’re using their paid accounts. It’s only $29 for an email list of 1,000 subscribers or less!
Otherwise, open up a PO box with your local Post Office! My local post office charges $35 for every three months. The price decreases when you commit to a longer period like six-months or the year.
You added people to your list without their consent
Ever see a someone drop their email in a Facebook Group or on Instagram and thought, wow they’d be perfect for my list? Well, what you want to do is share your freebie or email list optin with them, you don’t want to just copy their email address and add them to your list!
If someone reports you, this flags your email address and your future emails will be sent to spam.
There are Trigger Words in your Subject Line
There are just some words you can’t use in a subject line. Here’s a sneak peek into some of the words that are 100% spammy
%
% off
$or anything with the $ sign
100% free
100% Satisfied
Acceptance
Accordingly
Act now
Avoid
Billion
Cash bonus
Chance
Cheap click here
Compare rates
Credit
Double your income
Earn
Earn $
Earn extra cash
Free
Freebie
Free cash
Free offer
Free installation
Free leads
Free membership
Your Subject Line is misleading
No one likes being deceived. Using subject lines that purposely trick someone to believing something that isn’t true to open an email is instantly stamped as SPAM in your inbox. Like
“You’ve Won a New iPhone!”
“Re: Account Status”
See how it makes someone believe that there’s urgency attached? Oh snap, I need to open this because it’s about my Account status! False urgency is a huge trigger no no!
You don’t have an unsubscribe link
Unsubscribe Links are BAE!! Do you want people on your list who want to hear from you or do you want people on your list that don’t open your email?
Ding Ding Ding - People who want to hear from you - obvs!
Hiding, or deleting your unsubscribe link only makes people want to click on that SPAM link more!! Display your Unsubscribe link loud and proud so your real fans can continue to hear from you and the haters will fade away! And so you never get flagged for being spammy.
No one is Engaging with your Emails
If people are not responding to your emails it means you’re not starting conversations with your audience. Just like on your favorite social media platforms, replying to emails and building connection between your readers inbox and yours will keep your emails seen.
Use strong call-to-actions, ask questions people want to answer, and be yourself because people don’t want to connect with fake people.
Your subscribers don’t remember you or don’t remember signing up to your list
Did you wait too long to email your subscribers?? Yup, I’ve been there too. It’s okay, just because you ghost doesn’t mean you can’t come back from the dead. That’s right, you can easily become a regular in your audience’s inbox, just by showing up, being who you are, and providing valuable content! Quick tip to email your list
Remind them who you are
Remind them why they subscribed
Give them some new content they NEED
Keep emailing
You haven’t cleaned up your email list
At least once a month you should be cleaning up your email list. Why? Email deliverability is determined by open rate, and if people haven’t opened your last 10 emails they’re dead weight and hurting your deliverability score.
Whether you’re using Flodesk or Convertkit, you need to clean your email list!
Note, your cleaning schedule is determined by the frequency you send emails. If you send emails regularly like at least once or twice a week, you will want to clean at least once every three to four weeks, if you email once a month, you might want to wait a few months to clean.
How to avoid emails going to SPAM
Once someone signs up to your list you want to tell them how they can ensure they receive your emails in their inbox!! You can let them know on a Thank You Page or in the first email they receive from you. Just make sure to tell them!
Tell Subscribers to Whitelist Your Email for (Yahoo!, AOL, and other emails)
Please add us as a contact in your address book. Further instructions can be found here.
Tell Gmail Users to “Drag” Emails from Other Tabs to Primary Inbox. Here’s what I tell my subscribers
In your inbox, locate an email from yazzi@highvibebiz.com (ex. your welcome mail for the free download you just received).
Drag this email to the “primary” tab of your inbox.
Add “yazzi@highvibebiz.com” to your online address book
You’ll see that my emails will go to your primary folder in the future!
There you have it! Nine easy tips to stop your email from going into the SPAM folder! Has your email ever gone to spam? How did you resolve it?
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