Why emails go to the spam folder and how to fix it

Are you trying to refine your email marketing strategy so you reach your business goals? Your email campaigns are how you stay connected to your audience and get to know them better. They’re also responsible for driving traffic to your website, making sales and increasing conversions. In short, email marketing is an invaluable strategy to help you boost business and get you where you want to be professionally.

However, too many business emails go to subscribers’ spam folders, completely unseen. Spam filters are built to weed out emails that are irrelevant to the user and lack value. According to The Content Marketing Institute, 40 percent of marketers consider email the most critical component of their content marketing success. So, it’s essential to ensure that your efforts don’t go to waste and your audience is receiving and opening every email.

Here are a few reasons your emails might be going to users’ spam folders and how you can fix it:

Low engagement levels

Email providers pay attention to which emails users send straight to the trash without opening when deciding what content to filter and send to spam. That’s why it’s so important to encourage user engagement when reaching out through email. Low open rates mean you have a higher chance of ending up in a spam folder, which is the last thing you want.

Decide when the best time is to send out your emails -- down to the hour if possible. Every industry is different, but weekday mornings tend to get the most open rates. Optimize your subject lines to grab users’ attention, and segment your email list so the content you send is always relevant to each subscriber.

No physical address

You may or may not have noticed physical addresses listed at the bottom of email campaigns, but they’re there. If your campaigns don’t have one, it could be a major reason why your open rate is low. It’s illegal not to include this information in your campaigns if you’re a business, and if you aren’t following protocol, it could harm your chances of higher open rates.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) states that a business must have a legitimate street address presented in each email since it needs to be traceable. That doesn’t mean you need to give out your personal address. It can be the address of your workspace, P.O. box or a private mailbox registered with a commercial mail receiving agency. Not following these requirements may reduce your emails to spam, so make sure you’re following all the rules.

An irrelevant 'from' name

Are your email settings optimized properly so that subscribers know it’s you emailing them? If you have a fake name or other inaccurate information regarding who you are, you’re in direct violation of the FTC’s CAN-SPAM Act. When sending emails, it’s required that you clearly state who you are so spam filters don’t think you’re a bot or a company that’s spamming email addresses.

How you choose to set up your “from” address is up to you. You can choose to put your company’s name as the sender or your actual name so it’s less formal and more personalized. Whatever you decide, make sure you aren’t misleading subscribers into thinking you’re someone you aren’t.

You aren’t whitelisted by subscribers

This requires direct action from your subscribers, but that doesn’t mean you can’t nudge them in the right direction. Encourage them to add you to their whitelist. Whitelisting occurs when a user adds an email address they consider credible and legitimate to their whitelist so that it always shows up in their inbox.

When users sign up for your email list, send them a welcome email telling them to whitelist your email address so they never miss the latest on your brand. You can include calls to action in the next few emails or in your newsletter reminding subscribers that if they want to stay up to date, they should add you to this list.

Over to you

You want to get your emails in front of your target audience, but that’s difficult to do if they’re going straight to spam. It’s essential to take the right steps to ensure that your subscribers always see your emails and can actively engage with them on a regular basis. This will bring you one step closer to profitable conversions and increased traffic to your site.