Only 83% of emails make it to the recipient’s inbox. Do you find yourself asking, “Why are my emails going to spam?”
You have a message to share with your audience, but it’s not getting there. What if we told you that your email deliverability is related to your reputation?
Today, the Philadelphia email marketing experts at Forge Apollo explain why your emails are going to spam and how to increase email deliverability.
What is Email Deliverability?
Email deliverability reflects where your emails go when you send them. You have high email deliverability if they land in the intended recipient’s inbox. Your deliverability is low if they bounce or land in spam, Promotions, Social, or other inboxes.
Domain Reputation
Your domain’s reputation also affects your deliverability. The domain we’re referring to is the one that sends your emails. For example, for “john.smith@example.com,” “example.com” would be the domain.
All of the email actions on your domain, for both marketing and personal emails, affect your domain’s reputation.
Email service providers will trust you and place your emails in the inbox if you have a good reputation.
If you have a bad reputation, they put your emails in spam. If it’s a terrible reputation, they’ll add your domain to a blacklist so other service providers know not to trust you.
Want to check your domain reputation? Fill out the form below for a free report.
Why Are My Emails Going to Spam?
No one wants an inbox stuffed with spam or unwanted messages. Email service providers’ goal is an inbox full of notifications you wish to receive. Domain reputation and deliverability help them do that.
Your emails go to spam because you have a bad reputation. But how do you get a bad reputation if you’re not spamming people with your emails?
There are several ways this can happen.
Poor Recipient Engagement
If people don’t open and engage with your emails, that’s a sign to email service providers that they don’t want to hear from you. If you’re using cold email lists or contacting people who haven’t opted into communication, that’s likely your problem.
High Bounce Rate
When messages bounce or the address is non-existent, it signals that you and the people you’re trying to reach don’t have a close relationship.
Cold Domain
If you don’t send emails often enough from a domain, it can go cold. This shows service providers that it isn’t used for everyday human communication and signals that it might be for something questionable.
Low-Quality Content
Low-quality content signals that it might not be legitimate communication. Some of these factors include:
- Trigger words in subject lines
- Inaccurate “from” name or email address
- Physical address is missing from the footer
- Spelling or grammatical errors in the text
Attachments or Embedded Elements
Email attachments and embedded elements like forms may raise a red flag because they’re a tactic hackers use to spread viruses.
How to Improve Email Deliverability in 6 Steps
Luckily, you can improve your email deliverability over time. Here are our Philadephia email marketing experts’ tips for getting back in the inbox.
1. Build an Interested List
The best way to increase email marketing deliverability is to craft a list of contacts who want to hear from you. Build an email list that has opted in to your communication.
Better yet, use a double opt-in process. After contacts opt-in when they provide their email address, send an email asking them to confirm their subscription.
Sending messages to a list who will open and engage will increase the percentage of opens, clicks, and overall engagement. That shows service providers that people want to hear from you.
2. Clean Up Contact Lists
You can also clean your current lists to remove inactive contacts.
Remove people from your lists who have unsubscribed or bounced repeatedly. Email verification tools can help you check emails you’re uncertain about.
After your initial clean-out, you should perform a monthly or quarterly check to remove the following:
- Contacts who have bounced
- Contacts who have unsubscribed
- Contacts who haven’t opened your emails in over a year
Need help cleaning up your contact list? As one of the best email marketing companies in Philadelphia, Forge Apollo can help.
Run an Opt-In Campaign
If you’re hesitant to let go of contacts who haven’t engaged, run an opt-in campaign before unsubscribing them.
Send one email to let them know they will be removed from your list if they don’t re-opt in. This will catch interested contacts and encourage them to open with future messages.
Don’t Be Scared of Unsubscribers
Unsubscribers are a good thing. If they receive your emails and don’t open them, that hurts your reputation.
It’s better that someone leaves your list if they don’t want to hear from you. Then, you can focus your efforts on contacts who will engage.
3. Ask Recipients to Engage
Email service providers use several signals to judge if recipients are interested in your emails. To improve your domain reputation, ask your recipients to take actions like:
- Rescuing your emails from the spam box and marking them “not spam”
- Starring, flagging, or otherwise marking your emails as important
- Replying to your emails
- Moving emails to a folder, such as Primary
- Forwarding emails to a friend
4. Setup Your Domain Properly
On the technical side, there are several standards to set up with your email-sending domain that help servers identify it as valid and secure. Ensure you set up the following elements on your domain:
5. Warm Your Email Sending Domain
If you’re sending from a new domain or a cold domain, take the time to warm it. This process involves gradually sending more emails from the domain and having recipients engage.
There are also email warming tools available to automate this.
6. Stop Including Attachments or Embedded Videos
Nefarious parties frequently spread viruses using email attachments or embedded email elements, like forms. Refrain from including these in your emails for improved deliverability.
Turn to Email Marketing Experts in Philadelphia
Emails going to spam is a frustrating problem that can hamper your business growth. Luckily, there are tactics and best practices you can use to improve your deliverability and get your messages back in the inbox. To reach your audience with effective email campaigns, contact the email marketing experts at Forge Apollo.
