Best Practices to Prevent Your Emails from Ending up in Spam

To ensure your emails land in inboxes and not spam folders, you need to be mindful of how mailbox providers (such as Google, Yahoo, etc.) assess your emails. Here are best practices to improve your email deliverability:

1. Avoid Internal Mail Sending Issues

Sending emails to the same domain (e.g., sending from john@exampledomain.com to john@exampledomain.com) can be flagged as spam due to potential spoofing.

Solution:

For testing, use an external email service like Gmail.
For internal communications, whitelist your IP address with your SMTP provider.

2. Ensure DMARC Compliance

DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) helps protect your domain from fraudulent emails. If your domain uses DMARC but isn’t properly verified with your SMTP provider, messages may be marked as spam.

Solution:

Verify your domain with your SMTP provider to ensure emails pass DMARC checks.

Learn more about DMARC

3. Send Emails from Your Own Domain

Using public email domains (like Gmail, Yahoo, or Outlook) can cause your emails to end up in spam.

Solution:

Send emails from a domain you own that aligns with your branding, e.g., firstname@businessdomain.com rather than mybusiness@gmail.com.

4. Maintain Healthy Subscriber Lists

Ensuring your subscriber list is healthy and engaged is crucial for high deliverability.

Key Best Practices:

Permission: Only send emails to subscribers who have opted in. Use subscription forms to collect consent.
Unsubscribe Options: Always provide an easy opt-out mechanism.
List Cleaning: Regularly remove unengaged subscribers. Tools like Clixlo allow you to filter contacts based on activity to identify cold subscribers.
reCaptcha & Double Opt-in: Implement double opt-in to prevent spam signups. In Clixlo, use a workflow to send a confirmation email before adding contacts to your list.

5. Watch Your Language

Certain words and phrases can trigger spam filters. Avoid terms that seem too good to be true, create unnecessary urgency, or appear suspicious. Here are examples to avoid:

Spam Trigger Words:

Too good to be true: “Guaranteed,” “Free trial,” “Earn extra cash,” “Money back.”
Urgency: “Act now,” “Limited time,” “Urgent.”
Suspicious: “No obligation,” “Confidentiality,” “Hidden charges,” “Viagra.”

For more detailed keyword lists, refer to ActiveCampaign's Spam Trigger Words.