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My Email is Sending Spam! Now what?
My Email is Sending Spam! Now what?
"Roughly, two out of every ten emails you send either end up in the dreadful spam folder or gets blocked right away."
Whether you're new to email marketing campaigns or you have been using email services for years, there's always a possibility of your emails reaching the spam folder rather than the primary inbox of your potential clientele. Not sure if your emails are reaching the inbox or the spam folder?
Here's how you can find out if your email is sending spam. If you're experiencing lower open rates, it could be an early sign of your emails reaching the dreadful spam folder. While it might be an alarming scenario for digital marketers, there is a quick solution if your email is sending spam. Here's a detailed insight into how spam works and how you can boost your open rates by making certain changes into your email sending tactics.
Email Sending Spam – What is Spam?
Before we get into how you can address your spam problem, you should know what spam is and why your emails end up in the dreadful spam folder.
Although there could be many reasons behind your emails ending up in the spam folder, there are 3 primary reasons behind it. These include violating the CAN-SPAM act, spam traps, and non-authentication of emails.
Understanding Spam – CAN-SPAM Act
- The CAN-SPAM act came into effect in 2003. It is essentially a set of rules mandatory for sending out CEM (Commercial Electronic Messages). Moreover, it is intended to provide the recipients with an option to opt-out from the emails that they might receive from marketers.
- There are individual makers that are covered under the CAN-SPAM act. Here's how you can avoid violating this law – to ensure your emails don't end up in the spam folder.
- Avoid using misleading header and/or sending out deceptive or inaccurate information.
- Avoid using misleading subject lines – intended to trick readers into opening your emails.
- Showcase your promotional messages as an advertisement.
- Provide your customers with vital information, such as your location.
- Provide your customers with a way to opt-out from your services, and explain what they need to do to opt-out or unsubscribe from your services.
- Once you get an opt-out request from your recipients, make sure you respond to them and entertain their requests respectfully.
- If anyone is using your business credentials or your name, make sure they're following all the legal procedures and monitor their outgoing emails.
Understanding Spam – Spam Traps:
Spam traps are intended for one and only reason – to bust spammers. Spam traps are used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs), and Anti-Spam organizations. Hitting a spam trap could drastically affect your online sending reputation, resulting in poor email deliverability.
There are three types of spam traps, described below.
1. Pristine Spam Traps – Email addresses created by Anti-Spam organizations and Internet Service Providers to target spammers. A key point to note about such emails is that they have never been used. There's only one way of hitting a pristine spam trap, if you've purchased subscriber lists by illegal means, rather than growing an organic list. Spammers often use a technique for scraping email addresses from websites. If you send emails to a list which contains a pristine spam trap, it clearly hints at using illegal or suspicious means of building subscriber lists. –Resulting in your emails ending up in the spam folder.
2. Recycled Spam Traps – Valid email addresses that were once working but have been reassigned as a spam trap. These are usually role, or position-based email addresses such as hr@, info@, support@. It could drastically affect your online sender reputation with your Email Service Provider (ESP) in the long run.
3. Email addresses with a typo – These are often unintentional typos that lead to your emails registering as spam, or hitting a spam filter. Typing hmail instead of Gmail or yahooo instead of yahoo could be used as a spam trap.
Understanding Spam – Email Authentication:
Lack of email authentication or failure to set up proper email authentication could lead to your Commercial Electronic Messages (CEM) ending up in the dreadful spam folder. Email authentication is also referred to as domain authentication. It is a technique used by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to route your email by identifying the sending origin or domain.
Domain Keys Identification, Sender Policy Framework, Sender ID, and DMARC are some methods used for email authentication. Not only will it improve the deliverability of your emails, but it will also enhance your online reputation, resulting in lower emails ending up as spam.
Email Sending Spam – How To Prevent Emails From Reaching The Spam Folder?
- Now that you've understood how your emails reach the spam folder of your clients, it is time to prevent it from happening. While email marketing could be challenging, it is nothing to be scared of.
- To ensure your emails reach the inbox of your clients, here's what you should do.
- Get the consent of your clients, prior to sending out promotional or marketing emails. Purchasing subscriber list is a big "NO" if you're planning on sending out promotional emails.
- You should provide an unsubscribe or opt-out links in the body of your email message.
- You need to provide a valid physical address of your business so that your clients could reach you.
- Improve your open and click through rates by sending out your emails at the right time and on the right day.
- You should not use misleading subject lines to trick your readers into opening your emails. This will drastically affect your online reputation, resulting in low engagement rates in the long run.
The CEMs that you're intending to send should comply with the CAN-SPAM Act.
Use CBT Mass Email Sender to appear authentic to the ISP and improve deliverability.
Conclusion
Email marketing has a whopping ROI of 4400%, attracting many digital marketers. However, when it comes to sending out marketing or promotional emails, there are specific laws set in place to discourage spammers and support actual businesses.
Failure to comply with Anti-Spam laws such as the CAN-SPAM act, or using illegal means to solicit a subscriber list could lead your emails towards the dreadful spam folder.
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