Having people ignore your emails is terrible. But do you know what’s worse than that? Coming up with the best offers and content only to have your emails sit in your recipient’s spam folder! However, learning how to avoid spam filters can help.
It won’t always be a technical problem when your emails end up in spam folders. Sometimes, it might be your fault. For example, you might not be paying attention to email laws.
Fortunately, these things are under your control. All you have to do is make the necessary changes, and you can keep your emails away from spam folders. That’s where this article comes in.
Let’s explore how spam filters work and ten tips to avoid them!
An Introduction to Spam Filters
All email marketers fear spam filters, and there’s a good reason for that. These filters detect and block unsolicited bulk emails that might be harmful or unwanted, sending them to the spam folder. These emails sit there for some time before the system deletes them automatically.
Email service providers use these filters to ensure their users don’t receive malware emails. Some users might occasionally check their spam folders, but there is no guarantee that they’ll see your message.
While these are great for genuinely harmful emails, legitimate emails sometimes pay the price. To avoid this, you must know how these filters work. Popular email service providers don’t reveal how their filters work.
However, experienced marketers have figured out a lot, including:
- You need reputable IP addresses, domains, and subdomains.
- The system learns what type of emails the user marks as spam. Any emails that fit that category end up in the spam folder.
- Bulk senders need to authenticate their email addresses.
- Misleading or irrelevant content rarely makes it to the inbox.
- Not having the subscriber’s consent also makes things difficult.
- Email service providers also take user suggestions through online reviews to improve their spam filters.
6 Types of Spam Filters You Should Be Aware Of
Email providers don’t use a one-size-fits-all spam filter. This means different filters judge different parts of your email. Ignoring even a single type of filter can send your emails to spam folders.
So, before we discuss the tips on how to avoid email spam filters, let’s learn about the six types:
- Blacklist filters: These filters check whether the sender’s email address is in the recipient’s blacklist. It usually means the user has blocked you. If this is the filter blocking your emails, there might not be much you can do.
- Header filters: As the name suggests, these filters check the email’s header. If the header contains misleading or infectious information, the system will send it straight to the spam folder. The filters may also check the sender’s reputation. So, make sure your headers are relevant and accurate.
- Permission filters: It checks whether you have the recipient’s permission to send them emails. If you buy email lists or use unethical ways to build them, this filter will be the biggest problem.
- Challenge-response filters: These are similar to the reCAPTCHA, which verifies whether the user is human. You’ll have to solve a challenge before sending the email. If you’re successful, the subscriber’s server will send the email to the inbox. Otherwise, it goes straight to spam.
- Heuristic filters: Users can also set rules to send emails to the spam folder. This filter checks whether your email goals match those rules before deciding where to send it.
- Content filters: Malicious attachments, spam trigger words, etc., within the content triggers these filters. You have the most control over this type of filter.
How To Avoid Spam Filters With 10 Proven Tips
Now that you have an introduction to spam filters, you must be curious about how to avoid them. Since each filter checks for different things, you must apply multiple tips to bypass all filters.
Some will relate to the content, while others will depend on reputation. Ignoring even one aspect of email campaigns might create problems for you. That’s why we’ve compiled ten tips that cover everything from subject lines to sender reputation.
So, here’s how to avoid spam filters.
1. Learn About Spam Laws
Every government has a specific set of rules for e-commerce and commercial emails. There’s no concept of avoiding spam filters without following these laws. For that, you’ll have to learn what your government requires of you. Otherwise, you might face heavy and expensive consequences, not to mention problems with the spam filters.
In the U.S., businesses have to follow the CAN-SPAM Act. This act requires you to gain consent, avoid misleading information, use relevant subject lines, and provide clear unsubscribe instructions.
On the other hand, Canadian businesses have to follow CASL. Some of its guidelines overlap with the CAN-SPAM Act. These include gaining prior consent, providing unsubscribe options, and avoiding misleading content. However, it’s a good idea to read these guidelines in detail to know what to do.
European businesses have GDPR guidelines that protect their customers’s private information. But remember, you also need to follow the rules in your recipient’s country. For example, if your business operates in the US but you have European customers, follow the CAN-SPAM Act and GDPR.
Email marketing tools aren’t just helpful for automating your email campaigns. These tools also give you access to their robust infrastructure for bypassing spam filters. That’s why investing in a reliable email marketing strategy tool is a good idea.
They will help you follow the email guidelines and create better content with built-in templates. Not only do these templates have the correct image-to-text ratio, but they also include your sender address. This makes you come across as a legitimate business.
Moreover, these tools give you unsubscribe links that you can attach to your emails. Without these tools, you’ll have to figure things out on your own. Since these help you avoid spam filters, investing in beginner email marketing tools is a handy tip.
3. Never Underestimate Double Opt-In
Earlier, we mentioned the importance of using legal means to build your email lists. But did you know that double opt-in can make your lists even better?
This is where your subscribers have to go through a two-step process to subscribe to your email list. If people go the extra mile to subscribe, they must be genuinely interested.
Such people are unlikely to block your email address or mark your emails as spam. Since spam filters work on machine learning, filtering out irrelevant content, this plays in your favor.
Plus, these subscribers are more likely to engage with your emails. This sends their server a green signal always to send your emails to the inbox. Therefore, not using double opt-in forms would be an email marketing mistake on your side.
4. Pay Attention to Your Sender Reputation
Spam filters also check the sender’s reputation before emailing your recipient’s inbox. This isn’t about a single step because a few things can make or break your reputation. Let’s see what those things are.
Firstly, the filters check the rate of spam complaints against your IP address. A high complaint rate means you’re sending emails to the wrong people. Or it might indicate a problem within your email content, subject lines, header text, or even sender information. So, figure out what’s triggering spam complaints against you and rectify it.
In the same context, the recipient’s server also checks your hard bounce rate, inbox placement rate, and spam placement rate. These simply mean how many emails have bounced back, reached intended inboxes, and gone to spam folders.
Secondly, filters also check whether you’re a part of blocklists like ReturnPath. If you are, you must take steps to get out of there.
The type of IP address you use also matters. If you send a large volume of emails, opt for a dedicated IP.
Use tools like Sender Score, Send Forensics, and Email Reputation to check your sender’s reputation.
5. Avoid Misleading Subject Lines and Trigger Words
As mentioned earlier, spam filters also check the legitimacy of your subject lines. Trying to mislead your subscribers or using subject lines that aren’t relevant to the email content are huge mistakes.
Plus, if your subjects aren’t interesting or engaging enough, people might mark your email as spam without reading it. That increases the chance of future emails also ending up in the spam folder.
So, put extra thought into your email subjects and make sure:
- They’re accurate, interesting, relevant, and engaging.
- Don’t have any words in all caps.
- Don’t include words like “free,” “earn money,” “act now,” etc. These are spam trigger words.
- There are no exclamation marks. If you have to use them, put a stop after one.
- You personalize them to match your recipient’s interests, behaviors, preferences, etc.
- They’re as descriptive as possible.
6. Ask Your Subscribers To Approve Your Email Address
Asking your subscribers to approve your email address is like providing them with a double opt-in form. After all, they’re going the extra mile to add your email address to their approved contacts list.
So, of course, they’re genuinely interested and aren’t likely to mark your content as spam.
It also shows email service providers that your subscribers trust you, lowering your email spam score.
If you follow this tip, it is a good idea to provide clear instructions on how to do this. Leaving subscribers to figure things out alone might frustrate and discourage them.
Moreover, use polite language when asking subscribers to add your email address. Give them a reason to do so to make them feel compelled.
7. Give Value to Your Subscribers
Email recipient engagement is another factor that determines where your emails go. If your subscribers don’t engage with your content, email service providers might think they’re not interested. This pushes them to add your email address to the recipient’s spam list. As a result, all future emails might go to the spam folder.
Therefore, give value-packed content to your subscribers. Make sure they open your emails, read them, and also take action. Otherwise, everything else you do might not even make a change.
8. Don’t Add Attachments to the Email Body
Usually, spammers use email attachments for harmful purposes. Seeing this, email service providers filter out emails with additional attachments, thinking they’re spam.
Use call-to-action buttons and links to add information that won’t fit inside an email. Or include a GIF with a link to the video you want to add.
Attachments make your emails heavy. As a result, they might take longer to load, testing the reader’s patience.
Besides, users hesitate when downloading these attachments, fearing they might get a virus. So, it’s just not worth the risk.
9. Authenticate Your Domain
Domain authentication verifies your legitimacy as a sender and ensures your emails land in inboxes rather than spam folders. You can either follow this process yourself or use email marketing tools to get help.
It’s also important to note that sending emails from public domains isn’t a good idea for businesses. Instead, you should buy your domain, preferably with your company name. This makes you come across as a serious, professional, and legitimate business, improving your reputation.
Multiple methods exist to authenticate your domain, including SPF, DKIM, and DMARC. If you use an email marketing tool, it might take care of the authentication process.
However, you might also have to set up this authentication yourself. Different tools will have different methods. So, make sure you familiarize yourself with those before starting.
10. Manage Your Email List
Managing email lists is something people often ignore. But you’ll almost always find this tip when researching: “How to avoid spam filters when sending emails?”
Businesses that manage their email lists remove inactive, unsubscribed, or closed accounts. They don’t send email messages to these addresses. This improves their bounce rates, which, as mentioned, is a factor for spam filters.
Plus, having a clean, hygienic list means you only send emails to genuinely interested people. When these people engage with your emails, your reputation gets better. This reduces your chances of ending up in spam folders. So, pay the same attention to managing your lists as you would to building them.
How To Make Emails Not Go to Spam Using Email Checkers
You’ll also come across email checkers when researching “How to make emails not go to spam.”
After learning and applying all the tips, you must check whether they’re making any difference. That’s where these tools come in.
But remember, there are two types of checkers. One checks the sender’s reputation, while others check your content. This section will focus on the latter.
With that said, all tools don’t check for the same things. So, you might have to use multiple tools. For example, Omnisend offers an impressive subject line tester. It checks the engagement of your subject lines and their spam potential.
Then, Mail-Tester checks your email content for spam and rates it from 0 to 10. The best part is that it also tells you what’s wrong. This way, you don’t have to make guesses and can focus on rectification rather than identification.
Similarly, other tools exist for various purposes. So, do your research and find the ones that fit your needs.
Frequently Asked Questions About Spam Filters
What is spam on the internet?
Spam on the Internet is any unsolicited communication users receive in bulk. Spam filters are in place for such communications to protect users from harmful content. Email service providers have separate spam folders. They send spam messages to these folders.
What triggers spam filters in email?
A few things can trigger spam filters, some more common and obvious than others. These include:
- Poor grammar, spelling, and structure.
- Not having an unsubscribe link.
- Sending falsified, irrelevant, and misleading content.
- Using uninteresting and misleading subject lines.
- Adding too many attachments.
- Not authenticate your email address and domain.
- Being in too many blocklists.
- Not following email compliance guidelines.
- Using spam trigger words in content and subjects.
How do I avoid spam filters?
Avoiding spam filters is easy if you follow the right steps. Start by gaining proper consent before sending emails. Make sure to gain a double opt-in so you know your subscribers have genuine interest.
Next, follow your country’s guidelines and keep your content relevant, interesting, and valuable.
Avoid using words like “free,” “now,” etc., in subject lines since these are trigger words. Also, ensure you have a stellar reputation and avoid blocklists.
One of the most important things is always to remain authentic and relevant. If you follow these tips religiously, you’ll never face a problem with spam filters.
Improve Your Email Deliverability by Avoiding Spam Filters
The answer to “How to avoid spam filters?” includes a few things. While content plays a huge role, your email list hygiene and sender reputation matter. There’s no doubt your emails will go to spam if you’re a part of any blocklists.
Use the tips above to ensure you follow the guidelines for staying in your recipients’ inboxes.
To avoid ending up in spam folders, you must improve email deliverability. Beambox makes it easy to run email campaigns and monitor performance.
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