How can I fix consistent spam landing in Gmail with 0% user-reported spam when using Mailchimp?
Summary
What email marketers say13Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Gmass recommends a slow and steady approach to IP warm-up. They suggest starting with small sending volumes to your most engaged subscribers and gradually increasing the volume over time as your reputation improves. Monitor your deliverability metrics closely and adjust your sending schedule accordingly.
Email marketer from Neil Patel Digital shares that consistent spam landing can stem from issues like poor sender reputation, low engagement, or problematic content. He suggests cleaning your email list, improving email content, and warming up your IP address, as well as ensuring proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) is in place.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares that sometimes a parent domain and all its subdomains get blacklisted, but that's usually not the case for Gmail.
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares the importance of segmenting your email list based on engagement levels. They recommend creating segments for highly engaged, moderately engaged, and inactive subscribers. Focus your sending efforts on the most engaged segments to improve your sender reputation and deliverability.
Email marketer from SendPulse responds that landing in spam despite zero spam reports might indicate issues with email authentication. The article recommends checking SPF and DKIM records, ensuring your domain has a good reputation, segmenting your audience to target engaged users, and monitoring your sender score.
Email marketer from Email on Acid recommends testing your emails using spam testing tools before sending them to your entire list. These tools can identify potential spam triggers and suggest improvements to your content and code. They also recommend ensuring your emails are mobile-friendly and using a reputable email service provider.
Email marketer from Reddit advises checking your sender reputation using tools like Sender Score and ensuring your IP address isn't blacklisted. They suggest gradually increasing sending volume (warming up) if you've recently switched IPs or are sending from a new domain. Also, make sure your unsubscribe process is easy to use.
Email marketer from Reddit advises implementing double opt-in. It involves sending a confirmation email to new subscribers, requiring them to click a link to verify their email address. This helps ensure that your list only contains engaged and valid email addresses, improving your sender reputation.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares to use the same 'From' address, send a whitelisting campaign from the ESP with good delivery, then send to all who open it from the new ESP.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that inbox placement depends on the Mailbox Provider (MBP), as each one offers different clues about the root cause. Suggests looking at Gmail's banner or Google Postmaster Tools (GPT), and checking Microsoft-based mailboxes for breadcrumbs in the header.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that each subdomain has its own sending reputation.
Email marketer from an Email Marketing Forum shares that they had success improving their Gmail deliverability by carefully segmenting their list and only sending to users who had opened or clicked an email in the last 30 days. They also suggest experimenting with different subject lines and sending times.
Email marketer from Litmus explains the importance of list hygiene. They recommend regularly removing inactive subscribers, implementing a double opt-in process, and segmenting your audience based on engagement levels. They also suggest personalizing emails and avoiding spam trigger words in your subject lines and body content.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Mailchimp's shared IP infrastructure means your deliverability is impacted by other users. She suggests segmenting your list aggressively to only send to the most engaged users, which improves your sending reputation. She recommends setting up feedback loops to monitor complaints.
Expert from Spamresource explains that the most likely cause is your email is being delivered but is being delivered to the spam folder because of domain reputation. It's important to use Google Postmaster Tools to check your reputation.
Expert from Email Geeks responds that to improve email delivery to Gmail, one should stop sending messages similar to those identified as spam in the past. He suggests changing tactics, segmentation, and messaging, and also to re-evaluate acquisition practices.
Expert from Spamresource explains that Gmail places significant emphasis on subscriber engagement metrics. Even with valid authentication and content, low open and click rates can lead to spam placement. He suggests implementing stricter list hygiene practices, focusing on acquiring more engaged subscribers.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools shares the use of the tool to monitor your domain and IP reputation. It helps you identify issues affecting deliverability, such as spam complaints, authentication failures, and traffic spikes. Google recommends regularly monitoring your reputation scores and addressing any identified problems promptly.
Documentation from DKIM defines DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail) as an email authentication system that uses digital signatures to verify the sender and ensure the message hasn't been altered during transit. Implementing DKIM adds a layer of trust to your emails, helping them bypass spam filters and reach the inbox.
Documentation from Mailchimp emphasizes that deliverability issues with Gmail, despite low spam reports, can be due to domain reputation. They recommend authenticating your sending domain, ensuring your email list is permission-based, and reviewing your campaign content for spam triggers. They also suggest using Mailchimp's deliverability tools to monitor and improve your sending practices.
Documentation from DMARC explains DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) as a policy that tells receiving mail servers what to do with emails that fail SPF and DKIM checks. You can set a DMARC policy to quarantine or reject unauthorized emails, preventing spammers from spoofing your domain. Also, DMARC records provide reporting to the domain owner to show the deliverability of emails.
Documentation from RFC explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) records can prevent spammers from using your domain to send unauthorized emails. It specifies which mail servers are authorized to send email on behalf of your domain. Ensure your SPF record is correctly configured and includes all legitimate sending sources, including Mailchimp.