How can I prevent my emails from going to the promotions tab in Gmail?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from ActiveCampaign advises A/B testing your emails. Experiment with different subject lines, content, and calls to action to identify what resonates best with your audience and improves engagement.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog advises focusing on sending valuable content, personalizing emails, and maintaining consistent sending habits to avoid the promotions tab. He also emphasizes the importance of asking subscribers to move emails to their primary inbox.
Marketer from Email Geeks shares their experience that DMARC helps with inbox placement. When sending DKIM-testmails to Gmail, emails go to primary if the header from domain has DMARC, and to promotions if it doesn't.
Email marketer from Mailchimp recommends enhancing email engagement as a way to keep emails out of the promotions tab. This includes crafting compelling subject lines, segmenting your audience, and using personalization to create more relevant content.
Email marketer from Litmus suggests avoiding spam trigger words. Avoid using phrases that are commonly associated with spam, such as 'free,' 'guarantee,' or excessive dollar signs, as these can trigger spam filters.
Email marketer from HubSpot recommends warming up your IP address. If you're sending from a new IP address, gradually increase your sending volume over time to establish a positive reputation with ISPs.
Marketer from Email Geeks says that setting up the DMARC policy was standard setup at their former job and their client's emails still went into Promotions appropriately, without actively trying to force any kind of particular sorting.
Email marketer from Gmass recommends using a dedicated IP address, especially when sending large volumes of email, helps to isolate your sending reputation from other users and provides more control over your deliverability.
Email marketer from Reddit suggests that the best way to avoid the promotions tab is by sending emails that feel personal and not mass-produced. Encourage replies by asking questions and building a relationship with your subscribers.
Email marketer from Sendinblue suggests improving email deliverability, which can help avoid the promotions tab, by authenticating your emails with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, and by cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers.
Email marketer from Email on Acid, says avoiding promotional language is important. Avoid excessive use of sales-oriented words, exclamation points, and all-caps text, as these can trigger Gmail's filters.
What the experts say4Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks counters that test messages lacking promotional content would naturally land in the inbox regardless of DMARC. They then go on to explain that, if DMARC were a simple solution to avoid the promo tab, it would be widely recommended.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that Gmail's promotions tab is largely determined algorithmically, and there's no foolproof way to guarantee emails will land in the primary inbox. Focusing on sending wanted mail and following best practices is essential.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that if you are consistently hitting the promotions tab you need to assess content as well as infrastructure. Look into Authentication, Reputation, Content, List hygiene. Also think about subject lines.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that in the decade the promotions tab has existed, no company has discovered any reliable strategies to prevent emails from landing there, suggesting it is not easily bypassed.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from RFC-Editor specifies that Sender Policy Framework (SPF) records help prevent spoofing by verifying that emails are sent from authorized mail servers, improving deliverability.
Documentation from DKIM explains that DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) provides an email authentication method that uses cryptographic signatures to verify the sender's domain and the integrity of the message content.
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good sender reputation. This involves ensuring a low spam complaint rate and avoiding sudden spikes in email volume.
Documentation from DMARC.org describes Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance (DMARC) which builds upon SPF and DKIM to provide a policy framework for email authentication and reporting, helping to protect against phishing and spoofing.