What adjustments can be made to decrease spam complaint metrics for engaged email recipients?

Summary

To minimize spam complaints from engaged recipients, a multi-faceted approach is essential. Experts and documentation emphasize improving sign-up processes to set clear expectations and employing double opt-in. Segmentation and personalization enhance content relevance, while adjusting email frequency aligns with subscriber preferences. Easy unsubscribing, preference centers, and immediate processing of unsubscribe requests are vital. Tracking opt-in sources, list cleaning, and proactively managing suppression lists maintain list hygiene. Technical aspects include implementing email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and monitoring feedback loops. Consistently meeting expectations and maintaining a positive sender reputation are overarching themes.

Key findings

  • Improved Sign-up: Sign-up processes must set clear expectations and avoid misleading incentives. Use double opt-in to confirm interest.
  • Personalized Content: Segmentation and personalization increase content relevance, reducing spam complaints.
  • Subscriber Control: Easy unsubscribing, preference centers, and adjusted email frequency empower subscribers.
  • List Hygiene: Track opt-in sources, clean lists regularly, and proactively manage suppression lists.
  • Authentication & Monitoring: Implement email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC) and monitor feedback loops.
  • Meet Expectations: Consistently deliver on promises made during sign-up and ensure content matches subscriber interests.
  • Reputation Management: Maintain a positive sender reputation through good sending practices and prompt complaint handling.

Key considerations

  • Misleading Sign-ups: Sign-up processes that don't accurately represent the email content or frequency can lead to complaints.
  • Irrelevant Content: Sending generic or irrelevant content to segmented lists increases the likelihood of spam complaints.
  • Opt-out Friction: Making it difficult for subscribers to unsubscribe results in frustration and more spam reports.
  • Source Variability: Opt-in sources may have different engagement levels; monitoring these differences allows for improved strategy.
  • Technical Debt: Ignoring authentication protocols or neglecting feedback loops compromises deliverability and reputation.
  • Reputation Impact: A poor sender reputation affects deliverability even to engaged subscribers, highlighting its importance.
  • CRM Management: Ensuring that people in your CRM actually opted in and want to receive emails.

What email marketers say
12Marketer opinions

To decrease spam complaints from engaged email recipients, several adjustments can be made. These include improving the sign-up process to set clear expectations, segmenting email lists for more relevant content, personalizing content based on subscriber data, adjusting email frequency to match preferences, making unsubscribing easy, using preference centers, processing unsubscribe requests promptly, A/B testing subject lines, and using double opt-in. Addressing how recipients end up in the CRM and ensuring they opted-in is also critical.

Key opinions

  • Sign-up Process: Ensure the sign-up process sets clear expectations and avoids misleading incentives.
  • Segmentation: Segment email lists to send more relevant content to specific audience groups.
  • Personalization: Personalize email content based on subscriber data for increased engagement.
  • Email Frequency: Adjust email frequency to align with subscriber preferences.
  • Unsubscribe Process: Make the unsubscribe process easy and immediate (one-click unsubscribe).
  • Preference Centers: Use preference centers to allow subscribers to choose the content they receive.
  • Opt-in Verification: Employ double opt-in to confirm subscribers' interest in receiving emails.
  • CRM Data: Investigate how recipients end up in the CRM and confirm they have opted-in.

Key considerations

  • Expectation Setting: Failing to meet expectations set during signup can lead to increased spam complaints.
  • Content Relevance: Irrelevant content is a primary driver of spam complaints, even from engaged recipients.
  • Ease of Unsubscribing: A difficult or delayed unsubscribe process frustrates recipients and increases spam complaints.
  • Subject Line Testing: Deceptive or misleading subject lines can result in recipients marking emails as spam.
  • Opt-in methods: Not having confirmed opt-in may result in spam complaints as the user may not know they signed up
Marketer view

Email marketer from Reddit mentions that making the unsubscribe process extremely easy and obvious (one-click unsubscribe) can significantly reduce spam complaints. People who want to unsubscribe but can't easily find the option are more likely to mark as spam.

March 2023 - Reddit
Marketer view

Email marketer from Mailjet shares that personalizing email content based on subscriber data (e.g., past purchases, browsing history) increases relevance and engagement, making subscribers less likely to mark emails as spam, even if they are already engaged.

November 2022 - Mailjet
Marketer view

Email marketer from ActiveCampaign shares that using double opt-in ensures that subscribers explicitly confirm their subscription, reducing the risk of adding invalid or uninterested email addresses to your list, which can lead to higher spam complaint rates.

October 2024 - ActiveCampaign
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks mentions that recipients can end up in the CRM without opting in through purchases, account creation, or even abandoned carts.

September 2021 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Email Marketing Forum highlights the importance of processing unsubscribe requests immediately. Delayed or ignored opt-out requests lead to frustration and increase the likelihood of recipients marking emails as spam.

August 2023 - Email Marketing Forum
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests that the sign-up process could be the source of spam complaints if expectations aren’t being set or if short-term incentives are being offered.

November 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Campaign Monitor shares that using preference centers allows subscribers to choose the types of content they receive, reducing the chances of them marking emails as spam because they are not interested in certain topics.

April 2024 - Campaign Monitor
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks suggests making the unsubscribe process easier and focusing on segmentation to ensure emails are sent to the right people. Investigating the addresses of those who mark emails as spam can reveal how they ended up in the CRM and whether they opted-in.

October 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Litmus explains that testing different subject lines helps identify which ones resonate with your audience and avoid deceptive or misleading subject lines that can lead to spam complaints.

March 2024 - Litmus
Marketer view

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that spam complaints typically come from recipients who either didn't sign up or don't find value in the content (frequency, relevance, or misleading subject lines).

September 2023 - Email Geeks
Marketer view

Email marketer from Sendinblue advises that adjusting the frequency of your emails to match subscriber preferences (e.g., allowing them to choose how often they receive emails) can reduce spam complaints, as recipients are less likely to be annoyed by unwanted emails.

August 2021 - Sendinblue
Marketer view

Email marketer from Neil Patel Blog explains that segmenting your email list allows you to send more relevant content to specific groups, reducing the likelihood of spam complaints from engaged recipients who might otherwise find the general content irrelevant.

October 2024 - Neil Patel Blog

What the experts say
5Expert opinions

To decrease spam complaints, even from engaged recipients, experts emphasize tracking opt-in sources, consistently meeting subscriber expectations, maintaining a good sender reputation through proper practices, implementing confirmed opt-in processes, and proactively managing suppression lists. By focusing on list hygiene, authentication, and relevance, senders can improve deliverability and reduce unwanted complaints.

Key opinions

  • Opt-in Source Tracking: Track the opt-in/collection source to pinpoint areas for improvement and identify sources generating the most complaints.
  • Expectation Management: Consistently meet subscriber expectations by sending what was promised during sign-up and ensuring content aligns with their interests.
  • Sender Reputation: Maintain a good sender reputation through positive sending practices, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), and list hygiene.
  • Confirmed Opt-in: Implement a confirmed opt-in (double opt-in) process to verify subscribers' genuine interest in receiving emails.
  • Suppression Lists: Proactively manage and implement suppression lists to avoid sending emails to those who have unsubscribed or marked emails as spam.

Key considerations

  • Opt-in Source Impact: Different opt-in sources may yield varying levels of engagement and complaint rates.
  • Expectation Alignment: Failure to deliver on promises made during sign-up can lead to dissatisfaction and spam complaints.
  • Reputation Sensitivity: A poor sender reputation affects deliverability even for engaged recipients, resulting in wanted mail being filtered.
  • Proactive Suppression: Failing to honor unsubscribe requests or sending to known complainers damages sender reputation and increases complaints.
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource explains that consistently meeting subscriber expectations is crucial. Sending what you promised during signup, and ensuring the content aligns with their interests, significantly reduces spam complaints from engaged recipients.

January 2023 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from SpamResource explains that implementing a confirmed opt-in process (double opt-in) is critical to verify that subscribers genuinely want to receive emails. This reduces the chances of spam complaints by ensuring that those on your list are actively engaged and expecting your communications.

July 2023 - SpamResource
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise emphasizes that, even with engaged recipients, a good sender reputation is vital. A poor sender reputation can cause even wanted mail to be filtered, highlighting the need to maintain good sending practices, authentication, and list hygiene to protect your reputation and ensure deliverability to those engaged recipients.

July 2021 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Word to the Wise recommends proactively managing and implementing a suppression list which ensures you do not send to recipients who have previously unsubscribed or marked your emails as spam. This prevents further complaints and maintains a healthy sender reputation and relationship with engaged recipients.

January 2025 - Word to the Wise
Expert view

Expert from Email Geeks suggests tracking the opt-in/collection source to identify which sources are causing the most complaints to find areas for improvement.

July 2024 - Email Geeks

What the documentation says
4Technical articles

To reduce spam complaints and improve deliverability, technical documentation emphasizes several key adjustments: setting up and monitoring feedback loops (FBLs) to identify problematic campaigns, regularly cleaning email lists to remove inactive subscribers, maintaining a positive sender reputation by addressing complaints and following best practices, and implementing email authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify email sources.

Key findings

  • Feedback Loops (FBLs): Setting up and monitoring FBLs helps identify campaigns generating high spam complaint volumes.
  • List Cleaning: Regularly clean email lists to remove inactive subscribers and prevent emails from being sent to unengaged users.
  • Sender Reputation: Maintaining a positive sender reputation is crucial for deliverability; high complaint rates negatively impact it.
  • Email Authentication: Implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC helps verify email sources and reduces the chances of emails being marked as spam.

Key considerations

  • FBL Action: Identifying campaigns through FBLs requires subsequent investigation and remediation of the underlying issues.
  • Inactive Subscribers: Sending emails to inactive subscribers increases the likelihood of spam complaints.
  • Reputation Management: Proactively addressing complaints and following best practices are essential for sender reputation management.
  • Authentication Configuration: Proper configuration and maintenance of email authentication methods are critical for their effectiveness.
Technical article

Documentation from Google explains the importance of setting up and monitoring feedback loops (FBLs) to identify campaigns that are generating a high volume of spam complaints, enabling you to investigate and address the underlying issues causing those complaints.

February 2022 - Google
Technical article

Documentation from SparkPost explains the necessity of regularly cleaning your email list by removing inactive subscribers and those who haven't engaged in a while, preventing emails from being sent to people who may have forgotten they subscribed and are therefore more likely to mark them as spam.

July 2024 - SparkPost
Technical article

Documentation from RFC details the importance of implementing email authentication methods like SPF, DKIM, and DMARC to verify that emails are sent from legitimate sources. Proper authentication improves deliverability and reduces the chances of emails being marked as spam.

February 2025 - RFC-Editor
Technical article

Documentation from Microsoft explains how maintaining a positive sender reputation is crucial. High spam complaint rates negatively impact sender reputation, leading to emails being filtered as spam. Monitoring and addressing complaints directly impacts deliverability.

October 2024 - Microsoft