Why are HelpScout emails not getting replies and potentially going to spam?
Summary
What email marketers say12Marketer opinions
Marketer from Email Geeks recommends using Google Workspace for HelpScout, noting it's easy to set up and brands emails as the company's own instead of using Help Scout's servers.
Email marketer from SuperOffice explains that sending irrelevant content to subscribers can decrease engagement and increase the likelihood of emails being marked as spam. Advises segmenting your email list to send targeted content.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests reaching out to HelpScout for insight on delivery and deliverability. Recommends inbox testing, reputation review, and quality of customers review.
Email marketer from GMass explains that a lack of personalization can make emails feel generic and less engaging, potentially leading recipients to ignore or mark them as spam. Recommends using personalized subject lines and content.
Marketer from Email Geeks suggests there are multiple issues, including content and authentication problems when using a third-party platform like HelpScout. Asks if authentication is properly set up.
Email marketer from MailerLite Blog explains that sending to unengaged or old email lists can harm your sender reputation and lead to spam filters. Advises regularly cleaning your email list to remove inactive subscribers.
Email marketer from Talking Shrimp explains that boring subject lines are a common reason for low engagement. Suggests using more creative and compelling subject lines to grab attention.
Email marketer from EmailToolTester explains choosing the right email marketing software with good deliverability features is key. They mention Sendinblue as a solid option.
Email marketer from Reddit user on r/emailmarketing responds that sometimes the frequency of emails can put off potential clients and they mark as spam because they signed up for 1 email and not more than that per month.
Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that a poor sender reputation significantly impacts email deliverability. Suggests improving sender reputation by authenticating emails, warming up IPs, and consistently sending valuable content.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that emails not optimized for mobile devices can lead to poor user experience and low engagement, potentially resulting in recipients ignoring or deleting the emails. Recommends ensuring emails are mobile-friendly.
Email marketer from Sender explains warming up IP helps establish a good sending reputation with ISPs and mailbox providers. This involves gradually increasing sending volume to prove legitimacy.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks said segmetrics.io seems to have a wildcard CNAME which invites authentication issues. They are suspiscious of the authentication setup.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that authentication failures, especially DKIM, are a primary reason for deliverability issues. Poorly configured or missing authentication can cause emails to be flagged as spam.
Expert from Email Geeks suggests that being on a shared IP could cause problematic IP/domain reputation. It's possible that Help Scout uses a shared domain for SPF and DKIM.
Expert from Email Geeks provided an authentication summary: Return-Path and 822.From are both help@segmetrics.io. SPF passes. DKIM fails. DMARC p=none passes based on SPF. It’s being sent with BODY=8BITMIME.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that decreasing engagement metrics (opens, clicks) are increasingly being used by mailbox providers to determine spam placement. Lack of recipient interaction can negatively impact deliverability.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from Google Postmaster Tools explains that emails are often marked as spam if they lack proper authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), have a high spam complaint rate, or contain suspicious content.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that a high bounce rate can negatively impact your sender reputation and lead to deliverability issues. Recommends monitoring and addressing bounce rates to maintain a healthy email list.
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that emails can land in junk folders if they are sent from dynamic IPs, have missing or invalid headers, or trigger spam filters due to content or formatting issues.
Documentation from Dmarc.org explains that not implementing DMARC, or not properly monitoring DMARC reports, makes it difficult to identify and address deliverability issues related to email authentication.
Documentation from RFC answers that DKIM failures can cause deliverability issues. Even if SPF is passing, DKIM failures can lead to emails being flagged as suspicious or ending up in the spam folder.