Why are my email newsletters going to the spam folder in Gmail?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Constant Contact shares that failing to properly authenticate your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records can cause receiving servers to distrust your messages and send them to spam.
Email marketer from Litmus shares that designing emails with accessibility in mind can help your emails land in the inbox. If your email isn't accessible, it may be flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that testing your emails with spam filter checkers before sending can help you identify and fix potential issues that might cause your emails to be flagged as spam.
Email marketer from Neil Patel's Blog explains that using spam trigger words, having poor email formatting, and sending emails to unengaged subscribers are common reasons for emails landing in the spam folder.
Marketer from Email Geeks explains that after a certain number of unopened/unread pieces of email languish in your inbox, Gmail (and other providers) *may* put it in the spam folder, because they figure you don't want it. On their end their 'mission' is to deliver only email that you want to your inbox.
Marketer from Email Geeks responds that it's a known thing in their circles and Google has become much tighter about authentication. Email marketing and newsletters that have authentication set up correctly are in the minority.
Email marketer from Sendinblue explains that a poor sender reputation, often due to low engagement or high complaint rates, can significantly impact deliverability and cause emails to go to spam.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that using excessive images, large attachments, or poorly coded HTML can trigger spam filters based on content analysis.
Email marketer from HubSpot explains that sending emails to outdated or inactive email addresses increases bounce rates, which damages your sender reputation and leads to emails being marked as spam.
Email marketer from Reddit explains that using a shared IP address with a poor reputation (due to other users' spam practices) can negatively impact your email deliverability. Switching to a dedicated IP can help.
Email marketer from Campaign Monitor explains that making it easy for recipients to unsubscribe reduces the likelihood they'll mark your emails as spam. Include a clear and accessible unsubscribe link in every email.
What the experts say5Expert opinions
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that consistency in sending volume and patterns helps build a good reputation with ISPs. Sudden spikes in email volume can trigger spam filters.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that a low IP address reputation can cause emails to go to spam. You can check the reputation of your IP address at Talos or Spamhaus.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that Gmail filtering is very individualistic and heavily weights engagement.
Expert from Word to the Wise shares that using URL shorteners, especially those that are commonly abused for spam, can negatively impact deliverability. Using full, direct links is preferred.
Expert from Spam Resource explains that Gmail uses engagement metrics like opens, clicks, and replies to decide whether to deliver emails to the inbox or spam folder. Low engagement leads to spam filtering.
What the documentation says5Technical articles
Documentation from RFC-Editor explains that the absence of a valid reverse DNS record (PTR record) can cause some email servers to flag your messages as potentially spam.
Documentation from Microsoft Support shares that being on a block list, often due to spam complaints, can prevent your email from reaching inboxes. It is crucial to monitor block lists and take steps to be removed.
Documentation from Google Support explains that Gmail users can mark messages as spam, and if a significant number of users do this, future emails from that sender are more likely to be filtered as spam.
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that having a DMARC policy set to 'none' provides no instruction to receiving servers on how to handle unauthenticated emails, which can make your emails more likely to be flagged as spam. Set to quarantine or reject to improve deliverability.
Documentation from SparkPost explains that implementing feedback loops (FBLs) allows you to identify and remove subscribers who mark your emails as spam, helping you maintain a clean list and improve your sender reputation.