Why are my emails landing in the spam folder for Outlook and Hotmail?
Summary
What email marketers say11Marketer opinions
Email marketer from Neil Patel shares that cleaning your email list, segmenting your audience, and personalizing email content can help boost engagement and sender reputation, thus avoiding the spam folder. Also recommends using a dedicated IP address and monitoring your sender score.
Email marketer from Gmass advises that Microsoft uses algorithms, user behavior and feedback to determine if messages are spam, and says if many mark as junk that this will cause spam problems. They also advise using the Microsoft SNDS to check your IP and domain reputation and to use their JMRP program to monitor complaint rates. Finally they advise that you should be patient and build up your reputation over time.
Email marketer from Mailchimp explains the importance of permission-based marketing. Getting explicit consent from subscribers and avoiding purchased lists are key to maintaining a healthy sender reputation and improving inbox placement. Consistent engagement and relevant content are also vital.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares the importance of monitoring bounce rates and complaint rates. High bounce and complaint rates signal poor list hygiene and can significantly damage sender reputation, leading to spam placement. Regular list cleaning is recommended.
Email marketer from Reddit user suggests checking if your domain or IP is blacklisted. He also emphasizes warming up new IPs gradually before sending large volumes of emails to avoid triggering spam filters.
Email marketer from Email Geeks advises checking Microsoft's SNDS for IP reputation, as sender reputation and recipient engagement are key factors in spam placement.
Email marketer from Stack Overflow user responds, saying that Hotmail is very sensitive to email content. Avoid using spam trigger words, excessive links, or large images. Focus on creating clean and valuable content for your subscribers.
Email marketer from EmailGeeks Forum shares that Microsoft relies heavily on user feedback. Encourage your subscribers to mark your emails as 'not spam' if they end up in the junk folder to improve your sender reputation.
Email marketer from Email Geeks suggests analyzing email headers to ensure full alignment with SPF, DKIM, DMARC, and the Return-Path, to troubleshoot email deliverability issues in Outlook.
Email marketer from Email Geeks asks if the Outlook issue refers to O365 or Outlook Consumer (Hotmail) and provides a form link for O365 senders to fill out.
Email marketer from Litmus stresses the importance of email design, and making sure it's responsive and renders correctly across various devices and email clients, especially on mobile. Also ensure you have text versions available as spam filters can flag emails without these.
What the experts say3Expert opinions
Expert from SpamResource explains that persistent deliverability issues with Hotmail/Outlook often stem from low engagement metrics. They emphasize that Microsoft heavily weighs user interaction (or lack thereof) when filtering. They suggest cleaning your list, targeting engaged users, and ensuring your content is valuable to avoid the spam folder.
Expert from Email Geeks shares insights on Microsoft's internal reputation service, which is based on user reactions. Also explains SCL ratings and Return Path Certification. Also explains SNDS is content based. Suggests reducing sending volume and focusing on engaged users to improve reputation.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that Microsoft's JMRP program allows senders to monitor complaint rates. High complaint rates can significantly impact your sender reputation and lead to spam placement. They advise regularly reviewing JMRP data and addressing the root causes of complaints. Also advise closing the loop on complaints by unsubscribing users when they complain.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from Google Workspace advises senders to ensure accurate configuration of SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Additionally, it highlights the significance of consistent sending IPs, maintaining a low spam complaint rate, and providing an easy unsubscribe process to prevent emails from landing in the spam folder.
Documentation from Microsoft Support explains that Outlook's spam filter automatically evaluates messages, and several factors can cause emails to be marked as spam, including sender reputation, content, and user settings. Users can adjust their filter settings to allow specific senders.
Documentation from SparkPost highlights the significance of consistently authenticating your sending domain using SPF, DKIM and DMARC. They also emphasize the need for dedicated IP addresses for sending high email volumes, and proactively identifying and removing spam traps from your subscriber list.
Documentation from Outlook Postmaster emphasizes the importance of maintaining a good sender reputation. They recommend implementing SPF, DKIM, and DMARC for email authentication. Also, consistently monitoring SNDS (Smart Network Data Services) to address any issues impacting reputation.