Why are my emails marked with a high BCL score and landing in junk folders, and how can I fix it?
Summary
What email marketers say9Marketer opinions
Email marketer from StackOverflow answers by suggesting creating a feedback loop as well as checking spamhaus. It's important to reach out to get delisted to prevent sending problems
Email marketer from GlockApps explains that one key reason for emails going to spam folder is poor sender reputation. This can be caused by various factors, including low engagement, high complaint rates, or being listed on blacklists. They suggest monitoring your sending reputation, IP address, and domain using tools like theirs.
Email marketer from Mailjet shares that a high spam score (potentially contributing to high BCL and junking) can be caused by several factors, including poor sender reputation, lack of authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), high complaint rates, spammy content, and blacklisting. They advise to authenticate your emails, monitor sender reputation, improve content quality, and manage your subscriber list.
Email marketer from Reddit shares that checking if your domain or IP is blacklisted is very important and can prevent emails going to spam. By cleaning the list or reducing sending you will have better engagement in the future.
Email marketer from Sendinblue shares that factors influencing email deliverability and spam placement include sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), engagement (open and click rates), and content. To improve deliverability, they recommend consistently sending valuable content, maintaining clean lists, and actively monitoring sending metrics to identify and address issues promptly.
Email marketer from Litmus explains that consistent sending volume, proper authentication, and engaging content are crucial for good email deliverability. Sending frequency should be consistent, and you need to ensure SPF, DKIM, and DMARC are configured correctly. You also need to monitor your sender reputation to get ahead of deliverability problems.
Email marketer from EmailonAcid shares that excessive use of spam trigger words, poor HTML coding, and large image sizes can contribute to emails being marked as spam. Make your emails mobile friendly and prevent use of suspicious code.
Email marketer from WarriorForum notes that sending unsolicited emails without permission will result in high spam scores and low deliverability. It is essential to use opt-in lists and segment leads
Email marketer from Gmass explains that a low sender reputation will have emails marked as spam or not delivered. Improve engagement and authentications to fix sender reputation issues.
What the experts say8Expert opinions
Expert from Email Geeks states that moving to a new ESP requires a warm-up period because it’s a different email stream.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that the BCL header is unrelated to DMARC alignment.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that while landing in the promotions tab isn't necessarily bad, low engagement (lack of opens/clicks) can lead to spam folder placement. Focus on sending relevant and valuable content that encourages recipient interaction to maintain a positive sender reputation.
Expert from Spam Resource shares that a sudden spike in sending volume without proper IP warming can trigger spam filters. Gradually increasing sending volume over time, and monitoring sender reputation, is critical for deliverability.
Expert from Email Geeks states that changing to a custom header in the return path will not change the BCL scoring.
Expert from Email Geeks explains that Outlook.com addresses don’t use BCL scores, but a new, unwarmed address is an underlying problem because Microsoft doesn’t like new mail streams.
Expert from Email Geeks shares that BCL is a score assigned by Microsoft, representing confidence in whether mail is bulk. Scores range from 0 (low confidence) to 9 (high confidence). BCL is primarily used in filtering by Office365 customers, who set their own thresholds for spam and choose actions like junking, quarantining, or discarding mail above that threshold.
Expert from Word to the Wise explains that avoiding spam filters requires focusing on sending wanted mail by obtaining clear opt-in, honoring unsubscribe requests, and segmenting lists. Content should be clear, honest, and easy to read. Technical setup and reputation are also crucial for reaching the inbox.
What the documentation says4Technical articles
Documentation from DMARC.org explains that implementing DMARC is a critical defense and the main way to prevent emails landing in junk. It is important to ensure that senders are who they say they are.
Documentation from Amazon AWS explains that using a dedicated IP address, authenticating your email with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC, carefully managing your sending reputation (keeping bounce and complaint rates low), and adhering to best practices for email content can significantly improve email deliverability and avoid junk folders. Also warm up your IP addresses.
Documentation from RFC-Editor answers using the explanation of DKIM signatures. DKIM helps improve deliverability and reduces the chances of your email being marked as spam. Using DKIM and good email practices will prevent your emails from landing in junk folders
Documentation from Microsoft Learn explains that the Bulk Complaint Level (BCL) indicates the likelihood that a message is bulk mail based on spam complaints. Higher BCL values indicate a greater probability that a message will generate complaints. Admins can configure anti-spam policies to filter messages based on BCL thresholds. Analyzing message headers for the 'X-MS-Exchange-Organization-BCL' property helps identify BCL scores.