Why have Mailchimp email open rates dropped and gone to spam in Gmail recently?

Email marketer from Email on Acid shares that Gmail's filtering system considers numerous factors, including sender reputation, email content, and subscriber engagement. Sending to inactive or unengaged subscribers can negatively impact your sender reputation and increase the likelihood of your emails landing in the spam folder.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares they've noticed a big drop in open rates for Gmail since May 25/26, dropping from 30-40% to 5-10%. Testing shows personal Gmail addresses are going to spam.

Marketer from Email Geeks explains that gmail is getting tighter with subs who aren't interacting with emails (not clicking) going to spam.

Marketer from Email Geeks follows up to share that Mailchimp informed them of a change in Gmail's spam filtering, causing more false positives, and that they worked with Google to deploy a fix. Open rates have since bounced back.

Email marketer from Neil Patel explains that several factors influence email deliverability, including sender reputation, authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), content quality, and engagement rates. A sudden drop in open rates and increased spam placement often indicate issues with one or more of these factors, potentially triggered by changes in Gmail's filtering algorithms.

Email marketer from StackOverflow shares that to improve email deliverability, ensure your emails are properly authenticated (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), avoid using spam trigger words in your subject lines and body copy, and provide recipients with a clear and easy way to unsubscribe from your emails. Regularly cleaning your email list and segmenting your audience based on engagement can also help.

Email marketer from HubSpot shares to get your emails delivered, you must ensure you're following email marketing best practices, as well as meeting certain standards set by mailbox providers (like Gmail). They state that the main reason for low deliverability rates is low sender reputation.

Email marketer from SendGrid shares that Gmail frequently updates its spam filtering algorithms. These updates can sometimes lead to legitimate emails being mistakenly classified as spam. Factors like sudden changes in sending volume, poor list hygiene, and content that triggers spam filters can exacerbate this issue.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares they've seen open rates drop but CTR seems to be about the same as it was.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares that they noticed issues dating back to the past weekend in two separate accounts and that both accounts seemed to have taken a hit between May 24th & 27th. Open Rates were literally cut in half in both cases and haven't recovered.

Email marketer from Reddit shares that sudden deliverability drops can stem from hitting a spam trap, being added to a blocklist, or a surge in complaints from users marking your messages as spam. It's important to monitor feedback loops and address any negative trends quickly. List bombing can also be a cause

Email marketer from Gmass explains that they share practical tips to avoid the spam folder, including using a dedicated IP address, warming up your IP address gradually, and monitoring your sender reputation. Sending personalized emails and avoiding sending to unengaged subscribers can also help improve deliverability.

Marketer from Email Geeks shares they ran accounts through litmus spam testing and failed inbox placement for outlook.com, gmail, office 365, GoDaddy & yandex.

Email marketer from MailerLite shares that the various factors that can hurt your email deliverability: You’re sending emails without permission, low engagement rate, spam complaints, you aren’t authenticating your emails, you’re on a blocklist, the content in your email is spammy and your IP address is on a blocklist.

Email marketer from Litmus explains that factors include your sender reputation, authentication methods (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), list hygiene, content quality, and engagement rates. Monitoring these factors and addressing any issues promptly can help prevent deliverability problems.

Expert from Email Geeks suggests that Gmail likely has tightened filters.

Expert from Email Geeks shares that Gmail filters are ever evolving and it is more likely that this is just a normal evolution of Gmail’s filters and senders should be prepared to deal with it as the new normal.

Expert from Word to the Wise explains that inbox placement issues with Gmail are often linked to a complex interplay of factors. These factors include sender reputation, authentication, content quality, and recipient engagement. Changes in Gmail's algorithms, list hygiene issues, and sudden sending volume increases may all contribute to decreased open rates and increased spam placement.

Expert from Spam Resource explains that Mailchimp deliverability issues often arise from shared IP reputation, list quality, and content issues. If other Mailchimp users on the same IP are engaging in spammy practices, it can affect your deliverability. Also, improper list management, spam complaints, or content triggering spam filters can lead to lower open rates and spam placement.

Documentation from RFC explains that SPF (Sender Policy Framework) is an email authentication method designed to prevent spammers from sending messages on behalf of your domain. Implementing SPF records can improve your sender reputation and reduce the likelihood of your emails being marked as spam.

Documentation from DMARC.org explains that DMARC (Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance) builds on the SPF and DKIM protocols by adding a reporting capability that allows senders and receivers to improve and monitor protection of the domain from fraudulent email. An authentication failure can lead to spam

Documentation from Mailchimp explains that to improve deliverability, ensure proper email authentication (SPF, DKIM, DMARC), maintain a clean email list by regularly removing unengaged subscribers, and send relevant, engaging content that encourages recipients to interact with your emails. Monitoring your sender reputation and addressing any issues promptly is also crucial.

Documentation from Google explains that Postmaster Tools provides valuable insights into your sending reputation, spam rate, and other key metrics. Monitoring these metrics can help you identify and address deliverability issues before they significantly impact your open rates and inbox placement.