Why is my message going to the SPAM Folder?

Having issues with your emails going to the spam folder? We'll explain the reasons why your emails get sent to the SPAM box, and how to get more of your emails reach the inbox.

There are two major factors to consider when you find that your message is going to the junk, bulk, or SPAM folders.

Previous Engagement

To avoid being placed in the SPAM folder, it's crucial to maintain high engagement rates for your emails. Email providers (like Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo) all use open rates and click-through rates as metrics to decide which emails end up in the Spam folder and which emails end up in the inbox. The best way to avoid ending up in Spam is to suppress inactive subscribers.

If your open rate falls below 15% on average then you may be sending emails to the Spam folder already. Likewise, if your click-through rate falls below 2% then you may be sending emails to spam as well. Low engagement rates like these signal to email providers that your emails may be unwanted or irrelevant, leading to them being sent to the Spam folder at even higher rates. This can have a snowball effect.

To prevent this, clean up your list of inactive subscribers. You can start by removing the Dormant Subscribers segment in AWeber. These are subscribers who have been on your list for 90 days or longer and have not opened an email once in that time. It is likely that these email addresses are simply unmonitored inboxes, and you are better off in the long run suppressing them from being sent email. You can also try re-engagement campaigns to encourage subscribers to open and interact with your emails one last time before suppressing them. See some examples of last chance emails like this here. By improving your engagement rates and keeping your contact list clean of Inactives, you can increase your chances of reaching your target audience effectively.

The Reputation of the Sender of Your Messages

As a hosted solution, AWeber's customers' messages are sent via our mail servers, something that the ISPs (e.g. Yahoo! Mail, Hotmail, etc.) review when deciding whether to accept or reject a message.

We've been in the business of sending only requested messages since 1998, following the strict industry standards required for excellent deliverability.

Other things you can do to avoid Deliverability Issues?

1. Suppress subscribers with low engagement regularly. This is by far the most important.
   
   
2. Use Confirmed Opt-In to ensure the lowest rate of unsubscribes, undeliverable addresses, and SPAM complaints.
   
   
3. Configuring custom DNS records for your custom domain from address to reflect email sending with AWeber will help improve overall message deliverability and inbox placement.
   
   
4. Don't use a generic e-mail address for the 'From/Reply' setting for your list. Addresses hosted at yahoo.com, gmail.com, etc. are commonly used by spammers.
   
   
5. Always include a plain-text version of your message. It's perfectly acceptable to use a template or type in your own HTML message, but if you do so, also include a plain-text version.
   
   
6. Your message should not consist of one large image. Spammers commonly send just an image with a small amount of text added to try to bypass filters. Your message should be composed of mostly text if you include images. More on effective image usage on our blog.
   
   
7. Encourage your subscribers to add you to their address book.  Some ISPs and email applications will place a message in an inbox always when this is the case.
   
   
8. Test your messages. Sign up for some free email accounts and send yourself tests as an actual subscriber to your own list.  Review how they're handled by those ISPs in particular to establish how it might be handled among others.
   
   
9. Use other fundamental best practices when working on your campaigns