Spam filters are heaven-sent for those who regularly use e-mail, but they can be a persistent headache to insurance agents and brokers who send newsletters to their clients.
While spam filters protect users from dangerous e-mails, such as phishing attempts and fraudulent offers, they don’t always work in favor of well-intentioned senders. False positives can occur, where a legitimate, wanted e-mail is incorrectly flagged as spam.
This happens because of how spam filters work:
Content filter — This technique analyzes the text inside an e-mail and searches for suspicious words, phrases and patterns. E-mails that contain multiple uses of spammy phrases like “act now,” “apply now” and “click here” may be flagged as spam.
Blacklist filter — E-mails sent from a source on a blacklist are automatically flagged as spam. Well-known blacklists such as Barracuda, Spamrbl, IMP-SPAM and PSBL regularly update their list of spammers.
Header filter — This filter examines the header of an e-mail and detects if the sender’s address has been forged or if the e-mail originated from a suspicious server. Headers contain metadata about the e-mail, such as the sender’s IP address and routing information.
Bayesian filter — A Bayesian filter learns an e-mail user’s preferences by analyzing the types of e-mails they mark as spam. Similar e-mails are then sent directly to spam, even if they are from legitimate senders.
Since spam filters are not perfect, they can sometimes mistakenly flag legitimate e-mails as spam. Other factors that can land your e-mails in spam include:
- Poor sending reputation: E-mail servers rank the trustworthiness of an e-mail address or a domain by tracking various metrics, such as bounce rates, spam complaints and engagement levels. A low reputation signals that you might be sending unwanted or harmful e-mails.
- Spammy subject lines: If a subject line contains excessive capitalization, exclamation points or misleading language, it increases the likelihood of the e-mail being flagged as spam.
- Using only images: Because spammers typically use images to hide text that would otherwise be flagged by text-based spam filters, e-mails with little or no text may appear suspicious.
- Lack of authentication: E-mail authentication protocols like SPF, DKIM and DMARC help verify the sender’s identity. If you don’t have these protocols, it’s easier for spammers to spoof your e-mail address and send e-mails that appear to be from you.
- Sending too many e–mails too fast: Sending a large volume of e-mails in a short period of time can be interpreted as a sign of spamming, especially if you’re sending them to recipients who haven’t opted in.
Best Practices to Avoid Spam Filters
1. Build a strong sender reputation. Regularly clean out inactive e-mail subscribers and remove invalid e-mail addresses from your list. This helps reduce bounce rate and maintain a high engagement rate.
2. Write e–mails that don’t look like spam. Aside from avoiding the use of spammy words and phrases, refrain from using excessive punctuations, such as double or even triple question marks and exclamation points. Writing in all caps and using colorful, different-sized fonts should also be avoided.
3. Monitor deliverability and spam rates. Utilize your e-mail service provider’s built-in analytics tools to track key metrics. You can see if your e-mails land in the inbox, spam folder or promotions tab.
4. Slow down your sending frequency. Avoid sending too many e-mails at once. If possible, send e-mails individually to a single recipient at a time.
In 2024, Gmail started requiring bulk senders to:
- Authenticate their e–mail. Follow well-established best practices, such as generating a public DKIM key and adding it to your domain. Recipients use this key to verify the DKIM signature and authenticate your e-mail.
- Enable easy unsubscription. Bulk e-mails, such as daily newsletters and marketing campaigns, must include a visible unsubscribe link or button. Recipients who no longer want to receive your e-mails should be able to unsubscribe easily.
- Ensure they’re sending wanted e–mail. Gmail has enforced a clear spam rate threshold that senders must stay under. Ask for recipients’ permission before sending them e-mails.
If your newsletters keep landing in spam even after consistently following the best practices mentioned above, consider contacting your e-mail service provider for troubleshooting. Don’t forget to check blacklists to see if your domain or IP is on the list.
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