8 Ways to Prevent Your Email Campaigns From Landing in Spam

4 MIN. READ

Planning a new email campaign calls for crafting attention-grabbing subject lines, writing compelling copy and creating clean graphics. But how do you make sure your recipients will see this content? The first step of a successful cold email campaign is about making it past spam filters.

What Is the Purpose of Spam Filters?

In 2020, internet users lost a combined $54 million to phishing scams. Spam filters play a significant role in blocking as many of these malicious emails as possible.

And with the daily number of emails sent and received potentially reaching 376 billion by 2025, it’s more crucial than ever to filter unwanted messages.

What Do Spammy Emails Look Like?

A spammy email is an unwanted piece of communication. Some messages are clearly malicious and crafted to resemble a legitimate offer or trick users into following a harmful link. These emails often convey a sense of urgency or offer something too good to be true.

Other spams are legitimate offers but are unwanted because they’re sent in bulk and most recipients don't find them relevant.

Related: 85 Email Marketing Statistics for B2B Success

Are Cold Emails the Same Thing as Spam?

No. Spam is often automated and generic (because it is sent in bulk). A cold email is a highly personalized offer that introduces the recipient to a new product or service that can solve a pain point they’re experiencing. Besides, cold email campaigns target smaller lists compared to unwanted bulk emails.

How do Spam Filters Work?

Spam filters put emails through algorithms. They leverage AI and machine learning to calculate a spam score for each email, which determines if it blocks or sends the message through.

Emails have to get through inbound and outbound filters at the internet service provider and email provider levels. Some users have an additional layer of protection thanks to software or cloud-based spam filters.

These filters look at different things to calculate your score:

• Rules-based filters can scan your content and look for spam trigger words. They can also block emails with large attachments or broken HTML code.
• Blacklist filters use databases of suspicious senders and will block your IP address.
• Email service providers often look at engagement metrics. If your emails have a low open rate, providers will be more likely to flag your messages as spam.

How to Avoid Landing in the Spam Folder

A spam filter blocking your messages means you won’t be able to reach out to your prospects. If your emails end up in the spam folder, they will look untrustworthy, and senders will probably avoid opening them, which will hurt your open rate and sender reputation.

There are different strategies you should implement to make it past spam filters.

1. Monitor Your Sender Reputation

Different metrics that reflect engagement and other factors determine your sender reputation. If you have a high unopen rate, your reputation will drop.

It’s best to use a dedicated IP address since sharing your IP with another sender who uses this address for bulk campaigns will result in a low reputation score. You can go further by creating a separate domain for your cold campaigns.

2. Warm Up Your Email Address

Don’t use a new email address for your cold campaigns since emailing several prospects at once will flag as unusual behavior. Instead, build up your campaigns gradually by focusing on engagement and slowly increasing the number of prospects you reach out to.

3. Remember That Your Email List Matters

An outdated email list can lower your open rate and cause recipients to flag your messages as spam. Go over your email list regularly to remove leads that have gone cold and prioritize organic growth over purchasing email lists.

When a lead responds to your campaign, ask them to add your address to their contacts to boost your trustworthiness.

Additional Tips to Avoid Getting Into Spam

Craft emails that will get past spam filters with these suggestions:

4. Personalize your messages to increase engagement and deliver value.
5. If you use HTML, check your code for errors since broken tags can trigger spam filters.
6. Avoid spam trigger words in your copy and headlines, such as free, discount, buy or earn extra cash.
7. Don’t send attachments. If you want to share files, use links to Google Drive or a similar service.
8. Don’t forget to include an unsubscribe link and your postal address to comply with the CAN-SPAM Act and deliver a better user experience.

IndustrySelect can help you target the right recipients for your cold campaigns. With our database, you can access accurate contact information and tell decision-makers about your products and services by crafting highly personalized offers that won’t land in their spam folder. Start your free demo today!