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Are you tired of your Mailchimp emails going to spam? It can be frustrating to put time and effort into creating an email campaign, only to have it end up in your subscribers’ spam folders. But don’t worry, there are steps you can take to increase the chances of your emails reaching your subscribers’ inboxes.
How To Prevent Mailchimp Emails From Going To Spam: An Overview
Firstly, it’s important to understand how spam filters work. Spam filters are designed to identify and block emails that appear to be spam (also known as spam email). They use a variety of criteria to determine whether an email is spam, including the content of the email, the sender’s reputation, and the email’s formatting. By understanding how spam filters work, you can take steps to ensure that your emails don’t trigger them.
One of the most important things you can do to keep your Mailchimp emails from going to spam is to verify your domain. Verifying your domain tells Mailchimp that you own the domain you’re sending emails from and helps establish your reputation as a sender. You can also improve your chances of avoiding spam filters by regularly cleaning your email list, using a recognizable sender name and email address, and avoiding certain spam trigger words in your email content.
How do you know when your emails may be coming across as spam?
When they start appearing in the spam folder or the junk folder. In certain cases, your email account may even flag them as dangerous, prompting you to click ‘ignore’ on a report spam button..
When the emails you send out are getting flagged or going into the spam folder, you’ll get feedback from the people on your mailing list saying that they missed your emails or that your emails frequently end up in the junk folder.
This can greatly affect the open rates and success of a email marketing campaign you may be running – half the people on your list may not be getting your emails!
In this article, we’ll address the issue of how we can prevent Mailchimp emails from going to spam. I may write on other email service providers soon, but for now it’s Mailchimp (since it’s one of the most commonly asked questions) so that your Mailchimp campaigns work the way you want them to.
Let’s start off with the basics, because basics are important.
Understanding Email Deliverability
What is Email Deliverability?
Email deliverability refers to the ability of your emails to reach their intended recipients’ inboxes. When you send an email, it goes through a series of filters and checks before it lands in the recipient’s inbox. Email deliverability involves ensuring that your email is not blocked or filtered out by spam filters, and that it passes all the necessary checks to reach the inbox of your intended recipient.
Why is Email Deliverability Important?
Email deliverability is crucial for the success of your email marketing campaigns. If your emails are not reaching your subscribers’ inboxes, your email marketing efforts will be ineffective. Poor email deliverability can lead to high bounce rates, low open rates, and low click-through rates. In the worst-case scenario, your emails might end up being marked as spam, which can result in your email address and domain being blacklisted by email providers and internet service providers.
Factors Affecting Email Deliverability
Several factors can affect the success of your email delivery. Here are some of the most important ones:
- DNS Records: Your DNS records play a critical role in email deliverability. Make sure that your domain’s DNS records are correctly configured, including your SPF and DKIM records.
- Email Content: The content of your email can affect its deliverability. Avoid using spam-triggering words and phrases, and make sure that your email content is relevant and valuable to your subscribers.
- Spam Score: Your email’s spam score is a measure of how likely it is to be marked as spam. Keep your spam score low by following email deliverability best practices.
- Address Book: Maintaining a clean and up-to-date address book is essential for good email deliverability. Remove any inactive or invalid email addresses from your list.
- Email Spam Filters: Email spam filters are designed to catch and block spam emails. Make sure that your emails are not triggering spam filters by following email deliverability best practices.
- Domain Reputation: Your domain’s reputation can affect your email deliverability. Make sure that your domain has a good reputation by sending only permission-based emails and avoiding spam complaints.
- IP Addresses: Your IP address can also affect your email deliverability. Make sure that your IP address is not blacklisted and has a good reputation.
- Abuse Complaint: Abuse complaints occur when a recipient marks your email as spam. High abuse complaint rates can negatively impact your email deliverability – so make sure your emails are timed correctly and not send too many within a short space of time in the first place.
- Permission-Based Emails: Sending permission-based emails is essential for good email deliverability. Make sure that your subscribers have opted-in to receive your emails.
- Legitimate Emails: Make sure that your emails are legitimate and comply with anti-spam laws.
- MailChimp’s Mail Servers: MailChimp’s mail servers are designed to ensure good email deliverability. Make sure that you are using MailChimp’s recommended sending practices to improve your email deliverability.
- MailChimp Spam Rate: MailChimp monitors your email campaigns’ spam rate and may suspend your account if your spam rate is too high.
- Approach of Double Opt-In: Double opt-in is a process in which subscribers confirm their subscription by clicking on a confirmation link sent to their email address. Using double opt-in can help improve your email deliverability.
- Email Authentication: Email authentication, such as DKIM and SPF records, can help improve your email deliverability by verifying that your email is legitimate.
By understanding the factors that affect email deliverability, you can take steps to improve your email marketing campaigns’ effectiveness and ensure that your emails reach their intended recipients’ inboxes.
Best Practices for Email Deliverability
When it comes to email deliverability, there are several best practices you should follow to ensure your emails reach your target audience’s inbox. In this section, we’ll cover some of the most important factors to consider when it comes to email deliverability.
Build a High-Quality Email List
The first step in ensuring good email deliverability is to build a high-quality email list. This means that you should only send emails to individuals who have given you express permission to do so. This approach of double opt-in is a good practice to follow. Purchasing email lists or using third-party lists is not a good idea as these lists can contain spam traps, invalid addresses, and individuals who are not interested in your content. Building your own list of email addresses from scratch is the best approach to take.
Avoid Spam Triggers
Using spam trigger words in your email content or subject line can increase your spam score and cause your emails to be flagged as spam. Some of the most common trigger words include “act now,” “buy,” “free,”, “financial freedom”, “limited time offer,” and “make money.” Avoid using these words and instead focus on creating great subject lines that will encourage your subscribers to open your emails.
Use a Good Email Marketing Tool
Using a good email marketing tool like Mailchimp can help you improve your email deliverability rate. Mailchimp’s mail servers are trusted by mailbox providers, and the platform provides a range of tools to help you monitor your email engagement and maintain a good sender reputation.
Related: Explore ActiveCampaign, another email marketing platform I love.
Get Express Permission
As mentioned earlier, it’s essential to get express permission from your subscribers before sending them marketing emails. This means that you should clearly state what type of content you will be sending and how often you will be sending it. Providing a clear unsubscribe link in your emails is also essential as it allows individuals to opt-out of future emails if they are no longer interested in your content.
Ensure Accurate DNS Settings
Ensuring accurate DNS settings is crucial when it comes to email deliverability. You need to set up the necessary DNS SPF and DKIM settings to authenticate your emails and maintain a good domain reputation. You should also set up a CNAME record for your own domain and ensure that your domain provider has set up the necessary TXT records. Setting a txt record is not always required; however more and more email service providers are requesting for this extra step to be taken as an extra precautionary measure.
Authenticate Your Emails
Email authentication is another critical factor to consider when it comes to email deliverability. Authenticating your emails helps mailbox providers verify that you are a legitimate sender and not a spammer. This can be done by setting up the necessary DNS SPF and DKIM settings.
Maintain a Good Sender Reputation
Maintaining a good sender reputation is essential for email deliverability. This means that you should avoid sending spam emails, monitor your email engagement, and respond to abuse complaints promptly. You should also ensure that your email content is relevant and valuable to your subscribers.
Monitor Your Email Engagement
Monitoring your email engagement is crucial when it comes to email deliverability. You need to track your open rates, click-through rates, and bounce rates to ensure that your emails are reaching your target audience’s inbox. You should also regularly clean up your address book and remove inactive subscribers to maintain a good sender reputation.
Always make your emails more personalized. Use the personalization element such as first names to create a better relationship with the people on your list.
Pro tip: Add links to your social media accounts below your signoff to promote engagement and to show that you’re a real person writing real emails.
Provide a Clear Unsubscribe Link
Providing a clear unsubscribe link in your emails is essential as it allows individuals to opt-out of future emails if they are no longer interested in your content. This can help reduce spam complaints and improve your email deliverability rate.
In summary, following these best practices can help improve your email deliverability rate and ensure that your emails reach your target audience’s inbox. Remember to always focus on providing relevant and valuable content to your subscribers and avoid using spam trigger words in your email content or subject line.
Get Express Permission
Remind them why they’re receiving your emails. You can state it outright from the get go, or have a subtle paragraph at the end of every email that starts with ‘Why am I receiving this email?’ And then, ‘you are receiving this email because you signed up for my newsletter/bought a course’, and so on.
Related: Want to write awesome emails to your list easily and increase your open rates? This works especially well with a cold lead or a first time subscriber. This is a good chance to learn how to showcase your best intentions without getting spammy – Get the email marketing fairy templates here!
Avoiding Spam Folders
If you’re using Mailchimp to send emails, the last thing you want is for them to end up in your subscribers’ spam folders. In this section, we’ll cover what spam folders are, why emails go to spam folders, and tips to avoid spam folders.
What are Spam Folders?
Spam folders, also known as junk folders, are folders in email programs where emails that are identified as spam are automatically filtered. These emails are not delivered to the inbox and are often deleted after a certain period of time.
Why Do Emails Go to Spam Folders?
There are several possible reasons why emails go to spam folders. Some of the most common reasons include:
- Using spam trigger words in the subject line or email content
- Sending emails to a large number of cold leads or subscribers who have not engaged with your emails in a long time
- Having low open rates or high bounce rates
- Sending emails from a new or unfamiliar email address
- Failing to authenticate your email address or domain
- Using deceptive or misleading subject lines or email content
Tips to Avoid Spam Folders
To keep your emails out of the spam folder and in your subscribers’ inboxes, here are some tips to follow:
- Build a good email list by only sending emails to subscribers who have opted in and engaged with your emails in the past.
- Use good content that is relevant and valuable to your subscribers.
- Avoid using spam trigger words in your subject line or email content. Some common spam trigger words include “free,” “act now,” “limited time offer,” and “click here.”
- Authenticate your email address and domain by setting up a SPF record and DKIM records.
- Include an unsubscribe link in every email and honor unsubscribe requests promptly.
- Avoid sending emails from a new or unfamiliar email address. If you’re using a new email address, gradually ramp up your email volume to avoid triggering spam filters.
- Test your emails before sending them to ensure they are not triggering spam filters. You can use Mailchimp’s Inbox Preview feature to see how your emails will look in different email clients and spam filters.
By following these tips, you can increase your chances of your emails reaching your subscribers’ inboxes and avoid the spam folder.
Step-by-Step Guide to Authenticating Your Mailchimp Domain
If you want to keep your Mailchimp emails out of the spam folder, it’s important to authenticate your domain. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you through the process:
- Log in to Mailchimp and click on your profile name in the bottom left corner of the screen. Then click on “Account” and select “Settings” followed by “Domains.”
- Click on the “Verify a Domain” button and enter the domain name you want to authenticate. Mailchimp will check if your domain has already been verified. If not, click on “Verify Domain.”
- Choose your domain provider from the dropdown list and click “Next.” If your provider is not listed, select “Other.”
- Follow the instructions on the screen to set up the necessary DNS records. This will vary depending on your domain provider, but Mailchimp provides detailed instructions for each provider.
- Once you’ve set up the DNS records, click “Authenticate Domain” in Mailchimp. It may take up to 48 hours for the authentication to be complete, so be patient.
- Check the status of your domain authentication by going to the “Domains” section in your Mailchimp account. If your domain is authenticated, you’ll see a green checkmark next to it.
By authenticating your domain, you’re telling email providers that your emails are legitimate and not spam. This will help ensure that your emails are delivered to your subscribers’ inboxes.
Related: Grow your email list by leaps and bounds, at only $9 per month. – an awesome membership and email program that shows you how to write good emails and grow your list quickly!
Conclusion
In conclusion, avoiding spam filters is crucial for email marketers who want their campaigns to reach their intended audience. By following the tips outlined in this article, you can increase the chances of your Mailchimp emails landing in your subscribers’ inboxes.
Remember to keep your email content relevant, engaging, and personalized. Use merge tags to personalize the To: field of your email, and avoid using spam trigger words and phrases. Keep your subject lines short and concise, and avoid using all caps or excessive punctuation.
Make sure to authenticate your domain by setting up your Sender Policy Framework (SPF) and DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM) records correctly. This will help ensure that your emails are not flagged as spam by ISPs.
Regularly monitor your email campaign metrics, including open rates, click-through rates, and spam complaint rates. This will help you identify any issues with your email content or sending practices and make adjustments as needed.
Finally, remember that avoiding spam filters is an ongoing process that requires regular attention and effort. By staying up-to-date on best practices and making adjustments as needed, you can ensure that your Mailchimp emails reach your subscribers’ inboxes and drive engagement with your brand.
Related: Best image size for Mailchimp
