There's nothing more frustrating than creating an effective and legitimate email campaign only to realise that it has been sent straight to the spam folder. Luckily, there are many simple tips and tricks which can help you to massively reduce your chances of landing in spam. Here are our top tips on improving email deliverability rates...
Avoid image only emails
Our tips start in the initial design stages of your email. Try to avoid image or video heavy emails, as these massively increase the size of your email file, which raises a red flag for many email clients. In particular, you should steer clear of image only emails with no real text, as these often get sent straight to spam.
In Mail Designer 365, you should include a good balance of text and image layout blocks to stay on the safe side.
Use a mixture of real text and images to avoid being caught out by the spam filter.
Pay close attention to your subject line
Your subject line will be one of the first things your recipient will see in their inbox, which makes it hugely important in terms of making a first impression.
Aside from this, there are some key things to avoid in your subject line if you don't want to be caught out by the spam filter. This includes over-punctuation (!!!), the use of ALL CAPS, and the use of spam trigger words.
Use the Testmail feature
Test sending your email first is a good way to flag up any possible problems with your email before you send it out to your subscribers. You'll be able to identify anything which could cause your email to either automatically land in the spam folder, or be sent to spam by a recipient for appearing sloppy and unprofessional. This could include things like spelling mistakes, compatibility issues and display issues.
Take pride in your email list
You should take the time to regularly go through your email list and make sure it is clean and well maintained. If you notice multiple bounces or inactive subscribers, you should make an effort to remove them from your list or launch a separate re-engagement campaign to prevent your brand and reputation from being damaged.
Ensure your sender name is recognisable
If your recipient does not recognise the sender name on your email, there is a high chance that they will mark your email as spam. Rather than generic names such as no-reply@, webmaster@, etc., try to choose a name which is clearly tied to your business and will stand out to your subscribers in their inbox. This way, they'll know straight away that the email is from you and will be more inclined to open it.
Send from a verified email domain
Email domain verification is becoming increasingly important, with popular providers like Gmail and Yahoo really cracking down on unverified senders.
Sending from an unverified domain largely increases your risk of being blacklisted, as email providers cannot guarantee the identity of the sender. For this reason, it's important you take a few measures to show recipients the email is really from you.
When you set up your email from address in Delivery Hub, you will be prompted to verify it if you have not done so already. Verification methods include DKIM, DMARC and SPF.
Get started now: This guide contains step-by-step information on how to set up DKIM verification for your email domain.
Keep the email volume down
The key is to aim for quality not quantity. By sending too many emails where there is no clear benefit to the reader, you are setting yourself up for failure. Even if your email makes it through the spam filter, if it appears pointless to the recipient, they can easily mark it as spam themselves - which is damaging for your reputation.
We hope these tips and tricks for avoiding the spam filter will come in useful when you're putting together your next email campaign.
What we love: Aside from being super cute, this campaign is also really unique and creative. Kate Spade used their email campaign to promote a limited edition range especially for the Year of the Dog (back in 2018.)
What we love: Here we can see another limited edition product being promoted which was created especially for the Year of the Rat. The red, gold and white color scheme is also well fitting to the occasion.
What we love: This campaign is not only super informative, it also manages to creatively use the zodiac animal (in this instance the horse) to connect the product to the celebration. Pairing this with an interesting main graphic and classic Chinese font made the email a winner.
What we love: This design is big on blossom - which is a traditional symbol associated with the Chinese New Year celebration. Putting together this edit was a great way for Sunuva to make their products relevant for the occasion.
What we love: Gold goes hand in hand with any big celebration. This email campaign perfectly combines red and gold for a classic Chinese color scheme. We also love the subtle integration of the monkeys (zodiac animal for 2016) on the centre graphics.
In this email promotion, JackThreads have opted for the classic Halloween sale. 70% off is impressive and will instantly pique readers' interest. The funny pumpkin graphic is also a clever way to grab the attention of the reader and get them in the Halloween spirit.
This email by thredUP is a bit less on the scary side, but still seriously cool. Dressing up and having fun is what Halloween is all about so these DIY costume ideas are ideal for kids and parents alike. The CTA links are also easy to locate, making shopping for the perfect costume even easier!
Graze are making us hungry with this snack-themed Halloween email! Concentrating on the health benefits of pumpkin seeds is smart at this time of the year and gets readers hungry to find out more about this nutritious snack. The little pumpkins scattered throughout the design also help add to the seasonal theme without going overboard.
Boohoo also get creative with GIFs in yet another trick or treat inspired email design. Although the rest of the email is pretty simple, the main eye-catcher is the heaven vs. hell GIF animation at the top of the design which instantly makes the theme clear.
This email from Sainsbury's is yet another example of how you can use your Halloween email campaigns to offer customers practical tips and advice. The email has a great balance of text, images, fun graphics and CTA buttons.
Land's End have pulled out all the stops on this email design. The 31% offer paired with the spooky ghost and the "Boo" discount code makes it no secret what the theme of this campaign is...
We've found yet another food-themed email! Pizza Hut have embraced the Halloween theme with this vibrant email design. The CTA is super tempting and makes the reader want to click straight away to discover their exclusive deal.
Kohl's have hit the nail on the head with their Halloween themed discount draw. There is a lot going on in this promotion. As well as the mystery discount offer, they also offer money off a threshold spend. All of these offers go along with the exciting nature of Halloween and encourage readers to get shopping.
This email by Unidays is a similar concept to the previous email. In this example, there is even more of a sense of mystery thanks to the question mark graphic. The glowing green CTA button is also super prominent and entices the reader to click.
Look away now if spiders aren't your thing! This design by American Eagle Outfitters is pretty simplistic, but perfectly captures the Halloween theme thanks to the spooky spiderweb graphic. Also notice the little bat icon in the top left corner which they've swapped their usual eagle logo for. Just small changes like this can be super effective during the holidays.
